This is a favorite and probably the best place in DC to drink tea the way it should be drank. There are 12 pages of tea and tisane on the menu. The food is light with Asian type snacks and three types of “tea meals”. A serving of tea varies in price from about $5 to 25, depending on the type of tea. They have some rare and expensive teas and this is a good place to try special teas like Monkey King which you are unlikely to find in many places. The teas are served just like they should be and the staff always takes time to prepare it for you the first time, unless you prefer to do it yourself. Most oolongs, for example, come in a very small yixing pot on a tray so you can pour hot water both in and on the pot. The most aromatic are served with aroma cups. Artisan teas are served in clear pots so you can enjoy the unfurling of the leaves and flower. If you are unsure about the tea or its preparation, the staff will explain it all.

Some days can be very busy, but mid afternoons on weekdays, you may be the only one there. It is open for tea starting at 11am and not a place for late night snacking. Ching Ching Cha’s shelves are full of tea and tea items for sale, including a lot of things you may not find elsewhere. Not all the teas they served can be purchased to take home, but the selection varies throughout the year. There are yixing pots, Japanese tea sets, various strainers, very lovely tea storage containers, books and other uniquely tea-related items. During the day, the light is all natural from skylights and the decor is comforable and old world, with two low tables where you sit on the floor amid overstuffed pillows. My sister told me she felt like a Sultana lounging there with her tea. The rest of the tables are normal sized, and each one has a pot of water sitting atop a candle so you can relax and keep filling you cup all afternoon. It is easy to lose track of time.

This is my favorite place. It’s now in Dupont rather than Georgetown.
The teas can be pricey—but they’re trying to pay rent in DC, so it is what it is. You get no-frills tea service, quality tea, and atmosphere. Go here.

Ching Ching Cha offers a legitimate gong fu cha experience. They have about 5 tables for 2-4 people and maybe 3 floor-tables for possibly up to 8 people. You can order food and tea to drink, and they sell all the tea in dry form as well. They had a few offerings from all the non-flavored tea types, and some flavored teas and tisanes as well. I had a sheng puerh and a Phoenix Dan Cong oolong. They provided a pot of hot water with a flame-pot beneath it, a Yixing clay pot, tea tray, and cup for the puerh, and another type of clay pot for the oolong. They were mindful and refilled my water often. I never felt like they wanted to rush me out, and Ching Ching was very willing to answer any questions I had. The atmosphere was very calm. Highly recommended.

I LOVE this place. I wish I could move in.

The tea is really expensive, but you can stay for a long time and sit at a tiny table with pillows on the ground and get tea served in teaware that is specific to the style of tea you order. Having not experienced traditional Chinese tea or been to that part of Asia, I can’t tell you how legit this place is. But I thought it was an amazing, serene, cultural experience and can’t wait to go back.

A traditional Chinese tea house in a serene, contemplative space in Georgetown. The oolong and green selections are good, the blacks and tisanes somewhat less so. There is food here, and it is delicious (especially the lotus seed pastries), but the focus is definitely on the tea. You’ll want to come early in the afternoon to have time to savor a full oolong ceremony—it’ll be expensive, but you’ll still smell the perfume hours later.

Lovely friendly place. I go for their oolongs primarily. They serve it Gong fu style which makes for a nice leisurely after of tea sipping. They have a small selection of Asian style food served in a benton box. Not exciting but tasty none the less. Great selection of Gong fu tea pots and other tea paraphernalia, too.

The staff speak Chinese and are friendly when they explain how to brew teas properly. There is no sense of feeling rushed. to leave. You can spend hours there drinking tea and relaxing. They seem to offer endless amounts of 白开水

So far I have found the staff at Ching Ching Cha to be very friendly and willing to share information. I was hunting down a specific oolong and they spent upwards of 30 minutes on a busy day looking at leaves, smelling, and offering to brew their best guess on what I was hunting.

The owner and folks working there have been excellent, and I have yet to run into a tea I don’t like. What they offer is not flowery and over-flavored but actually celebrates tea for what it is.

Traditional Chinese tea style. Here you can get a pretty good selection of Chinese Teas as well as a healthy but tasty meal (small portions). I’ve had Puerh, Oolong, white and herbal teas here. The service is good as long as you don’t go in too close to closing time.

I get that they have work schedules but when you paid $10-15 for a cup of tea you want to savor it. As part of closing time they should better arrange their hours, If they want to be out their teashop by 9pm I would close around 8pm to give 8:15/8:30pm people a chance to enjoy what they paid for.

They do have a nice selection of Teaware from Yixing, Gaiwan, tasting sets, strainers and others.

I was only in Washington DC for a short time, but once I discovered this tea house, I went everyday. Only for the oolongs. Yes, they were expensive. But they were so good, rich and buttery and satisfying. Served in a traditional set of clay pots, the oolongs came with unlimited hot water. I found them to be good for many steepings.

The snacks I tried were great too, good Chinese pastries. My first tea egg: delicious. And the little dumplings were very satisfying. I also enjoyed the atmosphere, cosy and not too stuffy. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the DC area.

This is a favorite and probably the best place in DC to drink tea the way it should be drank. There are 12 pages of tea and tisane on the menu. The food is light with Asian type snacks and three types of “tea meals”. A serving of tea varies in price from about $5 to 25, depending on the type of tea. They have some rare and expensive teas and this is a good place to try special teas like Monkey King which you are unlikely to find in many places. The teas are served just like they should be and the staff always takes time to prepare it for you the first time, unless you prefer to do it yourself. Most oolongs, for example, come in a very small yixing pot on a tray so you can pour hot water both in and on the pot. The most aromatic are served with aroma cups. Artisan teas are served in clear pots so you can enjoy the unfurling of the leaves and flower. If you are unsure about the tea or its preparation, the staff will explain it all.

