Berkeley, CA has 6 tea rooms and tea shops in this guide.
6 tea spots
Berkeley's Tea Scene
Berkeley's serious tea is concentrated on the west side of town. Far Leaves Tea has poured loose-leaf tea on San Pablo Avenue since 1998, Teance Fine Teas pours walk-in tastings at its Grayson Street shop, and Blue Willow Teaspot pairs a 50-plus-tea counter with Japanese tea ceremony sessions. Along Shattuck Avenue, Forest Tea Bar and Yume Mori Matcha both build menus on Japanese matcha, and Elaichi Co. brews Pakistani-style cardamom chai in big pots downtown.
West Berkeley holds three of the six listed venues: Teance Fine Teas on Grayson Street, Blue Willow Teaspot on Tenth Street and Far Leaves Tea on San Pablo Avenue. Downtown Berkeley has Elaichi Co. on Allston Way and Yume Mori Matcha on Shattuck Avenue, both a short walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. South Berkeley has Forest Tea Bar, further down Shattuck at Carlton Street.
Berkeley Tea at a Glance
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Tea Rooms & Tea Shops (6)
Tea houses, afternoon-tea rooms, matcha bars and loose-leaf shops that brew tea from other makers. Each card says what the place is known for and its price range.
Far Leaves Tea opened in Berkeley in 1998 and still runs its tea house on San Pablo Avenue. Co-founder Donna has made yearly trips to tea farms since then to buy single-origin teas and teaware. The list leans on Taiwanese oolongs such as Dong Ding, Alishan and Lishan, and the shop's tea also supplies Bay Area restaurants including Quince and Cotogna.
Teance buys from independent farms in China, Japan and Taiwan, a sourcing network founder Winnie Yu built over two decades. The Grayson Street store pours tastings whenever it is open and sells Yixing teapots, Marukyu Koyamaen matcha and pu-erh. It also runs ticketed classes, including Taiwan tea courses led by specialist Aqua Chen.
Blue Willow Teaspot is a tea shop with counter and table seating and a rotating list of more than 50 loose-leaf teas, sourced directly from growers by owner Ali Roth. The menu adds matcha, lattes and local pastries, and the shelves carry gongfu and Japanese teaware. It also hosts ticketed Japanese tea ceremony sessions.
Elaichi Co. is a chai cafe modeled on the roadside chai stalls of Karachi, started by founders Mojo and Zainab with family. The chai uses two ingredients: organic CTC black tea from a single Assam farm and hand-crushed cardamom, brewed in large pots. Cardamom buns and pound cake round out the counter, and a second cafe operates in San Francisco.
Yume Mori Matcha is a small matcha bar on Shattuck Avenue that uses matcha from Mie Prefecture, Japan. The menu covers matcha drinks you can customize, plus matcha crepes and soft serve. It has no website, and lines are common.
Forest Tea Bar is a matcha and hojicha bar at Shattuck Avenue and Carlton Street that uses stone-milled matcha from family farms in Uji, Kyoto, and sells the same powders by the tin, including a single-cultivar Asahi. It also makes wagashi each week with a local artist and has hosted reservation-only tea dessert evenings with ceremonial matcha, hojicha and kakigori.
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Berkeley Tea Tips
Taste before you buy at Teance
Teance Fine Teas says tastings are available any time during open hours (Wednesday to Sunday per its site). Ask to taste two or three oolongs side by side before buying a bag.
Book Blue Willow events ahead
Blue Willow Teaspot takes table reservations and sells seats for ticketed events such as its Japanese tea ceremony sessions, which started at $25 on the September 2026 calendar. Check the visit page before going.
Far Leaves keeps afternoon-to-evening hours
Far Leaves Tea opens in the afternoon, not the morning, so plan it as an after-lunch or early-evening stop rather than a breakfast one.
Do a West Berkeley loop
Teance Fine Teas (Grayson Street), Blue Willow Teaspot (Tenth Street) and Far Leaves Tea (San Pablo Avenue) are all in West Berkeley and work as one afternoon by car or bike. All three sell loose leaf and teaware to take home.
Brewing at Home After Berkeley
Found a tea you liked in Berkeley? Buy the leaf, then use these to brew it the same way at home.
Teaware
Kettles, gaiwans, kyusu, scales and matcha whisks for brewing at home.
Steeping Chart
Water temperature and steep time for green, white, oolong, black and pu-erh.
Tea Ratio Calculator
Grams of leaf per 100 ml, for gongfu and western brewing.
Bitter Tea Troubleshooting
Fix a bitter, flat or astringent cup by changing one variable at a time.
Cold-Brew Tea Ratios
Leaf weight and fridge time for cold-brewed tea, by tea type.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I do a tea tasting in Berkeley?
Teance Fine Teas on Grayson Street offers tastings during open hours and runs paid classes, including Taiwan tea courses. Far Leaves Tea on San Pablo Avenue and Blue Willow Teaspot on Tenth Street both serve tea on site from their loose-leaf lists.
Where can I buy loose-leaf tea in Berkeley?
All four listed venues sell tea to take home. Teance Fine Teas, Far Leaves Tea and Blue Willow Teaspot stock loose leaf from China, Taiwan and Japan plus teaware; Elaichi Co. sells its own cardamom chai blend.
Is there a Japanese tea ceremony in Berkeley?
Blue Willow Teaspot hosts ticketed chanoyu and Japanese tea ceremony sessions; check its events listing for upcoming dates.
Where can I get matcha in Berkeley?
Forest Tea Bar on Shattuck Avenue uses Uji matcha and sells ceremonial-grade tins; Yume Mori Matcha, also on Shattuck, makes matcha drinks, crepes and soft serve with matcha from Mie, Japan. Blue Willow Teaspot also serves matcha and sells matcha teaware.
Where can I get chai in Berkeley?
Elaichi Co. on Allston Way in downtown Berkeley makes chai from organic Assam CTC black tea and hand-crushed cardamom.
Berkeley Tea by Neighborhood
West Berkeley
Best for: Loose-leaf shopping and sit-down tastings at three dedicated tea shops.
Top picks: Teance Fine Teas, Blue Willow Teaspot, Far Leaves Tea
South Berkeley
Best for: Uji matcha, hojicha and seasonal wagashi on Shattuck Avenue.
Top picks: Forest Tea Bar
Downtown Berkeley
Best for: Cardamom chai and a matcha bar a few blocks from BART and the UC campus.
Top picks: Elaichi Co., Yume Mori Matcha
Tea Reading for Berkeley Visitors
Read these before you order: what to ask for, how it is brewed, and what it should cost.
