Karak Tea Serves Middle Eastern Teas, Snacks and Desserts in Plano

Nestled in one of Plano’s many shopping complexes sits Karak Tea Bakery & Cafe, a charming hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern coffee shop that opened its doors just over a month ago.

The brainchild of Jordanian native Tariq Alkafaween, the shop draws inspiration from the culinary cultures of Jordan, Qatar and Dubai, all places the entrepreneur has lived. In just a few weeks, Karak has garnered attention for its oven-baked flatbreads, fresh-pressed juices and Middle Eastern pies – all served in a friendly atmosphere.

“In places like Dubai and Qatar, it’s common to find these shops on every corner, places where you can grab a tea, enjoy a small snack and relax in the inviting ambiance,” Alkafaween says. “I wanted to bring that concept to Dallas.”

It’s certainly not a concept we see on every street corner in Dallas. Curiosity brought us in to taste.

Every part of the decor here is intentional. Plush lounge chairs and pillows lie scattered in the intimate dining space, while grass-adorned walls and chandeliers will make a weekday visit last longer than it should. Even the floor tiles, Alkafaween says, were handcrafted from scratch, marbled with colorful streaks of paint to add yet another dimension of allure to the small storefront.

The fascination continues in a three-paged menu filled with food, beverages and traditional MIddle Eastern desserts. Try one of the 20 flatbread pies on the menu, charred-to-order in Karak’s traditional wood-fired oven. Pies like the manakeesh (a mincemeat pie tossed in spices) or the za’atar, topped with tangy herbs and Middle Eastern Akkawi cheese, all sell for between $2.99 and $6.99. They’re shareable, making them an almost dangerously cheap midday indulgence. Flaky samosa pastries pocketed with cheese or meats and buttery paratha wraps add more savory options to a sweet-dominated menu.

Food items make a good pairing with any of Karak’s teas or juices served in exotic flavors such as the saffron karak tea tinted with fresh saffron petals. Or try the mint juice, a refreshing blend of lemon, ginger and mint. The spot is one of the first in the Dallas area to make its own sugarcane juice, a typical Asian delicacy squeezed in-house from stalks of fresh sugarcane.

Nothing tops off the visit better than the cheese pulls on one of Karak’s knafeh, a Middle Eastern dessert made of crispy phyllo shreds and melted sweet cheese. Soaked in sugar syrup, the knafeh is a cheese-based version of baklava, a nut-based dessert that also sits plentifully in Karak’s bakery shelves in six different varieties.

Alkawafeen, who left his job in Jordan as an investment banker to open the coffee shop, says he doesn’t regret the career transition. “I moved here to America to experiment in a new life and new opportunity,” he says. “It’s been amazing to bring something from home here, to Dallas. And to see people enjoying the foods from my hometown… it’s been so rewarding.”

Karak Tea, 1820 Coit Road, No. 138, Plano. Sunday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – midnight.