Gimbocha - A Meticulous Tea House Café Oozing With Detail and Passion
Gimbocha is a special place to enjoy and learn about the various teas of the world
Gimbocha is a recently opened café that specializes in tea, you guy’s don’t know how much that excites me, finally a place that gives some importance to tea!
I say it’s a café but in this case it’s more correct to call it a tea house but I’ll just call it a café because that’s what the majority of people will refer Gimbocha as. Modern and trendy tea houses are quite rare in Bangkok as most people are more familiar with the usual coffee drinks, so this places is really special.
Admittedly right off the bat, this place was a bit difficult to find as the café is located in a tight alleyway surrounded by unassuming houses. Seriously, I thought I was walking into someone’s home as the area looks like a residential area.
Affiliate Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. By clicking on the links and purchasing the product, I will receive a partial commission. All of these products are ones that I fully trust and recommend with my heart. For more information please read Affiliate Disclaimer.
Cozy Home Vibes
The exterior of Gimbocha looks like someone’s front door
That nitpick does work well in Gimbocha’s favor however, as the residential area gives way to the feeling of comfort and coziness. Gimbocha’s interior AND exterior design oozes coziness.
RELATED: Mil Toast House - Korea’s Famously Decadent Toast Cafe in Thailand!
There is also bar counter style seating if you want to watch the staff prepare your drinks
The interior décor is traditional and slightly vintage with wooden furniture and wall tiling. Potted plants, both big and small, are littered all over to give the room a natural feeling.
You’ll also find a few seating options ranging from bar counter style seating to soft and comfy sofas.
I seriously love the interior design here as the place feels lived like it’s somebody’s home.
Take a moment to just look and appreciate the creativity
On the far end of the café you’ll find a wall full of Japanese style ink paintings, all of these are made by the customers who enjoyed their time at Gimbocha.
It was fun to look at all the different designs as well as marveling at the creativity and artistic skill of the patrons.
I could never achieve that same level of artistic talent…
My attempt at painting a cat, hope that this goes one display :)
If you ever feel bored of enjoying the tea or wishing there was something to do, there is a water painting and coloring set in one corner of the café, feel free to take a few paint brushes or coloring pencils and start letting your creativity go wild.
There is also a bird cage with a resident bird out on display for people to interact with.
But wandering around the café is the mascot, a beautiful gray cat that I will talk more about later on.
Bangkok is a city with a growing café scene run by a generation of young creatives full of passion and vigor. If you are looking for a serene afternoon tea experience at Thailand’s largest shopping mall that embodies the vision of the café scene, then book a set menu here for Divana Signature Café at Central World for a a cheaper price than if you were to order in person at the café.
Gimbocha’s Menu, Teas Galore!
There is so much tea to choose from…
Gimbocha’s Menu regarding different types of tea is really really extensive, so much so that to someone who isn’t well versed in tea (like me) will be completely lost when ordering. Don’t worry as the staff is really helpful and will describe each tea leaf in great detail and will provide you with recommendations based on what taste profile you are looking for.
The menu can be divided into 3 parts:
Traditional Tea (leaves)
All types of teas here such as:
White Tea
Green Tea
Oolong Tea
Red Tea
Black Tea
And the categories are further divided into different regions and origins, all with different taste profiles from sweet and floral to caramel-y and nutty. So many descriptive words for tastes that I can improve my vocabulary just from reading the menu.
Modern Tea Drinks
These are your classic iced tea drinks that you’ll find in your everyday café.
There are all sorts of iced tea drinks from classic to unique blends some interesting items are:
Pink Osmanthus Oolong Milk Tea
Strawberry Lime Earlgrey Tea
Orange Jasmine Tea
Snacks
There are some snacks that are available
Mochi Cakes - A mooncake made with mochi and various fillings like red bean or black sesame
Toasted Mantou - Steamed Chinese Bun that has been toasted and served with condensed milk
Nama Chocolate - Soft and chewy chocolate fudge
Pricing
The pricing is very cheap for a café, for a regular Iced Tea, each drink will be around or under 100 THB, same for the snacks and desserts with the Mantou coming in at just 50 THB and the Mochi cakes 90 THB.
If you are looking to order their traditional teas (which you must) it will be more expensive coming in at around 150 - 250 THB depending on the type of tea.
Keemun Black Tea
I really like the presentation here, the attention to detail is wonderful
After a brief and helpful discussion with the staff, my partner and I ordered the Keemun Black Tea, a famous Chinese tea that is used in many classic tea blends.
The tea was served in this tea making set that is accompanied by a little potted plant. This got me excited as I had never seen this type of presentation before from a café.
When I saw the tea leaves out for display I know this place was something special.
I was told that the Keemun Black Tea exhibits a gentle and light malty taste with a little hint of nuttiness, I can confirm that this is true.
The taste is a little floral as well, and with every sip I can feel complexity of the flavor of the tea leaves.
This is not doubt helped by the technique in which you are suppose to prepare the tea.
