First Look: Slow Down at Interlude With Fluffy Taiwanese Sponge Cakes and Complex Tea Drinks

At the end of 2024, Sean Then opened Cafe Tomi, a North Melbourne coffee shop where he makes specialty coffee drinks such as chamomile long blacks and Cold Brew Negronis (an alcohol-free drink that incorporates bitter orange and shiso). Earlier this year, he followed it up with Bar Kaeru, a CBD saké spot that hopes to make even more Melburnians fall in love with the drink. Now, he’s turned his attention to Chinese and Japanese teas.

His new tea house and bakery, Interlude, is in the same building as Bar Kaeru. “We’re bringing a tea culture here that lots of people [in Melbourne] haven’t been exposed to – especially Chinese tea,” Then says.

On any given day, there are about five different special tea drinks, three cold brew teas and more than 20 unique hot teas on offer. Teas include oolong, green, black and red teas from China and Japan. Then says the Japanese varieties are generally “a bit more straightforward, light and refreshing,” than their Chinese counterparts. Current highlights include a Japanese kubu green tea that’s “nutty, grassy and a bit earthy” and an oolong tea from Chao Zhou in China that the team has named Autumn Snow because it has a “silky, velvety texture [that feels] almost like the tea is melting on the palate.”

Then develops all Interlude’s changing roster of tea drinks, drawing on experience he gained developing cocktails while working at saké bar Leonie Upstairs. The tea base is always the starting point, and he challenges himself to create drinks that “make the tea shine.” He’s particularly fond of Interlude’s peach oolong tea – Chinese oolong mixed with a peach syrup and house-made caramel, topped with a matcha foam to help mitigate the sweetness and add a textural element. 

Joining Then are head baker Taylor Kim of Plot and head pastry chef Kyoko Miyazaki, a former sous pastry chef at Sepia and Society who is also behind Japanese parfait pop-up Yoruyoru. 

“When you go to a savoury restaurant, you get teishoku, which is a main dish with some sides. So for us, it’s similar: you’ve got the main thing, which is the tea, and you’ve got some little bites on the side,” says Then. 

Kim specialises in danishes, which are used as a base for the team to get creative with. Savoury numbers include chorizo and cheddar, and a corn cheese danish inspired by Kim’s Korean heritage. Plus, there are seasonal, fruitier numbers such as a raspberry danish and a fig option.

Miyazaki creates other desserts including matcha pudding, miso caramel and apple financiers, and an oolong-infused Taiwanese castella cake – an incredibly soft and fluffy sponge cake – with an oolong cream and crystalised tea leaves on top. Soon, she’ll also be dishing out dango (rice flour dumplings) and a selection of petits fours. 

True to its name, Interlude is intended to be “a space for people who want escape and a little quiet time in the busy CBD to take a break,” Then says. There’s an artificial skylight, which, alongside the tiled flooring, is designed to help people feel more connected to nature. 

Interlude
Level 1 62/64 Little La Trobe Street, Melbourne
No phone

Hours 
Daily 9.30am–4.30pm

@interlude.melbourne