Some days can be very busy, but mid afternoons on weekdays, you may be the only one there. It is open for tea starting at 11am and not a place for late night snacking. Ching Ching Cha’s shelves are full of tea and tea items for sale, including a lot of things you may not find elsewhere. Not all the teas they served can be purchased to take home, but the selection varies throughout the year. There are yixing pots, Japanese tea sets, various strainers, very lovely tea storage containers, books and other uniquely tea-related items. During the day, the light is all natural from skylights and the decor is comforable and old world, with two low tables where you sit on the floor amid overstuffed pillows. My sister told me she felt like a Sultana lounging there with her tea. The rest of the tables are normal sized, and each one has a pot of water sitting atop a candle so you can relax and keep filling you cup all afternoon. It is easy to lose track of time.

I LOVE Ching Ching Cha and run over here far too often on my lunch break from work, given the cost. The atmosphere is everything I could want from a tea house – cluttered, authentic, tranquil, and (though, as I discovered one weekend afternoon, this is largely due to my tendency to go at 4pm on weekdays) empty.

The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about their wide selection of (somewhat overpriced) teas, along with which you can have some very overpriced but still delicious food. I highly recommend the curry beef roll. All of their teas are served as authentically as possible, in teaware specific to the type of tea. If you are unsure how to use the teaware for the tea you’ve ordered, the staff is more than willing to demonstrate for you.

After your tea, you can browse through a selection of teas and teaware to take home, which are fortunately much better priced than the sit-down tea varieties. I have enjoyed nearly every tea I’ve taken home from here, and will likely continue spending my lunch breaks here for a very long time.
-Cash

An inspiration.

This shop is tucked away so well that it’d be difficult to find if you weren’t looking for it. Inside is a GORGEOUS space decorated traditionally with tons of tea sets, loose leaf teas, pots, plates, books, and anything tea-related. Along one wall are low tables with pillows and throughout the rest of the space are tables that are normal height.

The tea offerings here are vast, and the quality is very good. Each type of tea is served in an appropriate manner (oolongs are gong-fu with yixing teapots, loose green is served in a porcelain gaiwan, blooming teas come in glass so you can see it open, etc) and the price is somewhere between 7-50 dollars, depending on the type of tea you get. This was the first time I had gongfu tea and I was so inspired that I had to start buying my own tea sets after one visit!

Also offered are very good set lunches (I like the curry chicken the best), expensive pastries (that are tasty, thank heavens), and very fairly priced appetizers that are to DIE for (I recommend the curry beef roll and the vegetable dumplings).

Ching Ching Cha is amazingly well put together and there’s no air of pretentiousness here like other tea houses in the area. Come in, take off your shoes, drink tea all afternoon, and enjoy life!

The Tea was great.
Before closing and they promptly, rudely, and hastly interrupted us multiple times to remind us that they were closing starting 30 minutes before close. We had barely gotten a 3rd steep when exactly at closing time they turned off 3/4 of the lights and made us abandon our tea (which had at least 2 more steeps left in them)

I would go there again maybe but never in the afternoon. the shop selections were nice. but the mood lacks a sense of community and willingness to teach others.

I am a previous server at a restaurant so i’m not a Pius customer… it was just plain rude.

“Cha” is the Chinese word for tea, and “Ching Ching” is the owner of this serene tea house!

I have been to Ching Ching Cha a few times. This is a quiet getaway in the heart of Georgetown. The decor is what I would call “Chinese apothecary”—dark wooden furniture, with traditional Chinese motifs. It looks like a small place from the outside, but it’s quite spacious inside, with natural lighting and high ceilings. They have low tables (where you’re sitting on the ground) that can seat up to four people, or if you prefer sitting at a regular table, they have those, too. There is a burner at each table and when they bring your tea, they set the kettle on top of it so it remains warm during your visit. In the middle of the tea room they display a variety of tea ware and accessories.

They have a limited food menu, but the true beauty of this place is the tea. They offer nearly 70 varieties, hot and cold, with an emphasis on Chinese tea. The staff is very knowledgeable and will instruct you on how to properly prepare and enjoy the tea you order. I highly recommend ordering any of the oolong teas for a more unique experience.

I have had a few items from the food menu and here are my opinions on them:

Mongolian Dumpling: Set of 4, with lamb, cabbage, and garlic. A good starter to your meal. Chicken Roll: Chicken prepared in a flaky puff pastry. Good, but something I can easily make at home, so I will not reorder it. Bento Box Lunch: I started off with the tomato soup, which was delicate and delicious. For the bento, pick a main entree, and two vegetables. I selected mustard miso salmon and kale and Korean squash. I felt there was too much mustard on my salmon; other than that, it was pretty good.

Ching Ching Cha serves light fare, however. I do not recommend coming here if you are famished, as you will easily spend $20+ per person. They do accept credit cards, but I am not sure if there is a minimum order, as I have always spent more than $20 here.

Albeit on the expensive side, bear in mind that you are paying for the experience and ambiance. Don’t come here if you only have 30 minutes to spare for lunch, as the staff can be slow to prepare food. Come here on a lazy Sunday afternoon and forget about deadlines, errands, and feel the stress just melt away!