The Tea Zone Edit

I like to stop in to this shop when I’m on my excursions to Powell’s bookstore. It’s easy to find and right down the street from that mecca of a bookstore.

This place is fun for a lot of different reasons. First off, they have a large selection of really unusual teas. I brought back a bag full of random stuff and have liked almost all of it.

Second, their boozy tea concoctions are delicious. I had some crazy tea infused martini and was delighted I could stand up after I was done drinking it.

Next, in their lounge, they also serve food. Some of it is as weird as their boozy tea drinks, but also really tasty.

Last of all, the service. The folks who work here were spectacularly nice to my friends and me.

If I’m at Powell’s, I’ll be stopping here.

Easily accessible in the Pearl District, snuggled next to downtown Portland, this tea shop is a very chimeric beast. Half of it is an urban tea retailer with places to rest and recharge, the other…a drinkery – with tea-infused alcoholic beverages. I only partook of their more “naughty” wares once – a matcha-infused whiskey. (It was about three shots of whiskey with a splash of green tea.)

That said, they have one of the best selections of rare teas I’ve come across at a tea shop. My favorite being a Malawi-grown white tea; superb. Whenever I meet friends downtown for tea-ish related frivolity, this is usually the default.

My one major gripe – aside from the alcohol-to-tea ratio in their mixed drinks – is their take on matcha prep. Serving matcha powder in a 6oz clear cup and providing a 12oz teapot of “boiled” water is incorrect. This actually happened. When I asked for a stirrer or whisker, the attendant looked at me blankly…then came back with a straw.

Uh…huh.

It’s not specifically tea, but they do have a large variety to choose from. It’s easy to locate and just off the Portland Streetcar.