The city guide · United States
The city guide · United StatesTea shops inMilwaukee.
Milwaukee is the home of Rishi Tea, the organic importer founded here in 1997, and yet the city inside its own limits has no dedicated loose-leaf tea shop: Rishi's Menomonee Valley building is a headquarters, not a store, and the big specialist retailer of the region, Fava Tea, sits in Greenfield and Brookfield. What Milwaukee does have is two herb apothecaries that sell classic teas by the ounce next to their bulk herbs, one in Bay View and one on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive with an express counter in the Third Ward. Both weigh to order, both publish their hours, and between them you get Assam, Earl Grey, sencha, jasmine, a Se Chung oolong, pu-erh, rooibos and yerba mate for two to seven dollars an ounce. For the deep catalogue — Darjeeling by estate, Wuyi rock oolong, Japanese kukicha — you order from Rishi online and it ships from across town.
Illustrative tea photograph
2 places we’d send a friend to.
Our Milwaukee shortlist
Good tea is worth knowing where to look.
Places to explore, each with a different reason to stop by. See what to bring home before you go.
Showing 2 of 2 places
- 01Loose-leaf specialist
Tippecanoe Herbs and Apothecary
Bay View, S Kinnickinnic Ave
8 prices listedTippecanoe Herbs and Apothecary
2235 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207
A Bay View family apothecary that sells the classic teas the way it sells its 150 bulk herbs: by the ounce, weighed to order.
In storeShips onlineSince 2015Tue–Thu 11:00–18:00 · Fri–Sat 11:00–16:00 · Sun–Mon closed
Read the full shop note
A family herb apothecary on South Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View, opened in 2015 by herbalist Kyle Denton and Serena Marinelli, with more than 150 bulk herbs, a small cafe that pours tea and cocoa, and classes and herb walks run out of the same room. The tea shelf is the classic set sold by the ounce: a Gunpowder green at 2,50 US$, an Earl Gray at 2,75 US$, an Assam at 3,25 US$, a Jasmine green at 3,50 US$, a Se Chung oolong at 3,75 US$ and a fermented pu-erh at 4,50 US$, plus red rooibos and yerba mate at under three dollars. Open Tuesday to Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.
What to bring home
Website: tippecanoeherbs.com 
02Loose-leaf specialistHoneyBee Sage Wellness & Apothecary
Bronzeville (MLK Drive); express counter in the Historic Third Ward
5 prices listedHoneyBee Sage Wellness & Apothecary
1819 N Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212
A Bronzeville apothecary and wellness cafe with more than 200 dried herbs, a small bulk corner of classic teas by the ounce, and an express counter in the Third Ward.
In storeShips onlineSince 2018MLK Drive: Mon 9:00–17:00 · Tue–Fri 9:00–19:00 · Sat 10:00–19:00 · Sun 12:00–16:00 · Third Ward: Tue–Sat 9:00–16:00
Read the full shop note
An apothecary and wellness cafe founded in 2018 by Angela Mallett, now at 1819 North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Bronzeville with a 500-square-foot express counter in the Marshall Building in the Historic Third Ward. More than 200 dried herbs in packaged and bulk form; the classic teas are a small bulk corner sold by the ounce — an Assam at 4,11 US$, a sencha at 5,08 US$, a rooibos chai at 3,46 US$ — plus a 50 g packet of jasmine pearls at 12,25 US$. The cafe menu pours the same Assam, Earl Grey, sencha and yerba mate by the cup. Card only, no cash, at both sites; the Third Ward counter is grab-and-go and offers no apothecary services.
What to bring home
Website: honeybeesage.com
Prices keep each product’s listed currency and pack size. Check current prices and hours with the shop.
A good cup, closer than you think
Find your tea in Milwaukee.
These teas have an exact or close match in the local catalogue. Open a tea to see who sells it and at what price.
Also worth a visit
Tootsie's Tea
Near West Side, W Clybourn Street (per local press)
Website: tootsiest.comAn Indigenous-, Hispanic- and woman-owned blender of small-batch loose teas that grows some of its own herbs in Milwaukee. Every blend is 10,00 US$ the glass jar, filled by volume rather than weight, and it appears under "Where to find it" as an online seller. What its own site does not publish is a street address or opening hours for the shop the local press reported on Clybourn Street this summer, so it is not on this map yet.
Ask for prices in storeRochambo Coffee & Tea House
Brady Street, Lower East Side · 1317 E Brady St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Website: rochambomke.comA Brady Street cafe with a long loose-leaf list poured by the pot; nothing is sold to take home online, so there is no price to list.
Ask for prices in storeOutwoken Tea
W Lincoln Avenue
Listed by local guides at 4300 W Lincoln Avenue, but its domain now lands on an empty page: no catalogue, no way to confirm it still trades.
Ask for prices in storeA little local knowledge
Before you head out.
Currency, grams & tea bags
Each price keeps its original pack size. A box of bags and a pouch of loose leaf aren’t a like-for-like comparison.
Check the right location
Hours and visiting conditions can differ between branches. Use the address and details for the location you plan to visit.
Pickup and appointments
Some sellers operate pickup offices or showrooms. Read the shop note and check its visiting conditions before setting out.
A guide with a point of view
Tea specialists lead the discovery. Other retailers keep their own category, for familiar blends and everyday essentials.
Keep following the tea
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Photography & credits
Tea photographs are illustrative unless identified as a photograph of the shop. Images are cropped or framed to fit the layout.
- 五玄土 ORIENTO · Original photograph · Unsplash License