Mana Tea is clever, decadent and inviting

Peace, tranquility, kindness, the perfect drink; all can be found at Mana Tea at 411 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.

As I was searching for somewhere new to go, I found Mana Tea online and instantly smiled. "If," I thought, "this company doesn't take advantage of that pun and use a manatee for a logo, I will be highly disappointed." I wasn't disappointed. The logo is indeed an adorable manatee that flirts with being cute but still looks sophisticated. The play on words doesn't end there. According to Merriam-Webster, the word mana can be defined as: "the power of the elemental forces of nature embodied in an object or person." That's a mighty powerful statement to attribute to tea, but Mana Tea did give me an experience I won't soon forget and hope to repeat. It was here that I first tasted cheese tea.

Oof. I do wish that a different name had been chosen for this drink, because cheese tea just brought to my mind the images of black tea, strings of melty cheese oozing from the stirring spoon (totally inaccurate, by the way). But when I saw "salted cheese foam topping" on the menu, I just knew that I had to try it. It sounded weird and different, and that is my favorite part of being able to try new places for these articles: the hope that I will try something I've never tasted and deeply enjoy it. Salted cheese foam is a heavenly mixture of cream cheese and other flavors, whipped to a rich airiness and sitting on top of the drink. Think a whipping cream topping, but denser and far more flavorful.

I ordered a Green Tea Salted Cheese Foam, which was just a cold green tea base with the cheese foam on top. The woman working the register was delightful, patient when I told her that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and kind as she walked me through my options. Don't be scared of the menu when you arrive. You, too, will be guided through it, and by the end, you'll be an old pro.

I had to decide how sweet I wanted my tea, and she told me that the standard sweetness was 50%, but you could up it or lower it by 25% increments to find the perfect sweetness for you. I stuck with 50% and feel it was the right choice for me; it was still sweet with more than just a hint of sugar, but not so sweet as to make me nauseous. My husband ordered a fruit-based strawberry tea at 50% sweetness and added the creme brûlee foam topping, which I guess was an unusual flavor combination. He had no regrets.

A perfect example of the serene decor and inviting nature of Mana TeaSubmitted by Rebecca LaClair

The teas came out sealed with delightful anime character lids and were served with pointy straws we promptly stuck through the lids. Now, I've done a little research since my visit, and according to senchateabar.com, cheese tea is supposed to be sipped from the rim, not sucked through a straw. You are supposed to tilt the cup and get a sip of tea and a bit of foam in your mouth with each drink. This allows the flavors to be experienced both individually and combined. Well, I did that part wrong this time around, but I did taste the foam by itself, all rich and buttery with a hint of salt, and the tea alone, sweet and earthy. About halfway through, I swirled the cup, combining the two layers, and ended up with something that very much resembled a milkshake in texture and flavor. I loved every sip.

The strawberry tea had real strawberry pieces and was sweet without being syrupy. The creme brûlee foam topping was thick and rich as well, but tasted more like a caramel-based cookie. When tasted with the tea, it tasted like strawberry cookies, fresh, light and delightful.

We drank our tea in silence after a couple of quietly murmured "mmmm"s. The atmosphere was calming and inviting, with beautiful simple decor and board games on the tables indicating that it was OK to stay and relax for a while.

I can't wait to go back. More than artisan hot tea, more than boba tea, more than any other tea I've ever tried, this cheese tea is more than exotic and different. It is simply delicious, decadent, and soothing.