T7 TEA

T7 TEA works out of 4222 Trinity Mills Rd in Far North Dallas, where a mini showroom sits behind the wholesale operation. It supplies cafés, tea rooms, restaurants and specialty retailers as well as individual customers, and it keeps control of its own inventory and shipping from the Texas facility. Showroom visits and tastings are arranged by appointment, customer support answers Monday to Friday from 9 to 3, and select products are also listed on Amazon for people who never come to the building.

The list of named classics is the broadest of the four Dallas shops, split into white, green, oolong, black, herbal, chai, rooibos, blooming, pu erh and matcha, plus samplers and blends. Earl Grey and organic rooibos are $8 for 3 oz, the cheapest pair on the list; White Peony Pai Mu Tan is $15 the ounce, Dragonwell $18 for 2 oz, and Ti Kuan Yin and the hand-rolled Pu Erh Pearls $21 for 3 oz. Gyokuro, sencha, Pi Lo Chun and Aiya ceremonial matcha fill out the Japanese and Chinese ends.

The showroom also carries the hardware: tea makers, tins and canisters, travel mugs, matcha accessories and made-up gift sets. Local pickup is the reason to go in person. You order online, wait for the email that says it is ready, and then either pay online or pay at the showroom when you arrive; once you are inside you can look at the rest of the shelves at your own pace. Only items in stock can be collected, so a pickup order and a shipped order stay separate.