Teacup

Teacup is a family business that grew out of Juan Balart's idea of bringing tea to ordinary people, and it sits at Santa Engracia 154, on the corner of Maudes in Chamberí, a minute from Metro Cuatro Caminos. The founders explain their position on the shop's own pages: their training is in agronomy and pharmacy, they do not try to do the work of doctors or nutritionists, and they are not a herbalist or a natural-products shop. What they did instead was study the plant — cultivation, processing, tasting — so they could talk about what they sell.

They also decided the shop had to be large enough for customers to reach the tea themselves, see it and smell it, instead of asking for a tin behind the counter, and samples are given for what you ask about. The leaf goes in 100 g packs, around thirty cups. Darjeeling, organic Assam, organic Ceylon, Sencha, Gunpowder, Jasmine, oolong, Pu Erh and plain rooibos are all 6 €; Bancha BIO 6,50 €; Osmanthus Oolong and Imperial Pu Erh 7 €; Pai Mu Tan 9 €; Milky Oolong 10 €; Silver Needle 27,50 €.

The rest of the shop is what tea needs around it: pots, cups, strainers, infusers, thermos flasks, tins and gift sets, plus a blog that answers the questions people actually ask at the counter — what genmaicha is, whether milky oolong has milk in it, what Lung Ching is. Orders go out to peninsular Spain, the Balearics and mainland Portugal, with free delivery above 40 € within peninsular Spain, and the shop keeps split hours, closed in the early afternoon from Monday to Friday.