Technique and Methodology
You could tell the expertise of the staff member as she taught us how to brew our tea
One of the most interesting and fun things to learn was that there was a specific method to brewing the tea leaves.
This can get a little confusing, even now as I am typing this blog post I’m not sure if I can accurately recall the steps but I will try my best.
Before you even start brewing the tea, there is a little cleaning ceremony you’ll have to do:
Pour hot water into the tea pot
Proceed to use the tea pot to clean the tea cups and plates
Once everything has been doused in hot water now is the time to actually start brewing the Keemun Black Tea.
Pour the tea leaves in to the tea pot and pour in your hot water.
Let the tea leaves *steep.
Pour out all of your tea from the tea pot into the clear serving jug.
Serve the tea from the serving jug into your tea cups.
Make sure the lid of the tea pot is open until you start your next brew.
Repeat steps 2 - 6 until you are finished enjoying your tea time.
*Note: The steep time increases by 15 seconds for every consecutive brew, as the tea leaves start brewing they will start loosing their flavor which is why the brew times are longer. The initial brew time is 15 seconds.
Is it complicated? Not really, you’ll get the hang of it and plus you’ll feel like you are performing a relaxing and enlightening ritual.
I love their little plastic standee of their store’s mascot
You’ll notice that this café exudes charm from their decorations, to the display wall of customer paintings, etc…
RELATED: Mizu by Sankyodai - Amazing and Affordable Japanese Omakase in Bangkok
I am allergic to cat hair but how can I resist?
But the most charming thing of all is their mascot, Now I didn’t get a chance to ask for the name, and to be honest, I don’t even know the gender of this cat… Yeah sorry for my lack of competence.
Many times during our afternoon tea at Gimbocha, we saw the cat (I’ll just call it Gimbocha) running up and down the stairs, jumping onto tables, and escaping through the front door. It sounds chaotic and admittedly it was, but Gim didn’t cause any disturbances or annoyances to our tea house dining experience.
Gim was just a very cute and charming cat.
Black Sesame Milk Chocolate Mochi Cake
This looks way more fancy than it has any right to be
Of course what’s a café without some snacks!
We initially came here to try out their fried Mantou, which are soft and pillowy Chinese steamed buns that have been deep fried to give it a crunchy outer shell. Unfortunately they were out of Mantou so we got their Mochi Cakes instead.
Admittedly it was probably the right decision as it looks to be their signature snack item.
There were 2 Mochi Cakes on offer: A black sesame white chocolate one, and a matcha red bean one.
My partner doesn’t like red bean so we opted for the black sesame one, which was the right call.
I like how the mochi shell isn’t too thick, it means that they don’t skimp out on the filling
The Mochi shell was soft and chewy, and a little bit sticky, while the inside was dense and strong in fragrance and flavor.
I loved the black sesame here as it provided a great nutty aroma. While the white chocolate also provided a bit of sweetness.
I say “a bit” of sweetness because this dessert wasn’t very sweet at all, this is perfect as I don’t really like things that are too sweet.
The flavors really come together and you can really taste and appreciate all the individual ingredients.
Conclusion
Pros
A huge selection of Teas.
Great tasting desserts and aromatic teas.
The presentation of everything was so detailed and cozy, from the interior design to the plating of the drinks and snacks.
Price is not too expensive.
The cat that I do not know the name of that roams around being cute.
Cons
The location can be tricky to get to.
While the design of the café is suppose to feel home-y, this also means that there is not a lot of space and seating is limited if there is a lot of people.
Overall I would definitely recommend you check out Gimbocha, there is just so much to like here, from the large selection of great tasting teas, to the presentation and home-y vibes. The price is fair as well and plus you have a cute feline friend just roaming around entertaining customers!
On the downside, I would say that the location is unfortunate and the café itself is quite mall and cramp so it can be awkward to move around as you pick up your order or take a look at the various activities and nick knacks around the café.
Gimbocha | 9 / 10
Phone: +66 086 998 0330
Location: 36 Kasem San 1 Alley, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Opening Hours: 11:30AM - 7:00PM | Mon - Wed and Fri - Sun
Pricing: ~100 THB (or 2.90 USD) | $
Looking for Things to Do in Bangkok?
SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World - Encounter over 400 marine species and 30000 creatures
Floating Markets Day Tour - Tour 3 major markets: Damnoen Saduak, Maeklong, Amphawa
Safari World Bangkok - Meet exotic and friendly animals at Bangkok’s animal kingdom
Discounted Tickets - Browse a variety of attractions, tours, and transports all for a great price
Useful Resources for Traveling in Thailand
Tourism Information - All the information you need when traveling in Thailand
4G/5G SIM Card - 8 days, 15GB, Important for staying connected while in Thailand
Private Airport Transfers - Transfer from Suvarnabhumi Airport to the city without worry
Best Bangkok Hostels - A list of the best hostels to stay for cheap and meet new friends
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER ARTICLES!
