Man, I kind of wonder if I went to the same tea shop as everyone else. I got two oolongs here— a darker Dong Ding and a lighter Baozhong— and they were both just okay. Meanwhile, the saleslady cheerfuly lied to my face about what a good bargain I was getting on my tea— “A cup of this kind of tea would cost $15 in Taiwan!” To be fair, I stopped in between harvests, so the really good stuff might possibly have been gone, but the whole experience was kind of strange.

Man, I kind of wonder if I went to the same tea shop as everyone else. I got two oolongs here— a darker Dong Ding and a lighter Baozhong— and they were both just okay. Meanwhile, the saleslady cheerfuly lied to my face about what a good bargain I was getting on my tea— “A cup of this kind of tea would cost $15 in Taiwan!” To be fair, I stopped in between harvests, so the really good stuff might possibly have been gone, but the whole experience was kind of strange.

Seattle, Wa is a very good place for tea drinkers. Don’t let the gambit of coffee lead you to believe there are no good tea places. In my opinion BC, Seattle and San Francisco have some of the best tea places in the United States.

Seattle Best Tea has an interesting atmosphere, while offering a decent cup of tea.

Going here has been a really wonderful experience every time that I have gone. The first time, I went on recommendation of my grandfather, and as I went in, the woman who owns it waved me over to the tasting table (a big, beautiful lacquered piece of tree) and sat me down, handing me a cup of tea from the tasting that she was doing for a wealthy tourist couple. The whole thing was very well done, and the tea was amazing. The second time I went, to stock up on some tea I was low on, the woman remembered me and hugged me, and it was just very nice overall. Their Taiwanese oolongs are, so far, the best tea I’ve ever had. Most recently, I went in to get some of the winter flush of shan lin xi, and the owner had friends visiting the US for the first time from China. Everyone talked a lot and we drank tea and everyone there was taking lots of pictures of everything, and it was a very, very friendly, warm experience. (And, of course, the tea was great.)

They are great people and have great teas. They have this thing where they always take a chunk off of the price at the register. The teas are always decent, if not great. Though I do have trouble getting there when they have things in stock. They are always selling out! I only buy Taiwanese oolongs, Yunnan black and teaware there.