Awesome little tea house in downtown Asheville! Wide selection of high quality teas. Laid back atmosphere with a room in the back where you can take your shoes off and relax. Chinese teas are served in a gaiwan with a big cup and a hot water jug heated by a candle. I had a nice session with a Thai Honey Oolong.
Going to Ming Ming’s was definitely the most legit tea shop experience that I’ve had. The store is owned and operated by a husband and his wife who’s family has a tea farm in Fuijan. I was slightly skeptical about the shop with their “weight loss” sign out front, but this turned out to be completely unfounded.
I had found their site searching for tea stores near my hometown a few months ago, and had been meaning to make a trip but never did. However, dropping and breaking my gaiwan during Christmas break pushed me to find a replacement.
Entering the store, Greg (the husband) came to greet me and show me their different teas and teawares, and made two samples for me while I looked around and we talked tea. While he obviously wanted me to buy something, he was not pushy about it and seemed to take genuine interest.
They carried about twelve different loose teas, several of which were grown by Ming Ming’s family or relatives, a few blends and bags, and to my surprise and delight, about twelve different cakes of pu’erh and a variety of mini-tuos.
The tea is good quality and fairly priced, and the nearly hour-long pilgrimage I made to the store was plenty worth it. I will definitely order some more tea from them when they get their new shipment in this spring. :)
