Inside Look: New Leaf Tea House in Casselberry!

New Leaf Tea House in Casselberry, Florida, is a popular locally-owned boba tea spot that opened in late 2023, right on the corner of SR 436 and Red Bug Lake Road in the plaza with Colorado Fondue Company.

It’s a cozy cafe with handcrafted drinks— featuring hand-made tapioca pearl bobas, fruit teas, milk teas, lemonades, and coffees topped with cheese foam.

They also have specialty treats: house made ube cookies and other flavored cookies that change often as well as Japanese taiyaki, fish-shaped waffles stuffed with fillings like red bean or Oreo.

New Leaf Tea House is a vibe – perfect for studying or meeting up with friends —clean, modern, with Studio Ghibli art and a kid-friendly atmosphere, plus board games to kill time.

We spoke with Tom Young, co-owner of New Leaf to find out more! Read on:

Plus Instagram Giveaway Contest for $25 gift cards to New Leaf

Interview with Tom Young, New Leaf Tea House

What are the most popular items right now at New Leaf?
Our five most popular items right now would have to be our Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Boba, Strawberry Matcha Latte, Thai Tea, Jasmine Milk Tea, and of course our classic Taro Milk.
For those who have never been before, how would you describe New Leaf to customers?
We’re a family-owned tea shop offering a variety of Boba Teas, Coffee, Taiyaki, and fresh bakery items. All drinks and bakery items are made with care and passion, crafted from scratch in-house with the highest quality ingredients, We aim to always provide the freshest flavors possible. Our space is designed to be a welcoming environment heavily influenced on Japanese culture where you can relax, work, draw, read, play games, while enjoying your tea.
Tell us about your boba – what makes it special?
We’re one of few boba shops in Orlando that makes our boba fresh in-house every day. Each morning, we roll the boba dough by hand, and our boba machine perfectly shapes each ball for the freshest, most chewy, and most delicious boba you’ve ever had.
What are some other unique items here and what makes New Leaf stand out?
Our Taiyaki (Japanese fish-shaped cake) is one-of-a-kind. Like all our products, we make the Taiyaki batter in-house using our own specially crafted recipe. While we offer traditional fillings like Red Bean, we also get creative with unique options such as Oreo, Nutella, Strawberry Cream Cheese, and Guava Cream Cheese. We’re always experimenting with new flavors.

Tell us about your backgrounds and how New Leaf came to be?
Our background is in tech and the pharmaceutical industry, but our true passion lies in Boba! The idea began years ago, when we traveled to different countries, sampling their drinks to inspire our own offerings. We spent years perfecting our recipes before finally opening New Leaf. As avid Boba lovers, we wanted to create a local spot where people could enjoy high-quality drinks, without having to drive over across the city and we’re thrilled to share our passion with the community.
What are some upcoming plans for New Leaf this year?
We’ve had a blast hosting local events at New Leaf, and we’re planning more in the future! We’re always working on new and improved flavors. In the next month, we’ll be taking another trip to Japan, and we can’t wait to bring back inspiration from all the amazing food and drinks we try there. We plan to introduce more unique desserts and some savory options soon. Also, something many have requested that I’d love to offer is the option to purchase our loose-leaf tea to take home or have it freshly brewed and served right at your table for an even more special experience.
Tell us about the cookies!
Our cookies are made with plenty of love! Baked in-house from scratch in small batches, we offer a rotating selection of unique flavors. Our Ube Cookies and Cream is a customer favorite, while my personal go-to is the Raspberry Cheesecake. Since our flavors change frequently, there’s always something new to try. For the ultimate experience, I highly recommend ordering them warmed up to enjoy them at their freshest!

Visit them soon!