The Tea Grotto

The Tea Grotto was founded in 2004 in Salt Lake City by Brad Heller, who still owns and runs it, and sits at 401 East 900 South, a few blocks west of Liberty Park. It is a tea house first: pots brewed at the table, tea drinks to go and a short menu of food made with tea. Behind the counter is the bulk wall, about 150 teas sold by weight, which is what makes it a shop as much as a café.

Everything on the wall is sold from 50 g, with 100 g, 1 lb and 2 lb sizes priced lower per gram. The list covers the classics (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Ceylon, Irish Breakfast, Lapsang Souchong, Keemun), a solid Japanese shelf (Sencha, Genmaicha, Gyokuro, Houjicha, a Jade Matcha), Chinese greens and oolongs such as Dragonwell, an organic Tieguanyin sold as Golden Goddess of Mercy, Oriental Beauty and a GABA oolong, plus Bai Mu Dan, Masala Chai, a loose shou pu-erh and yerba mate. The shop says it buys through fair-trade and ethical partnerships and travels to Nepal and China to source.

The Grotto also teaches. Its community tea workshops, led by its lead educator Sierra Rae, cover matcha, how tea is made and tea rituals, and are announced class by class on the site. It is open every day from 9 in the morning, until 8 at night Monday to Saturday and 7 on Sunday. For a first visit, order a pot of something you do not know from the Chinese or Japanese shelf, then buy 50 g of it on the way out.