The shop is in a renovated older home and has a friendly character. There is a nice outside sitting area set up for tea parties as well as casual drinking. There is also inside seating which had several customers that appeared to be regulars. The teas are behind the counter so the staff had to bring each one over so I could take a sniff. She was terrific! Friendly, patient and great sense of humor. Several teas I wanted to try were out of stock. This tea shop had lovely looking pastries which I couldn’t try because I’m trying to diet. The teas that I have tried are lovely. I will certainly go back when I visit Sarasota again.
After wandering through the lovely Shelby Gardens and Conservatory we came upon the lovely Carriage House with the Local Coffee and Tea Shop. Very friendly staff, several teas to sample and a large variety of teas. Many are unique blends named for local attractions. After buying many teas (6 -2oz packages) they gave me an additional two ounce package for free. The tea I sampled that night (CreativiTea) was so good that I went to a farmer’s market the next day to pick up some more.
A nice little tea shop with an attentive but not pushy staff. They offer to make any tea for you to try. I tried 3 teas and they did not seem annoyed. Their prices were reasonable. The tea is arranged on shelves with sample leaves to smell. I find that much easier than Teavana where you have to ask about each tea and can’t really browse through all the teas. They also have them already bagged so there is no 2.8 oz when you ask for 2 oz. They have a small amount of pastry. They have lovely tea ware at a variety of prices. Their tea is good quality and they have a wide variety. They offer tea classes and special events.
