Anh’s Bread Therapy reopens bakery in Czech Village with Tea House

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids baker is finding a new avenue for therapy.

What started as Anh’s Bread Therapy in NewBo City Market in May 2024 reopened as Anh’s Bread Therapy and Tea House in the Czech Village in late April.

Now, bakery customers can linger a little longer with full tea service and steep in the culture behind tea that shapes a way of life for dozens of countries.

“Tea is a way of life, tea is zen,” said owner Anh Le. “It shouldn’t be too constrained. I want people to feel relaxed and enjoy good tea with baked goods.”

How it works

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A casual seating area and display case up front for Le’s signature baked goods is separated from a small, formal dining room in the back reserved for more elaborate tea ceremonies or British high tea, available by reservation.

Casual visitors can share a pot of tea and pastries complemented by full tea service. Each pot, priced affordably at $6-7, includes 7 grams of tea leaves and two pots of water.

Choose from rotating daily selections of green, black, herbal and the occasional oolong tea written on the blackboard.

At this tea house, technique is everything. A few degrees of heat in a tea’s water can mean the difference between a quiet simplicity and a ruined delicacy.

That’s where front-of-house manager Vivian “Vi” Dang comes in.

With each order, she washes tea to open up tea leaves, which increases its surface area and optimizes its flavor. Then, water is heated to the proper temperature.

For green tea, it’s 175 degrees.

“A lot of people drink green tea and they (think) it tastes really bad,” Dang said. “It’s because you’re scalding the tea. Everyone is boiling it at 212 degrees, but it’s supposed to be 175 to 185, max.”

Tea is steeped before it’s served, taking the guesswork out of it.

Those familiar with Anh’s bakery know how quickly her popular baked goods like Hong Kong inside-out coconut buns, kolaches, Shokupan bread and sourdough bread can sell out. For those ordering tea later in the day, a reserve of small treats, like dark shortbread cookies, are set aside to enjoy with beverages.

Other rotating selections, like coffee cake and the Japanese curry bun, add even more Asian-inspired dimensions to tea.

High tea bridging cultures

For more formal tea, Le escorts visitors to the formal dining room, separated from the front area.

A table set with silverware, crystals and ornate tea sets held for generations in Le’s Vietnamese family accent the table as Le goes through the motions far beyond a bag of Lipton.

In a typical ceremony, she serves “straight tea,” where the natural flavors of the tea leaves, such as the jasmine lotus of a Vietnamese green tea, shine without added flavorings, cream or sugar. That’s right — proper tea in the back room should be enjoyed authentically, without Western adulterations.

Owner Anh Le pours prepares a pot of green tea at Anh’s Bread Therapy and Teahouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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A sweet red bean paste filled bun and coffee cake sit out during a tea service at Anh’s Bread Therapy and Teahouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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Coffee cake at Anh’s Bread Therapy and Teahouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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A savory curry bun at Anh’s Bread Therapy and Teahouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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To the uninitiated, a cup filled with artisan tools on the table could easily be mistaken for an artist’s. Each one has a purpose in preparing the tea, loosening compressed tea, transferring tea from canister to teapot, and allowing the server to serve the tea without touching the dainty cups with her hands.

Tea is warmed with hot water before Le gives it a few swirls, optimizing tea leaves compressed into pearls to open up for better flavor. Tea, like the humans that drink it, needs time to “wake up.”

Le pours the first of the water over a ceramic Pixiu tea pet — resembling a dragon-like mythological creature, which changes colors as it, too, is awoken.

“In our culture, we believe it will bring you good luck and prosperity,” Le said.

Le walks each visitor through the first smells and first sips of tea, attuning them to the notes each one presents over time — floral, earthy or otherwise.

A first pour sip introduces one gently to the features selected. Subsequent pours, steeped longer, foster conversation and time to enjoy the baked goods.

“Here, we celebrate who we’re grateful for and what we’re grateful for — friendship, family bonds,” Le said.

Those on their tea break can enjoy Asian-inspired tea ceremonies or British high tea, the latter served with tiers of traditional finger sandwiches, pastries, clotted cream, jam, and chocolate samples.

“If you want to know more about the tea, you’re going to sit at a tea ceremony. But if you just want family time with pastries, you sit at high tea,” Le explained.

Visitors choose the type of tea — green, oolong, black or herbal. Le chooses which one is served within the type chosen as she walks guests through a variety of intricate tea cultures and facts spanning Vietnam, China, Japan and other countries.

For example, the difference between tea types isn’t necessarily the plant — it’s how the tea leaves are oxidized and treated.

Tea, like baked goods, can be therapeutic. Le, who is originally from Vietnam, hopes to introduce Americans to the way Asians enjoy tea.

“There’s a lot of people that crave (seeing) the world, but for some reason they cannot travel,” she said. “I try to bring things to them so that they can feel like they can stay home and learn about a new culture.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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