Buzz on in to the recently opened Bumble Tea Shop & Cafe at 2260 East Colfax Avenue (in the same building that Abend Gallery once called home) for in-house blended teas, all-day breakfast, lunch or a midday pastry break. The cozy, one-room tea shop welcomes customers with comfy furniture, a pink ceiling, mismatched tea cups and funky chandeliers.
“We call this our living room,” says owner Megan Siffring, who adds that she "looked for a place like this” when she moved to Colorado. She wants guests to feel at home, so she and her staff focus on inviting hospitality that creates an environment conducive to lingering over a second cup of tea.
Bumble Tea serves a breakfast menu of waffles, quiches, pastries and breakfast burritos and offers a selection of salads and sandwiches. High tea is available without a reservation, or come in for a fresh-baked giant cinnamon roll on Cinnamon Roll Saturday. The tea shop also serves coffee from Copper Door, kombucha, purple unicorn lemonade and fresh pressed juice.
A few tastes from Siffring's native Hawaii also appear on the menu, such as "pau hana" waffles with red adzuki-bean paste and vanilla ice cream, and the must-taste butter mochi, a delicious Hawaiian version of the Japanese rice cake. The owner also enjoys creating new food and tea flavors in the open-view kitchen.
Among Bumble's offering are tea blends that Siffring creates herself. The Hot Mama, a rooibos tea and spice combination, is particularly good. She began selling her blends at farmers' markets in 2014, then attended culinary school and worked in restaurants, with the goal of opening her own place.
The shop owner chose the name Bumble Tea because she loves bees and wants to bring awareness to their importance. “Bees pollinate flowers for 80 percent of the ingredients in our teas,” she notes. Bee-inspired art by nearby East High School art students and teachers adorn the shop's walls.
Bumble Tea is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call the tea shop at 720-502-4371 or visit the Bumble Tea website for more information.