Tea shops · Minneapolis, United States
A Lowry Hill East tea shop that started in 2006 in the corner of a St. Paul bookshop, prices everything by the ounce, and is taking a new name: Yutori.
Illustrative image
The house
The Northern Lights Tea Company started in 2006 as a corner inside a bookshop in St. Paul, built around a blender named Sandy, and in 2008 it took a shop of its own in the downtown Minneapolis skyway system. Her husband Roland kept the books. The two retired in 2025 and moved to Spain, and the company is now gradually changing its name to Yutori, after the Japanese idea of having room to spare.
The online list runs past a hundred teas, organic-leaning and priced to the cent by the ounce. Black tea is the easiest place to start: organic English Breakfast at $3.85, Earl Grey at $4.11, Irish Breakfast at $4.18, an autumnal Makaibari Darjeeling at $4.42, Assam TGFOP at $5.05 and a lavender Earl Grey at $7.56, with first-flush Darjeelings from Glenburn and Makaibari above them. The greens run from Lucky Dragon Hyson up to organic Dragonwell and a gyokuro; the oolongs from an orange-blossom blend to a milk oolong; and a run of chais, a chamomile, rooibos and tulsi fill out the rest.
The shop lists 2703 Girard Ave S, Unit 114, in Lowry Hill East, and publishes weekday hours only: nine to three, Monday through Friday, closed Saturday and Sunday. It sells the same range online, and takes questions about private events, gifts and catering through the site. Under either name the sourcing line has not moved — organic and fair-trade wherever the shop can get it, which is why so many entries carry the word in the product name itself.
Minneapolis · United States
2703 Girard Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408
On Girard Ave S in Lowry Hill East, about a ten-minute walk from the Uptown counter.
Published hours: Mon–Fri 9:00–15:00 · Sat–Sun closed
Directions to this location →Check with the house before visiting. Published hours may include appointments, seasonal schedules or temporary closures; live status, where available, applies only to the named location and does not account for exceptional closures.
The FindMeTea edit
01 · Black tea
A Darjeeling listed by garden and by picking — the autumnal flush from Makaibari — and one of the cheapest of the estate-named teas on this shelf.
US$ 4.42· 1 oz
Explore this tea →02 · Green tea
Green tea and toasted rice, certified organic, and one of two genmaicha on the list — the other is dusted with matcha — sold by the single ounce like everything else here.
US$ 6.43· 1 oz
Explore this tea →03 · Chai
One of a run of chais on the list, and one of the few items here that carries a place name — a port in Kerala — instead of a style name.
US$ 4.16· 1 oz
Explore this tea →The one worth the trip
Among the dearest greens on the shelf, more than three times the cheapest blends, and the one Chinese green here listed under both its English and its Chinese name. It is also the clearest test of the shop's by-the-ounce habit: a tea near the top of the price list still comes in the same one-ounce bag as the orange-blossom oolong, so trying it costs the price of a coffee rather than the price of a tin.
US$ 10.97· 1 oz
Explore this tea →Prices
Prices are indicative. Each price keeps its currency and pack size; this selection does not necessarily cover the house's complete range.
17 prices
| Tea | Type | Price / pack |
|---|---|---|
| Ooloong Orange Blossom | Oolong tea | US$ 3.751 oz |
| Engl. Breakfast, Organic | Black tea | US$ 3.851 oz |
| Cinnamon Rooibos | Rooibos | US$ 3.861 oz |
| Earl Grey, Organic | Black tea | US$ 4.111 oz |
| Lucky Dragon Hyson | Green tea | US$ 4.141 oz |
| Cochin Masala Chai | Chai | US$ 4.161 oz |
| Irish Breakfast Tea, Organic | Black tea | US$ 4.181 oz |
| Rooibos Afrikaana | Rooibos | US$ 4.261 oz |
| Autumnal Makaibari (Darjeeling) | Black tea | US$ 4.421 oz |
| Assam, TGFOP | Black tea | US$ 5.051 oz |
| Jasmine, Organic | Green tea | US$ 5.101 oz |
| Chamomile | Herbal infusion | US$ 5.281 oz |
| Five Peaks | Oolong tea | US$ 5.451 oz |
| Genmaicha, Organic | Green tea | US$ 6.431 oz |
| Lavender Earl Grey Organic | Black tea | US$ 7.561 oz |
| Matcha, Organic | Matcha | US$ 8.021 oz |
| Dragonwell (Long Jing), Organic | Green tea | US$ 10.971 oz |
Indicative prices, with each product’s pack size. Prices may change; check with the shop. Price verification dates: 2026-09-09.
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Images are cropped to fit the layout. The generic cover, when used, is illustrative and does not show this shop.
