There’s an unexpected oasis of tranquillity in the bustling heart Hoi An. Located on a busy street, the Reaching Out Tea House is unlike any other coffee shop around. Here you can only whisper with each other and use speech cubes to place your order.
[Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, we may receive a small commission for any purchases at no extra cost to you. Lovely.]Reaching Out Tea House Behind the Scenes
Founded in 2000, Reaching Out Vietnam is a social enterprise that empowers less able people to build a better future for themselves.
Over the years, the project expanded into a network of artisan businesses to benefit the people with disability. And the Reaching Out Tea House in Hoi An is one of them.
The tea house is run entirely by hearing and speech impaired ladies. Therefore, with the help of the speech cubes placed on the table, you are encouraged to embrace the code of silence.
Reaching Out Tea House Menu
The Reaching Out Tea House menu has a nice selection of hot and cold drinks including tea, coffee and fresh juice.
Vietnamese Coffee Choices
You’ll have 3 different coffee choices featuring Arabica, Mocha and Robusta beans. If you’re unsure of which coffee to choose, you can go for the convenient coffee tasting set option and try them all.
Each coffee comes in a traditional Vietnamese drip for the ultimate experience and a small handmade cookie to keep you sweet.
Vietnamese Tea Choices
We really enjoyed drinking Vietnamese tea during our travels around the country. It has a lovely smooth taste and is often given for free as a welcome gesture at many local cafes.
If you love tea and want to try them all at Reaching Out Tea House, go for the tea tasting set which includes a mix of Green, Oolong, Jasmine or Herbal tea. The tea comes in beautifully handcrafted teapots.
The Homemade Cookies
Although both tea and coffee come with a cookie, check out the handmade cookie sample selection on the counter too. The selection includes a delightful variety of biscuits to compliment your drink.
Placing Your Order at the Reaching Out Tea House
On arrival at the Reaching Out Tea House, one of the graceful ladies will seat you at your table. You can either sit inside or outside, in the small garden at the back of the house.
But even if you sit by the open window at the front of the tea house, you can still absorb the tranquillity of the place.
Inside your menu, you’ll find a card with the drink and food options. You’ll also find each coffee and tea briefly described on the other side of your ordering sheet, which helps a lot with choosing your tea or coffee. When ready, tick the relevant boxes on the card.
To communicate with the servers, simply use the speech cubes provided on the table. It’s such a unique and fun way to communicate with the staff.
As you communicate, pay attention to the body girls’ body language. By staying here and enjoying your coffee you could even learn some basic signs.
My Reaching Out Tea House Coffee Choice
My Vietnamese Chicory local coffee came in a golden filter dripping into an accessorised glass and black sesame biscuit in a tiny plate. It also came with condensed milk and hot water jug on the side, all beautifully presented on a shiny golden tray.
Due to added chicory, the coffee has quite a distinctive flavour and a smooth after taste. And because this blend includes a mix of arabica and robusta beans, coffee isn’t bitter or too strong compared to the mighty coffee in Hanoi. I would have liked it for it to be stronger though.
The straight-up zingy lime juice came in a large blue glass and looked rather pretty on the table. The drink was complemented with 3 different syrups to add even more flavour and a beautiful cinnamon roll cake which had a very festive scent of Christmas.
Alongside tea and juice order, we also went for one of their scrumptious cookie selections.
Reaching Out Tea House Address: 131 Trần Phú, Sơn Phong, tp. Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Reaching Out Tea House Opening hours: 8:30 am – 8:30 pm
Travelling to/from Hoi An
The closest city to Hoi An is Da Nang which you can easily reach from Hue. From here, you can take a local bus which takes around an hour to get to Hoi An. For more detailed information, check out our guide to Hoi An.
From Hoi An (Da Nang), you can travel to many cool places including Hue, Mui Ne, Da Lat or Phong Nah.
For easy travels around Vietnam, we booked all our bus/train/plane tickets via the super reliable 12Go Asia website. The best thing about it is that you can book online and show your ticket on your smartphone. No need to print it!
What was your experience at the Reaching Out Tea House? Let us know in the comments below…
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