Sencha Tea Co. San José

Sencha Tea Co. began in 2010 with a Costa Rican couple trained as tea sommeliers at the Escuela Argentina de Té; the first shop and tea salon opened at Momentum Pinares in 2011, and in 2020 the house added the Tea Bar format, counters that pour prepared drinks made from its gourmet teas while keeping loose leaf and accessories on the shelf. Six of its nine branches sit around the capital: San Pedro, in the Sigma Business Center; Pinares Place in Curridabat; Avenida Escazú and Distrito Cuatro in Escazú; Lincoln in Moravia; and Santa Ana Town Center. Whichever one is closest, the catalogue and the prices are the same.

The range is organised by type: white, green, oolong, black and pu-erh, an artisan line, sachets, fruit and herbal infusions, yerba mate blends, rooibos and matcha. Most teas come in 30 g, 50 g and 100 g bags and in boxes of 25 sachets; the Master Collection, with Milky Oolong, an Osmanthus Oolong from Thailand and Huang Ya Yellow Tips, starts at 50 g. Every price is printed before the 13 % IVA, which is added at checkout, so the figure on the bag is not quite the figure on the receipt. An organic Assam, a Lapsang Souchong, a Formosa Oolong and a Pai Mu Tan cover the classics.

Hours differ by Tea Bar: San Pedro opens at eight every day and closes at seven, Avenida Escazú opens at eight on weekdays, the mall counters at Pinares Place, Distrito Cuatro and Santa Ana keep nine-to-seven or ten-to-seven hours, and Lincoln in Moravia stays open until nine from Monday to Saturday. Online orders ship nationwide, next business day inside the house's own delivery area and two to three business days through Correos de Costa Rica elsewhere. Any counter is also the place to taste first: the bar pours the catalogue hot, iced and as lattes, and the bag goes home afterwards.