Hello Everyone,
I am very excited to be posting on a site of fellow tea lovers!
My older sister and I are going on a trip to San Francisco this summer and I am looking for good tea cafe and shops to check out. I live on the east coast and I have never been to the city before, when I went to Chicago last summer I was lucky enough to find some great tea places there. I love green tea, but I enjoy almost all tea varietes and would greatly appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks!!!!
Jun 4th, '10, 22:01
Posts: 393
Joined: Apr 18th, '09, 22:56
Location: Louisiana Gulf Coast
Contact:
Dresden
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
Welcome to the forum...
While waiting for a response from someone in the area you may want to check out the TeaMap section at the top of the page.
Cheers,
Mike
While waiting for a response from someone in the area you may want to check out the TeaMap section at the top of the page.
Cheers,
Mike
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
Hello, lalany31!
I'm in San Francisco and I really hope you and your sister enjoy your visit. I'm quite in love with the city, please don't hesitate to let me know if you need any information about it, I'll do my best to help!
Some spots I have been include:
Leland Tea Company http://www.lelandtea.com/ - not high end tea, but it's a lovely quiet spot with warm woods and old furniture, the pastries are made in-house and it's run by the happiest man who absolutely loves what he does.
Imperial Tea Court http://www.imperialtea.com/ - The one in the city is in the Ferry Building (http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/), which also has a farmer's market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Sur La Table in the building also stocks a small selection of Dammann Freres teas.
Samovar Tea Lounge http://samovarlife.com/ - Two locations, there is one located right by downtown, if that is where you are staying. Good quality tea and food served here, though it's a bit expensive.
LUPICIA Fresh Tea http://www.lupiciausa.com/ - Located in the large mall on Market st. on the 2nd floor. Has a variety of teawares, Japanese teas, and flavored black teas. Lots of cans to pick up and smell.
Some places I have been meaning to check out:
Katia's Russian Tea Room http://www.katias.com/ - Located in my old neighborhood, which remains my favorite area of San Francisco. Geary St. and Clement St. a few blocks to the north are unending lines of small restaurants and shops.
Japanese Tea Garden http://japaneseteagardensf.com/ - Every time I try to take a friend from out of town there, it is closed.
Red Blossom Tea Company http://www.redblossomtea.com/ - Located in Chinatown, which is a pretty easy walk north of downtown (though up a hill)
Urasenke Foundation http://www.urasenke.org/ - A school of one of the three main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. I've not been to the location itself, but I have seen the representatives at the Asian Art Museum giving a demonstration.
More when I get back from free doughnut day.
I'm in San Francisco and I really hope you and your sister enjoy your visit. I'm quite in love with the city, please don't hesitate to let me know if you need any information about it, I'll do my best to help!
Some spots I have been include:
Leland Tea Company http://www.lelandtea.com/ - not high end tea, but it's a lovely quiet spot with warm woods and old furniture, the pastries are made in-house and it's run by the happiest man who absolutely loves what he does.
Imperial Tea Court http://www.imperialtea.com/ - The one in the city is in the Ferry Building (http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/), which also has a farmer's market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Sur La Table in the building also stocks a small selection of Dammann Freres teas.
Samovar Tea Lounge http://samovarlife.com/ - Two locations, there is one located right by downtown, if that is where you are staying. Good quality tea and food served here, though it's a bit expensive.
LUPICIA Fresh Tea http://www.lupiciausa.com/ - Located in the large mall on Market st. on the 2nd floor. Has a variety of teawares, Japanese teas, and flavored black teas. Lots of cans to pick up and smell.
Some places I have been meaning to check out:
Katia's Russian Tea Room http://www.katias.com/ - Located in my old neighborhood, which remains my favorite area of San Francisco. Geary St. and Clement St. a few blocks to the north are unending lines of small restaurants and shops.
Japanese Tea Garden http://japaneseteagardensf.com/ - Every time I try to take a friend from out of town there, it is closed.
Red Blossom Tea Company http://www.redblossomtea.com/ - Located in Chinatown, which is a pretty easy walk north of downtown (though up a hill)
Urasenke Foundation http://www.urasenke.org/ - A school of one of the three main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. I've not been to the location itself, but I have seen the representatives at the Asian Art Museum giving a demonstration.
