Tea in the US

None. In my metro area I know the places that sell and serve tea which keeps me happy. Theyre not on any map. I cant complain but I wouldnt call it a culture. So the best you can do is find somebody who knows the local tea spots and spend the rest of your time being a tourist. Im sure you wouldnt find anything new in a Chinatown like San Francisco. I drool over pictures of Chinese tea markets.

Jim

As others have said, none - but only if you're restricting "culture" to commerce. I suspect that a couple of dozen US cities have small-to-middling groups of tea aficionados who meet with varying regularity to share stories, samples and experiences. So it might be worth asking the question that way, and on multiple groups and blogs since membership is somewhat self-selecting.

-DM

(who will be happy to rouse some of the local troops for a distinguished visitor to Boston)

And *please* let me know if you're coming to New York, Warren!

/Lew

I think SF and the surrounding areas (East Bay) probably have the best range of options, and you get the sense that SF has more growing interest in tea than some other cities. There's even a whole book about tea stuff in SF.

Chinese-tea-wise, the Bay area has Red Blossom, Imperial Tea Court, Teance, etc. -- all have some strong points (as well as, IMHO, some weaknesses). Some people also swear by Chaikhana down in Santa Cruz, which has almost a cult-like following. I would personally rate some other shops in the US above any of these shops, but I still think SF has something closer to a "tea culture" than those other cities.

The Pacific Northwest also has some interesting tea related businesses. Seattle has Floating Leaves and New Century Tea Gallery.

Not technically in the US, but Vancouver / Richmond is quite worth visiting in my opinion (for Best Tea House, Aroma (US branch of Lam Kie Yuen, and I've heard good things on here and elsewhere about 'Spring Cottage Tea', a mostly wholesale business).

My best tea experiences have mostly been small private gatherings with other tea nerds, so if you're going to be in the US, definitely drop a line to some like-minded folks in the city of your destination and see if you can set something up. If you're going to New York, LA, SF, or the Pac NW, definitely drop me a line privately, and I can put you in touch with some people. Here in LA, we have a small group that does private tastings fairly frequently (a lot of us originally met through RFDT, as well as from members' web logs), and I know there is a group that meets out of Tea Gallery in New York.

LA doesn't have much in the way of truly amazing shops besides Tea Habitat (full disclosure: the owner is a friend and member of our tea group), which was recently featured in the LA Times:

Also, there's a big tea exhibit on at the Fowler museum at UCLA through the fall.

Thanks, and thanks to everyone else. If I do plan a visit, I will let everyone know. And if anyone is planning a visit to Toronto or Fujian, do let me know, so we can arrange a meet up sometime.

I'm going to 'me-too' Will's post; San Francisco's Chinatown now has at least two commercial (and touristy actually) tea shops, the one I've actually visited briefly was right on the main drag, out in the open, so to speak.

It seems in the past you had to be 'in the know' to find good tea, well its still like that.

But things seem to be changing.

berk

Thats the longest commute Ive ever seen. I dont know but I would say Canada has more of a tea culture than the US. Avoid the pollution and we'll bike to tea shops. For the ones across town just thrown them on mass transit. And it so happens everyone of those shops has a nearby Irish Pub. This just occured to me. Hey Dominic there is your formula for tea shoppe success.

Jim

PS Im rid> Thanks, and thanks to everyone else. If I do plan a visit, I will let