6 Best Tea Rooms & Shops in Kansas City, MO

A French tea room and shop in Waldo that stocks loose leaf from several French tea brands and serves it on site with European pastries. The front room takes walk-ins; a private room handles afternoon teas and tea parties for 6 to 12 guests on weekends by appointment. It also teaches tea classes and runs tastings for corporate groups.

A loose-leaf tea shop that sorts its stock by the effect you want (calm, focus, wellness) as well as by type, from white and green through oolong, black, chai and herbal. Staff run private group tastings of three teas for 5 to 20 people and offer one-on-one tea consultations. The shop also hosts a ticketed five-course afternoon tea at the restaurant Aixois.

The only retail shop of a white-tea specialist whose owner, Shang, oversees production of teas grown mostly in Fujian Province, China. The counter at Crown Center sells loose white, green, oolong and red (black) teas plus kung fu teaware, and serves tea by the cup and by the pot with a small food menu. Staff host group tastings of five teas in or just outside the shop.

A Swiss chocolatier and pastry shop on Main Street with a cafe, a tearoom and a patio for breakfast and lunch. The menu centers on quiche, pastries, tortes and the house chocolates. It is a lunch-and-pastry tearoom rather than a specialist tea house; its site does not list the teas it pours.

A matcha and houjicha cafe inside the Dear Society shop on Southwest Boulevard. Drinks are whisked by hand from Nekohama matcha and rotating houjicha from the Ando Cha family in Mie, Japan, served as lattes, americanos and sparkling versions. Matcha drinks run $6 to $9 and houjicha drinks $5.50 to $8.

A tea house in Columbus Park, a short walk from the River Market, that describes its focus as premium teas from established growing regions prepared with traditional brewing methods. Its website gives the address and contact details but no menu or hours, so check before going.