Tea shops in Berkeley or Oakland, California?

I’ll soon be venturing to Oakland and Berkeley, California. Places I know of:

Teance
Pasta Shop on 4th Street for Mariage Freres in bulk
Sophie’s Cuppa Tea
Far Leaves Tea
Blue Willow Teaspot

Any other places I should know of? I’m probably more interested in purchasing tea than having a tea drinking experience, but I’m open to anything.

I’m especially interested in 2017 green teas.

4 Replies
Frolic select said

There’s Quatch Locksmith and Teashop in Oakland. Every time I drive by I want to go in but have never made it. Yelp confirms that they do indeed sell tea alongside the key duplication.

I see two street addresses mentioned for them on Yelp. One is 106 International Blvd and the other is 221 7th street in Chinatown. Do you know which address is correct?

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I didn’t make it to Sophie’s Cuppa Tea, but the other shops I mentioned are great.

Teance: Can’t miss this place. I think everyone knows about it, so I don’t have anything to add besides that they’re having a 2017 tea tasting on April 29 for $15-17. Details on their website.

Far Leaves Tea: on San Pablo Ave, a little out of the way. Lovely spot. I typically don’t enjoy pu-ehr teas, but I had one there which I’d actually buy. Worth a visit. https://www.farleaves.com/

Pasta Shop: they didn’t have as many Mariage Freres teas in bulk as I wanted, but it was still worthwhile going. I was able to try 3 MF teas by just purchasing an ounce of each. Much cheaper than buying full tins.

Blue Willow Tea. This tea room and shop is also a little out of the way. Open since Oct or Nov 2016. Worth a visit. There was a nice Japanese tearoom in the back. Had a tasty matcha. https://www.bluewillowtea.com/

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Just found this summary of tea shops in Berkeley and Oakland: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/05/26/eight-east-bay-companies-sourcing-great-tea/

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