So far I have found the staff at Ching Ching Cha to be very friendly and willing to share information. I was hunting down a specific oolong and they spent upwards of 30 minutes on a busy day looking at leaves, smelling, and offering to brew their best guess on what I was hunting.
The owner and folks working there have been excellent, and I have yet to run into a tea I don’t like. What they offer is not flowery and over-flavored but actually celebrates tea for what it is.
Let’s be honest, this is not a tea shop, and though the old ladies working there were wonderfully sincere and inviting, the tea was trash. We walked out with three bags of tea to sample. The flavoring over-powered the tea in two of the mixes. I also seriously questioned the validity of their white peony (Bai Mudan). It was pretty crushed up, and brewed with a surprisingly shallow taste.
Its a nice novelty shop, and awesome if you want salt from around the world, but I wouldn’t go there if you’re really looking for tea.
