The city guide · United States
The city guide · United StatesTea shops inTacoma.
Tacoma has one real tea house and it is a good one: Mad Hat, on Broadway in the downtown Theater District, with more than 300 teas and herbs sold in 50 g steps, from a 8 US$ genmaicha to a 17 US$ Jin Jun Mei. The rest of the city is thinner than its size suggests — the tea rooms in Old Town, Freighthouse Square and 6th Avenue that guides still list have closed, and the two other genuine tea counters, Obscura on Hilltop and the Jin Jin matcha room on Pacific Avenue, had nothing we could price today. So the second shop on this page is not a tea shop at all but the Pacific Northwest Shop in Proctor, a family gift and specialty-foods store since 1978 whose tea shelf is the regional roll call: MarketSpice, Washington's Finest, Apolis and Felicity Loft, all in sealed packs. Blue Moon Teas, a Tacoma online seller since 1999, fills in the breakfast blacks and a roasted mate.
Illustrative tea photograph
2 places we’d send a friend to.
Our Tacoma 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
Mad Hat Tea Company
Downtown, Broadway (Theater District)
16 prices listedMad Hat Tea Company
924 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
Tacoma's downtown tea house on Broadway, with more than 300 teas and herbs sold in 50 g steps and a black-tea wall that runs from Scottish Breakfast to Jin Jun Mei.
In storeShips onlineTue–Fri 10:30–17:00 · Sat–Sun 11:00–16:00 · Mon closed
Read the full shop note
An urban tea house at 924 Broadway that its own site sums up as "over 300 teas and herbs": 58 plain black teas, 18 greens, 10 oolongs, 15 pu-erhs, 18 yerba mates and 31 rooibos at the time of writing, every loose tea sold from 50 g up in 50 g steps at a flat rate. The Chinese blacks are the reason to go — a Yunnan Hong Cha at 9,00 US$, a Keemun Hao Ya A at 12,00 US$, a Golden Monkey at 13,50 US$ and a Jin Jun Mei at 17,00 US$ for 50 g — and the oolong shelf runs from a Wu Yi Shui Xian at 10,00 US$ to a Monkey Picked at 20,00 US$. Greens include a Fukamushi sencha, a Bi Lo Chun and a Dragonwell around fifteen dollars. Closed Mondays.
What to bring home
Website: madhattea.com The everyday option
7 prices listedPacific Northwest Shop
2702 N Proctor Street, Tacoma, WA 98407
The Proctor District gift shop that Bill and Ann Evans opened in 1978 to sell things made in and inspired by the Pacific Northwest, now run by the second generation, with a sister store in Wallingford, Seattle. It is not a tea shop, but its tea shelf is the region in one place: MarketSpice's cinnamon-orange black at 8,49 US$ the 4 oz, Apolis Craft Tea's Sweet Cream Earl Grey at 17,99 US$, Felicity Loft's Mariner's Chai at 14,99 US$ and Washington's Finest Tea's Tacoma Cinnamon Rose at 14,99 US$, all in sealed packs and all available for store pickup. Open every day, until 18:00 on weekdays and Saturdays.
In storeShips onlineMon–Sat 10:00–18:00 · Sun 10:00–17:00
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 Tacoma.
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
Jin Jin Matcha
Downtown, Pacific Avenue · 1019 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402
Website: jinjinmatcha.comA matcha and tea room downtown, open every day from 9:00 to 16:00, that works with one family of tea farmers for its ceremonial grade and curates its leaf list with MIRO Tea in Seattle. The one take-home product with a size, a 30 g ceremonial tin, was sold out in every variant today, and the loose teas on its ordering site are cafe servings; when the tin comes back, so does a price.
Ask for prices in storeObscura
Hilltop, Martin Luther King Jr Way · 1308 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Tacoma, WA 98405
Website: leafywater.comA tea house on Hilltop whose online catalogue is live and priced by the gram — Assam, Golden Monkey, Iron Goddess, a hand-rolled white — but whose site today describes itself only as a wholesale company, with pickup switched off and no hours, and a listing that marks it closed. We would rather leave it unpriced than guess whether the door is open.
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
Where to next?
More in United States
Singapore
Hong Kong
Mexico
Uruguay
New Zealand
Australia
CanadaAdd my tea house to the list
Run a tea shop or tea house? Send us your details and we will take a look.
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