Tea shops · Indianapolis, United States
Two Indianapolis counters where loose leaf is weighed from one ounce to a pound, on campus and at Tarkington Park.
Illustrative image
The house
The cafe sells tea the way a spice shop sells pepper: by weight, starting at a single ounce and climbing through two ounces, four ounces in a bag, four ounces in a tin, half a pound and a full pound. That bottom rung is the point. Most American shops make you buy a two-ounce tin before you know whether you like the tea; here an ounce of English Breakfast costs the same as a sandwich, and the shelf is wide enough that a first visit can be six small bags instead of one big one.
There are two shops and they behave differently. The one inside the IU Indianapolis Campus Center on University Boulevard keeps university hours, opening early and closing at seven on weeknights, shut at weekends. The Tarkington Park shop on North Illinois Street, which the cafe says opened in 2021, is the neighbourhood one, open weekday mornings into the afternoon. Both do more than tea: cafe drinks and tea lattes, bottled tea, grab-and-go breakfast and lunch, catering, space rental and delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats.
The list is short and deliberate rather than encyclopedic. Two plain blacks, an English Breakfast and an Assam, sit at ten dollars the ounce. The two greens cost two dollars more and are the ones to spend on: a Lung Ching, the pan-fired Dragon Well, and a Japanese Sencha. The jasmine is the odd one out and the most interesting — the shop describes it as a Fujian oolong rather than a green, which is the older way of scenting it. A Masala Chai rounds it out. The site says the business was bought in 2017 by Tamika Catchings, after a career with the Indiana Fever, and describes itself as Black-owned.
Indianapolis · United States
420 University Blvd Ste 157, Indianapolis, IN 46202
Published hours: Mon–Thu 8:00–19:00 · Fri 8:00–17:00 · Sat–Sun closed
Directions to this location →Check with the house before visiting. Published hours may include appointments, seasonal schedules or temporary closures; live status, where available, applies only to the named location and does not account for exceptional closures.
The FindMeTea edit
01 · Green tea
Dragon Well is pan-fired flat in a wok instead of steamed, which is why it tastes of toasted chestnut rather than seaweed. It is the tea on this list that most rewards the extra two dollars, and an ounce is enough for a fortnight of careful mornings.
from US$ 12· 1 oz
Explore this tea →02 · Green tea
The steamed counterpart to the Dragon Well, and the fastest way to learn what that difference tastes like: buy both ounces at once and brew them side by side on the same morning. Green tea also goes stale fastest, so the small bag is the right bag.
from US$ 12· 1 oz
Explore this tea →03 · Black tea
The house black and the one to hand to someone who drinks coffee. Ten dollars buys enough for a fortnight, it takes milk without collapsing, and it is the only tea here you can over-steep by two minutes and still drink happily.
from US$ 10· 1 oz
Explore this tea →The one worth the trip
Almost every jasmine tea sold in the United States is a green. This one the shop calls a Fujian oolong, which is the older and rarer way of doing it: a partly oxidised leaf laid with the flowers instead of a fresh green one, rounder and less sharp. At ten dollars the ounce it is the cheapest unusual thing in Indianapolis.
from US$ 10· 1 oz
Prices
Prices are indicative. Each price keeps its currency and pack size; this selection does not necessarily cover the house's complete range.
6 prices
| Tea | Type | Price / pack |
|---|---|---|
| English Breakfast | Black tea | from US$ 101 oz |
| Assam | Black tea | from US$ 101 oz |
| Jasmine | Oolong tea | from US$ 101 oz |
| Masala Chai | Chai | from US$ 101 oz |
| Lung Ching (Dragon Well) | Green tea | from US$ 121 oz |
| Sencha | Green tea | from US$ 121 oz |
Indicative prices, with each product’s pack size. Prices may change; check with the shop. Price verification dates: 2026-09-17.
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Images are cropped to fit the layout. The generic cover, when used, is illustrative and does not show this shop.
