I would also check out the Aroma Tea Shop (they have 2 locations). Asha Tea House is nice especially if you want drinks to go. Red Blossom is a favorite of mine. Most of the prices at Song Tea are too high for me. Have fun!
Thank you! Looking into these. Song Tea looks so beautiful, but yes, high prices.
Asha looks great for a place to rest by Union Square! Don’t know how I missed it. Thanks again.
Bumping this up so that I can take a look at these recommendations later.
Awesome :) Welcome to SF!
Thank you but wont be there for a couple of weeks. Doing the research first…. :))
Samovar Tea Lounge in the Castro is pleasant.
Is it better than the one at the Yerba Buena center? I haven’t been to the Castro one! But my experience was still really lovely.
Ummm, no. Not better. Just a bit different. Both areas are quite lively. I just find the Castro district very vibrant and I think the tea lounge there reflects that. When SF gets good weather, visit Samovar Castro. :-D
Good to know! So I’ll be sure not to visit during the summer then ;)
People, my trip was fabulous, especially on the tea front. I did feel as though I needed to keep tea-related activities in bounds to not take complete advantage of my husband’s generous nature. So, we went to a limited number of places.
Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park – Beautiful setting. I had a decent sencha while my husband enjoyed a jasmine tea with a mocha It’s It. The tea wasn’t noteworthy – it was mostly the atmosphere that was special.
Song Tea and Ceramics – We did a tasting with four teas. Shan Lin Xi Winter Sprout, Four Seasons Red, ??? and a roasted Tieguanyin. I wish I could remember all of them. The roasted Tieguanyin was kind of a dare because I told the owner that I don’t like them. Usually they are so metallic or charcoal heavy I can’t get past that taste, but this one wasn’t and I actually liked it. I’ve done reviews of the Winter Sprout and Four Seasons. I also bought Twenty-One and Huang Meigui. More to come on those. Very friendly, relaxed experience. Beautiful space.
Red Blossom Tea – I had to get past the patronizing demeanor of the two employees who assisted us. We tried a dancong and liked it. We came home with Orange Blossom dancong, Elderflowers and San Lin Xi Oolong.
Samovar – We had a cup of tea with my niece, who lives in Oakland and met us at the Samovar in Mission. Really enjoyed a ginger turmeric herbal tisane.
And that’s it! I thought adding tea experiences into the trip brought more interesting and rewarding interactions than we would have had, and enhanced our vacation nicely.
So glad you loved the Japanese Tea Garden as much as I do – I agree, the tea is whatever, but the setting is just so incredible. Sadly I haven’t been there this spring – are the blossoms already over? I imagine so, since they came so early this year.
Sorry about your not-so-great experience at Red Blossom, but at least the tea was good!
Rishi has a ginger tumeric that I love, especially when I’m starting to feel a little sick. I wonder how the two compare!
Glad to hear your trip went so well!
Sounds like a very nice trip. I lived in the Bay area from 1991 to the end of 2014 and it’s a fantastic place to visit. Looks like you hit some of the good spots. Glad you got to the Tea Garden and Samovar.
Does anyone know if the in store selection at Lupicia is similar to their website?
Can I make a shopping list off the website with confidence that I can pick up the majority of that list in store?
not sure, but when i went they had nearly everything i wanted. a few things they were out of, but it was things that were also out of stock online. from what i remember.
also if there’s room in your suitcase i might ask for one? tea to be added lol
Of course- more than happy to pick up anything you would like.
At this point Lupicia, Red Blossom, and Imperial Tea Court (really want to do the afternoon dim sum tea thing…) are at the top of my list.
The Japanese Tea Garden sounds nice for the experience of drinking tea in a beautiful setting.
I got back from San Fransisco yesterday and just wanted to share my thoughts on my tea experiences.
Of the places I went to my favorite was Imperial Tea Court. Nice atmosphere to sit and have tea – I only had snacks not real food. They served tea gong fu style and it was really nice. They had a good selection, friendly, knowledgeable staff. I bought several teas to bring home – some my choices and some as suggested by the staff. I would totally recommend that everyone take an hour and go have tea here.
My second favorite place was the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. This was more about the garden than it was about the tea. It’s stunningly beautiful, quiet, peaceful and oh yeah you can get tea. I wandered the gardens and then stopped and had a cup of hojicha. The tea was fine – not really special, but not bad either – but the setting is just so beautiful. If you are in the park it’s totally worth the admission price to spend some quiet time in this beautiful place.
I got a really tasty iced blood orange oolong to go from Asha – wish I had more time to spend there – it could be a really fun place, but time didn’t really allow for it. Great to go tea.
That’s the good – and then there was China Town. I hated every moment I spent in the tea shops in China Town – and there are several. Total tourist trap, staff know nothing (wouldn’t/couldn’t answer questions) – it was all about saying whatever they thought you wanted to hear to make the sale – it wasn’t about educating or being proud of the tea. Such a disappointment – Vancouver China Town was a totally different experience and would go back to Vancouver in a heartbeat – San Fransisco is a beautiful city, I had a great time – loved the city and other than a couple of exceptions, didn’t really like the tea scene…. of course I didn’t go to every shop in the city there could be other gems out there.
The Japanese Tea Garden is one of my fave places in that city,
In a tradition of exploration and fun, a birthday trip has allowed me to spend a few hours in San Francisco doing only tea related expeditions. Usually our visits to the city don’t allow enough time for this kind of scavenger hunt. Everything is spread out and just finding parking at each stop in enough of a challenge to deter. But add determined and you will get there.
We started at Lupicia and the lovely girls there made every sample requested. So sweet. I came away with some of the golden honey dew rooibos. It was exactly what I hoped for. Really delicious.
Next stop was Tevana, just for comparison purposes, and just really to confirm what I already knew about them. Yup. no one there had any ‘real’ knowledge. Its a koolaid shop. But I bought some Earl Grey cream, just to, again, compare. Sure enough, the sales girl did the ‘over measure’ to see if I would be fine with more than I asked for.
After a non tea related visit to Anthropologie, just across the street, we headed to the Crown and Crumpet in Japan Town. A cute Tea salon/café. All the little tea sandwiches were good, but late in the day, the selection was limited. The Tea we had with the meal was a white and black combination with rose.
Finally, the treat I have wanted to try for so long was the last stop. Chantal Guillon for Mariage Frere Tea. and Marco Polo.
I could have bought this tea on line long ago. But it just didn’t seem right. With a name like Marco Polo and not being easy to get, why not have it be an adventure to obtain, as it is just as elusive to pin down as well as to decipher the flavors within the cup.
http://www.parisfornia.co/food/where-to-buy-mariage-freres-teas-and-french-macarons/
Lupicia fans need to know that the San Francisco location is closing in a month.
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