Tea in Israel
Hey! I’m traveling to Israel soon and wanted to know if there are any good tea stores in the area. I primarily prefer pu erh and chinese green teas
Thanks
There’s a Palais des Thés shop in Tel Aviv, if that interests you. I also picked up a really nice blend from a stall at Machane Yehuda in Jerusalem, it was billed as Bedouin chai and had green tea, lemongrass, and spices—I don’t think you’ll find much in the markets if you’re looking for high-quality straight teas, though.
I’m afraid you’re largely out of luck. Like greenteafairy says, you can find some loose leaf blends and herbals at spice stalls. But Israeli culture is more coffee- than tea-oriented. Wissotzky is the major national brand, and that’s mostly cheap flavored teabags (although they do have a decent line of full-leaf pyramid teabags). You can get mint tea (te im nana) in most restaurants. Depending on how much time you have, I strongly recommend seeking out some genuine Bedouin chai. I don’t know what is in it but it’s delicious. If you do the Bedouin camel rides, they will often serve you tea before or after. Negev Camel Ranch near Dimona also hand blends an herbal tea from plants picked on the ranch. Quantities are extremely limited so I recommend calling ahead and finding out whether they even have any before you go.
Keep in mind that Negev Camel Ranch is in the southern part of the country, so you may want to make a weekend trip of it and go to the Dead Sea and Masada. I highly recommend taking the Roman ramp and watching the sun rise from the top of Masada if you have the opportunity.
Agree with Kaylee. You may have more luck with herbal blends there. Try a cup of cumin lemon tea if you have a chance! My buddy visited Tel Aviv last month and bought me some “Cumin & Lemon Drink”. The brand is call Al-Rawabi and it comes in a box of tea bags. You can ice it if you’d like. I prefer it hot. It’s savory and sour. It’s also suppose to help with digestion
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