More when I get back from free doughnut day.
Jun 4th, '10, 23:40
Posts: 54
Joined: Feb 16th, '10, 22:36
Location: San Francisco, CA
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
I live in San Francisco and can also recommend Red Blossom and Samovar. Samovar prepares their tea pretty well and has nice food items. I go to the one by the Zen Center because that's my neighborhood, which is not the one downtown mentioned above. Very nice room.
I've bought some Lupicia teas which were good but not that many because it seems like they are often out of stock except for flavored tea which I generally do not like. They are very nice people working there and they will brew any tea you're interested in.
The Japanese Tea Garden is a nice visit. The tea shop serves genmaicha and a little dish of Japanese crackers - or they used to. There is an admission fee to the garden ($7 I think) and the tea serivce is $2 or $3 I think (haven't been in awhile), but you would also be right at the DeYoung Museum and The California Academy of Sciences, both also worth a visit.
I've bought some Lupicia teas which were good but not that many because it seems like they are often out of stock except for flavored tea which I generally do not like. They are very nice people working there and they will brew any tea you're interested in.
The Japanese Tea Garden is a nice visit. The tea shop serves genmaicha and a little dish of Japanese crackers - or they used to. There is an admission fee to the garden ($7 I think) and the tea serivce is $2 or $3 I think (haven't been in awhile), but you would also be right at the DeYoung Museum and The California Academy of Sciences, both also worth a visit.
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
I've heard good things about the Aroma Tea Shop in the Inner Richmond District as well - http://www.aromateashop.com/store/
And multiple people have mentioned afternoon tea at The Fairmont hotel - http://www.fairmont.com/empress/GuestSe ... oonTea.htm
Wonderful Foods and Cafe is my favorite place for boba in the city - http://www.yelp.com/biz/wonderful-foods ... -francisco
And of course there's a book about SF tea culture if you want to take a look - The Way to Tea by Jennifer Leigh Sauer. http://www.waytotea.com/
And multiple people have mentioned afternoon tea at The Fairmont hotel - http://www.fairmont.com/empress/GuestSe ... oonTea.htm
Wonderful Foods and Cafe is my favorite place for boba in the city - http://www.yelp.com/biz/wonderful-foods ... -francisco
And of course there's a book about SF tea culture if you want to take a look - The Way to Tea by Jennifer Leigh Sauer. http://www.waytotea.com/
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
Thank you all so much for all the info it will be an amazing help!
The Samovar looks fantastic, being that I am vegetarian!
What is the price range there? I didn't see any pricing next to the tea menu options...
We only have five days in the city, and so many things to do it is overwhelming!!!
The Samovar looks fantastic, being that I am vegetarian!
What is the price range there? I didn't see any pricing next to the tea menu options...
We only have five days in the city, and so many things to do it is overwhelming!!!
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
Hello. My name is Darius. I am the assistant manager at Teance in Berkeley, CA. We Have a really nice tea shop with a tea bar available for tasting our teas. We carry all whole leaf and seasonal teas. We just received our fresh harvest green and oolongs.
Last edited by Chip on Jun 6th, '10, 19:44, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Link removed, please see forum rules under Introduction. Thank you.
Reason: Link removed, please see forum rules under Introduction. Thank you.
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
If I recall correctly, the meal prices with tea at Samovar run in the $18-25 range.
I've been to Teance in Berkeley once too (don't know if you're going across the bay or not) and it's a lovely venue with gorgeous teawares. It's set in a nice neighborhood with a lot of upscale-ish stores.
I've been to Teance in Berkeley once too (don't know if you're going across the bay or not) and it's a lovely venue with gorgeous teawares. It's set in a nice neighborhood with a lot of upscale-ish stores.
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
I am bookmarking this thread for my next trip to SF!!
Thanks for all the good info.
Thanks for all the good info.
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
ITC has some good veg options as well.lalany31 wrote:Thank you all so much for all the info it will be an amazing help!
The Samovar looks fantastic, being that I am vegetarian!
Jun 14th, '10, 18:40
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Hello- I already have a question :)
Lalany31, a very tardy hello and welcome to you and to Teacher1 as well. I hope to see you around the forum.