7 Leaves Cafe

Starting in Westminster and now operating over a dozen locations in Orange County from its Garden Grove headquarters, 7 Leaves Cafe is the definition of a “good” tea and coffee shop, with the potential for more. Most of its stores focus substantially on cold drinks while offering modest pastry options, including up to eight flavors of macaron cookies (down from 10), and sometimes croffles (warm croissant waffles, served with vanilla dipping cream) and croissants. At one point, 7 Leaves sold Cream Pan’s famous strawberry croissants, but switched to its own sweets shortly after the pandemic. It also teamed up with Crema Bakery for Artisan, an oversized location in Fountain Valley that combines 7 Leaves drinks with a large collection of pastries and brunch items.

Though their drink menu is short, the quality of their tea and coffee drinks tends to be above average and sometimes really great. In addition to serving as a reliable source of Vietnamese coffee, served with milk, condensed milk, or salty “sea cream,” a Mint Serano mixes coffee with mint syrup, cream, and brown sugar. On the tea side, a similar mint accent punches up the Summer Mint, made with green tea, orange, and lotus petals, while drinks such as strawberry hibiscus tea and powerfully herbal green Thai tea tastefully extend beyond typical local tea shops.