The regional tourist destination that is Finger Lakes Tea Co. has changed its business concept.
The tea shop now houses an Asian buffet at its building at 678 State Route 318 across from Waterloo Premium Outlet in Junius, Seneca County.
What's on the menu
Asian Buffet 318 recently opened, serving the traditional smorgasbord of Chinese and American food. The building is now divided up — with one-third of the space set aside for the tea shop and two-thirds dedicated to the buffet.
There are over 200 items at the buffet, ranging from lobster to macaroni and cheese. Pricing is all you can eat with dinner at $15.99 and lunch at $9.99.
New go-to spot for shoppers
It was quite busy when we stopped there recently for dinner.
There is a small food court at the outlet mall and a Greek restaurant near the food court, but not much else in the way of restaurants nearby for a large shopping complex.
This may be a new go-to place for shoppers at Waterloo Premium Outlets.
Changes in the concept
Meanwhile, Finger Lakes Tea Co. changed its business concept of a tea house with dim sum to focus just on tea.
The owners of the building and the tea company, Mark and Lily Lin, opted to lease the space to Asian Buffet 318 and no longer serve dim sum. But visitors can still enjoy the tea tasting and browse its gift shop filled with tea sets and accessories.
Here's what's offered
The tea shop offers a wide variety of teas such as its white tea that is lightly fermented. There's the popular Chinese pu erh tea that has a smoky flavor. And the light magnolia tea with a smooth texture.
All the teas are imported from China. An ambitious plan with Cornell Cooperative Extension in 2012 to grow tea on its property failed to yield results. They attempted to cover tender tea plants with plastic cups and plastic covers but the cold winters in the Finger Lakes region proved to be too much.
Now the Lin family is focused on the wholesale side of the business and developing new products. Its teas are sold at places around the Finger Lakes such as country stores and local supermarkets.
Tea bargains
Tea is my beverage of choice. But mass-produced iced teas never tempt my palate. Just as there's a movement when it comes to craft beers and coffee, craft teas are trending.
I've been making the journey to Finger Lakes Tea, which is about a 45-minute drive, to stock up on its cold brew tea. The tea bag concept makes having craft brew cold tea easy and relatively inexpensive.
Ten bags in a Mason jar sell for $15 and come in varieties such as green tea with jasmine and rose with ginger. The tea bags are offered sweetened with rock candy or in its natural state. Just fill a bottle or mason jar with water and place the tea bag in and refrigerate overnight. I usually have two or three bottles in the refrigerator.
I actually like visiting and selecting my teas. But for folks who like to let their fingers do the shopping, the teas are available online at FingerLakesTea.com.
Mary Chao is the retail and real estate reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle. Email tips to MCHAO@Gannett.com.
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January 27, 2020 at 02:48PM
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Popular tea spot adds Asian buffet. Here's what's on the menu. - Democrat & Chronicle
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