Coral Way's delicious specialTEA Lounge & Café

During my senior year of high school, my friend group and I would stop at least once a week after school at the local Starbucks. I loved how convenient it was to just cross the street and grab my favorite egg pesto sandwich; we'd stay there for hours chatting and gossiping, truly feeling like high schoolers. And to think I could replicate the same ritual once I started college at FIU's several Starbucks locations.

While I have stopped by a few times to grab lunch, the exponentially larger student body and scattered class times make it harder to share that nostalgic high school experience. With early closing times and limited seating as well, Starbucks here is truly where you just grab and go. Well, what if I wanted to sit with my friends over a cup of coffee or health-conscious meal after class somewhere just as close as Starbucks, that's open later, and even cheaper?

specialTEA Lounge & Café has been serving the local Miami-Dade County community since 2009, starting out as a tea shop that has naturally expanded into a cozy café.

Ever since a good friend recommended me this place my first semester, I've been absolutely addicted to it. You can come here to just chill, do homework, play the board games and read the books they provide for guests, and enjoy a comforting drink and meal. It's open for breakfast on weekdays and serves until between 8 and 11 pm, making this place super convenient for a late-night snack. As someone who lives in West End and attends FIU, coming here after class or even from home is always a convenient 5 to 15-minute drive down Coral Way.

Even better, it's the perfect spot to catch the social-friendly vibe of Miami without the overstimulation of flashing lights and loud music. People tend to imagine Miami as a vibrant party town, and while that might be nice for tourists and transfer students, this is my home and I need places to hang out for people my age where I don't have to dress up all fancy or worry about breaking the bank. More so, I need a spot where I can be productive and still get a feel for my local community. At specialTEA, you get the best of both worlds: a social hub for college students and locals, but also the perfect spot to just grab a cup of tea and relax while doing homework. You're neither isolated nor disrupted, perfect for extroverts and introverts alike.

The employees have all been wonderfully friendly as well. For a relaxed cafe that isn't a sit-down restaurant or the occasion to mentally prepare to tip 25%, the servers are incredibly attentive and genuinely want to accommodate to your needs and ensure you enjoy your experience. They will smile when you order, accept 10% student discounts if you show your FIU Panther ID, and serve the food and drinks to you even if you're just grabbing them to go. They'll even ask if you're allergic to the ingredient you may want to remove from your meal; I'm not allergic to tomatoes, but I don't like them, so I always ask for no tomatoes on my food. The server asks if it's due to an allergy to make sure that not an ounce of tomato lands into my bowl. This is the kind of attentiveness I wish all food spots had towards their customers.

I came by last Thursday after work to have one of my favorite diet-friendly menu items: the Pesto Chicken whole wheat wrap. Here, you're able to customize either a wrap, panini (also known as the "panino"), salad, or quinoa and brown rice bowl for specific arrangements such as the Pesto Chicken - comes with grilled chicken, vegan mozzarella, pesto spread, tomatos. Even better: every meal I've had here has given me enough portions for two meals for under $10. And if you're someone who's even diet-friendlier than diet-friendly - that statement made no sense, specialTEA provides a vegan menu for vegan versions of all food options.

Ironically enough, I'm not much of a coffee or tea person, so what keeps me coming back besides the food and prices? The cookies! All made vegan with several set flavors (chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, matcha chocolate chip, marshmallow, cookies & cream, and walnut chocolate), each cookie is about medium-sized and absolutely delicious. If you get them fresh, about $1.50-$1.75 each. My personal favorite is the matcha chocolate chip - as someone who heavily dislikes matcha, this one surprisingly won me over. The bitterness of the matcha meshes perfectly with the silky sweetness of the chocolate chips, creating a sweet but not TOO sweet taste. If you're like me and dark chocolate is your favorite type of chocolate, I highly recommend this one.

The absolute best part: whichever cookies baked the previous day don't get sold, the employees preserve them in bags to be sold the next day for only $1, though these have to be eaten soon after purchase (I recommend no more than 2 days after). I may or may not have bought nearly 10 cookies in one sitting before because my goodness, they were cheap! They're still sugary sweets, and I would still suggest eating them sparingly, but I have ever so slightly less guilt eating them while trying to diet.

specialTEA also has seasonal dessert items available including different cookie varieties, Rice Krispie treats, dessert cups, and mini cakes. These are more experimental, so not every single one that I've tried has been a hit, I won't be dishonest. However, ones I highly recommend are the blueberry matcha sugar cookie during the beginning of summer and the chocolate cake/cup desserts during winter. What took the cake (haha), however, was this year's Valentine's Day treat. I essentially died and went to heaven after trying their strawberry Rice Krispie treat dipped in chocolate with a strawberry drizzle and chocolate heart candy on top. Can you blame me? It's adorable to just look at! And it was a fair price too, under $3. If you don't have a date (and even if you do), let your date be this perfect sweet treat.

As my graduation nears, specialTEA will still be somewhere I can visit on a lunch break or outing with friends and family. For the value and quality of their items, it's worth checking out if you're in the area. And if you do, make sure you get there before I empty that $1 cookie basket again...

specialTEA Lounge & Cafe is located at 10764 SW 24th St, University Park, FL