The Lime Stand: Hand-Smashed Lime Tea in Portland

The Lime Stand, which offers hand-smashed lime tea, is open on NE Alberta in the old Kulfi space. There you can enjoy a variety of unique drinks, ones you really can’t find anywhere else in Portland. I reached out to Jimmy and Elaine, owners of The Lime Stand, to learn more about them and their arrival in the Alberta Arts District.

The Lime Stand’s Predecessor on NE Alberta, Kulfi

In September we learned that Kulfi, a South Asian-inspired artisanal ice cream and kulfi company, had outgrown the location that would be the future home to The Lime Stand. The reason for leaving? They were moving to a larger space on N Williams. Kulfi offers kulfi, ice pops, ice cream and falooda (a mix of ice cream, rice noodles, basil seeds, jelly, sweet milk, and nuts). You may have seen their carts around town over the years.

A Little Background: The Lime Stand

The Lime Stand started up in 2024, launching at the Montavilla Farmers Market in early May. They popped up in Vancouver, WA, had a presence at the Legendary Makers Market, among other places. They did very well at these events—so well, that in October they shared the news that they would be leaving the Montavilla market and moving to their own space on NE Alberta.

I asked them how they found their location there, and it was a connection with the Kulfi folks that started the process. “We’ve known the owners of Kulfi for a few months now,” explained Jimmy. When they were vending at the Montavilla Farmers Market, one of Kulfi’s owners, Gagan, was chatting with them and mentioned that he want to close up their Alberta location.

“We have already been thinking about what’s next after the market, since we only started in May,” said Jimmy. “But we wanted to keep the momentum going. So we went home and thought that it would be a great opportunity for us to take over that location. We expressed our interest to him and got the ball rolling.”

The Concept

The concept of hand smashed lime tea has origins in China. “It is inspired by my cousin,” explained Jimmy. “He owns a deli in Guangdong, China (formerly Canton) and he sells hand-smashed lime tea and fresh handmade sandwiches. We visited my family last year and Elaine had some of his drinks and really liked it.”

He continues, “When we came back to the U.S., we couldn’t find it anywhere, so I asked my cousin for the recipe. We made some modifications to it with ingredients that we can source locally in Portland. Then we shared with our friends, and they also liked it and asked us to make it for them often.”

“Then we thought that we could make them at our local farmers market, and it was a hit! Market-goers loved our drinks and really enjoyed trying something new; the combination of lime and tea was not heard of often. The result was refreshing and thirst quenching!”

BTW, “The Lime Stand,” name is a riff on the American “lemonade stand.”

Why Hand Smash?

Over on Instagram, they list out answers to the question, “Why hand smash?” when it comes to limes for the tea drinks. The answers are threefold and one is slightly cheeky: 1) hearing the satisfying sound of the smashing stick hitting the ice and lime together; 2) smashing effectively gets the oil out from the rinds and juice out from the pulp; and 3) it relieves stress.

You can watch the smashing progress on The Lime Stand’s Instagram. The smash the limes, mix the resulting juice with sugar, and add it to the tea.

And sure, you could use a blender to grind it all up, but the end result would be different. Think about how different guacamole or a curry paste is when you crush ingredients in a molcajete or mortar & pestle compared to whirring it in a blender. Pounding the ingredients helps release the flavor in its own special way. It also doesn’t heat up the ingredients like a blender can.

More About Jimmy and Elaine

I wanted to get to know Jimmy and Elaine a little more and hear about their experience with food and hospitality. Both of them have worked in restaurants, as well as having parents who have worked in restaurants.

“As a first generation Asian American, my family didn’t have much of a choice on where they can work,” remarked Jimmy. “My parents both worked at restaurants growing up. My dad is a cook and my mom is a dim sum cart lady.”

He adds, “I moved to the U.S. when I was 12 and lived in Seattle. I always found myself going back to working at restaurants part time, so it was only natural for me to start my own shop. Elaine’s dad has always worked at a restaurant, and her parents owned a sushi restaurant when she was little and sold it when she was in college. Elaine used to go to the restaurant after school and help out. “

The Lime Stand Space

I’m always curious about the design of a space, which is part of that trifecta of qualities: food, service, and atmosphere. I wondered, who is designing the space? What is the vibe?

“Both of us have been pitching in ideas!” said Jimmy, about the space. “We want the vibe to be odd and funny. Like, we have a piece of art of a banana eating a banana. Our logo is a lime smashing limes. Soon we will have an awesome Insta-worthy wall with our custom made The Lime Stand neon sign.”

The Lime Stand’s style is casual “We want people come and go as they are, come grab a drink, see us smash the limes. Chat with us, or just order, and take it to go!”

The Lime Stand Menu

At this point, the menu is pretty straightfoward: iced smashed lime teas, for the most part. They also offer hot tea and lattes that go with dessert.

I asked Jimmy and Elaine what their favorite thing on the menu is. For Jimmy, it’s The Routine. And for Elaine, it’s The Wingin’ It.

At the shop they are open from noon to 7pm on Fridays to Sundays. Look for longer hours once the weather gets warmer (which will be a while). 

A final thought: “Our technique of hand smashed lime tea and that our menu are and will be inspired by our travels,” explains Jimmy. “We want to share the unique food and drinks that we like when we travel to our community.”

Thanks to Jimmy and Elaine for contributing to this article. And if you’re looking for something refreshing, different, and tasty, head to The Lime Stand.

The Lime Stand [opened October 18, 2024]
5009 NE 15th Avenue, Portland
Instagram