I have been searching for a place to buy tea in San Francisco for a while now. I really prefer loose leaf tea, for some reason, bagged tea angers me. So to avoid a raging Hulk version of Erin rampaging down the streets of the Mission District it was imperative that a good selection of tea-goodness be found. Due to a side mission for sandals, we wound up in the Powell Street BART station mall where lo and behold, there was a tea store!

The Puripan Tea Garden  is quite likely the best tea store in San Francisco. Not only can you buy an expansive selection of tea there, but they also all the styles of cups and accessories that you could possibly need to prepare tea are all available. On top of that, the designs are fantastic. A friend and I ran around almost licking the shelf stock in glee.

Puripan Garden
http://puripanteagarden.com/
845 Market St, Ste 283
Westfield Centre
(415) 615-0007

The staff is super sweet.

The girl behind the counter saw our brains nearly explode and quickly explained that all their teas were in the front available to be smelled. As soon as I expressed even a little interest in a tea, she asked if I would like a sample. Even teas that are traditionally more expensive and rarer were offered up. She was great at suggesting like-tasting teas as alternatives and we had a lovely chat about our favourite types of teas and their nuances. I picked out three teas that I was ready to purchase after a lot of sampling. Then she pulled out some of their house products. “Tea in a Jar” is a mixture of plant and sweetners (only organic cane sugar and honeys) that you spoon into a cup and pour boiled water over. We tried the Aloe and it was magic. Both Stephanie and I had to get some. Good for you *and* tasty? I’m in.

I’m not bankrupt and I’m full of tea.

Normally my tastes are expensive and I end up spending all my money on food. Not a problem, but I want a new camera lens so I need to behave.  When we got to the cashier portion of our adventure I was pleasantly surprised. It was about 25% less than I had ever paid for tea of this variety (I left with a white tea, organic matcha, persimmon and the tea in a jar).

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 5:19 pm and is filed under stores. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.