Cha Cha Tea Edit

I visited the store today for the first time and I loved it! I’ve lived in the area and I used to walk past the store all the time before I had gotten into tea. After seeing a review about Cha Cha Tea on here though, I decided that the next time I came home from university I was going to stop in, and that was my first stop after dropping off my bags.

My mother and I went into the store, and we both loved it. The woman who I presumed to be the owner of the store was extremely friendly and a pleasure to talk to. Not only do they have a very extensive collection of teas, they have all kinds of tea ware, Matcha, Matcha ware, some luxury bagged teas, steepers, you name it! They also had these little handmade good luck owls, teddie bears and cat pen holders and coin purses. I picked myself up a few of these things, along with a tin and some ginger tea, to add to what my mother also picked up. I’m a Teavana employee, and it was nice to go into a different store and find teas that my company does not have, like ginger tea. They also serve cups of brewed tea at a MUCH cheaper price than other stores. I’m glad I stopped in, I will make a point of going into the store whenever I come home to visit my family from school and I’ll be spreading the word around so others can enjoy.

I should preface that I have only been here once (too far from my house), and that was at least a year or two ago, so this rating might be wildly inaccurate in either direction.

I was very excited when I saw this tea shop had opened, especially because it’s not in a particularly “yuppie” area of town where you’d expect a high quality tea shop (it sits comfortably alongside a Lebanese owned pizza joint, a Subway, an independent shoe retailer and a bar in a little strip mall).

When I walked it I was immediately struck with a strong sense of…authenticity? The place is small, well designed and maintained, but with a very unpretentious feel (something I find many tea stores lack).

It was staffed only by a youngish-looking Asian woman who had her adorable son with her reading a Japanese picture book. She (who turned out to be the owner of the store) was friendly and incredibly helpful in guiding me towards teas she thought I would enjoy based on a few questions about the flavours, strength and type of tea I liked. She obviously knew her stock inside and out and was able to give wonderful (but very accessible) descriptions of the teas properties.

And then…the samples! Out of the teas I found interesting she chose 2 or 3 and brewed me up a little sample cup (before I even realized what she was doing!). As a cautious buyer (aka poor student) and tea newbie I was very appreciative of this extra step towards making sure I left with a tea I knew I’d enjoy. I ended up selecting two of the teas I’d sampled (it’s been a while but I think it was a vanilla rooibos and a caramel chai?) and getting about 100g of each. The owner was very tactful but could tell I was a newbie and wrote out by hand the best way to prepare each kind (sooo helpful back when I thought tea only came in a bag!).

Overall, I was very, very impressed with this little shop. It’s got a lovely homey feel, a large selection of what I now realize was high quality loose leaf tea, and an owner who combined a great deal of knowledge about her teas with excellent customer service.

Damn…after rereading this review, I’m definitely going to take a drive back soon!

I should note: This store also had quite a selection of teaware (pots, cups, infusers etc).