After all this talk of coffee in the dining forum, I was surprised not to find a tea thread. While the meteoric rise of gourmet coffee has stolen the limelight, the quiet tea invasion has been nearly as profound. Twenty years ago, tea was principally known in iced form, or from that obligatory pot on the table in Asian restaurants, or as an afternoon sip for old ladies to stir milk into while they nibble on biscuits. Fast forward to the 21st century: DC gains at least three specialty tea chains, bubble tea is hip, and people are routinely downing chai and tisanes. A flurry of brands like Mighty Leaf and Tea Forté hit the shelves recently with whole leaf teas in disposable bags.

There are a lot of different tea cultures, so I'll just mention a few things I like. Tea seems to have an affinity for the cultures that make kebabs, so I rarely skip out on the Persian tea at Shamshiry. The cardamom tea at Panjshir II is also delightful. When having dim sum at Fortune, New Fortune or any of the Wheaton restaurants, go for the chrysanthemum tea sometime. The pot is packed with whole flowers, and the cup is sweetened with a few pieces of rock sugar. Or in my case, a lot of sugar. On warm days, I'm a sucker for the Japanese sweet green tea at Teaism. And even though DC is on the wrong side of the sweet tea line, I keep ducking into Chick-Fil-A for a fix.

Ching Ching Cha in Georgetown is worth a visit all by itself. Tea is served conventionally, but you can also opt to have the oolong served "gong fu" style where the hot water is tranferred between a series of vessels to maintain an optimal steeping time and temperature. They also have the best deal in the area on loose jasmine tea balls, each one a hand-tied cluster of leaves with a jasmine flower at its center, dried into a neat sphere the size of a gumball. At Sur La Table, similar tea sells for 3x the price in a fancy gift box.

In retail land, the search for loose Chinese tea has to start with Ten Ren, a branch of the Taiwan-based chain. Communication can be difficult, so follow your nose. They also have one of the better area selections of Yixing pottery tea sets, some of which can be quite fancifully decorated. Despite their being a mall chain, I like a few things from Teavana: their "perfect tea maker" steeping gadget, their loose white tea, and their loose masala chai blend is really good...nice cardamom and ginger in the spicing.

Finally, if you find yourself in Hong Kong, don't forget to visit the Flagstaff House Museum.

What do you like?

What a great topic to start. I think I have more shelves in my pantry dedicated to tea than to any other food item. (That might be a sad statement on the frequency with which I cook, but I choose to see it as a testament to my love of the beverage...)

I don't know Ten Ren -- where is it? I tend to buy my tea on trips to Asia (and always have chrysanthemum tea in the house, so am excited to hear I can find it at dim sum places as well!). Upton Tea Imports comes highly recommended as well, although I haven't had the opportunity to try them yet. I occasionally stop into the Japanese shop on Connecticut Avenue in Dupont (is it called Ginza? I never remember) to stock up when I'm running low.

When having tea out, I tend not to stray far from Teaism, mostly because of its proximity to my house, and the fact that they carry gen mai cha, one of my favorites. I still need to check out Ching Ching Cha -- I've stopped in to buy loose tea there before, but have never sat down and enjoyed a drink there.

And, this article about America's only tea plantation might also be of interest to some. I haven't been, although I did enjoy the China Tea Museum, located in Hangzhou. You get there by strolling through the Longjing (or dragonwell) area that produces some delicious tea.

Aside from Teaism is there anywhere local (D.C. or Metro-accessible preferred) that sells a nice variety of good quality loose teas? I just ran out of the bag of my staple (gen mai cha) and am looking to branch out to another supplier aside from Teaism. The supply I brought back from Japan was subtly different in an interesting way, so I'm interested in seeing what else is out there. Online or mail order suggestions would work, too. Thanks

Ching-Ching-Cha in Georgetown, on Wisconsin just south of M Street, is the best place in town for buying (and enjoying) tea. Online, I usually buy through Upton Tea in Mass., who have a great selection. Another good online purveyor is Grey and Seddon. A Google search will reveal many others.

I buy all my tea from Upton Tea and have had no problems with quality or selection. I also like the sample packs that they have to easily try out different styles, like this one which is pretty tasty.

Thanks for the suggestions! Honestly, I had totally forgotten about Ching Ching Cha; aside from Paradiso Georgetown is totally off of my radar these days. I'll have to stop by when Fall starts behaving like Fall again.

Off to do some online tea shopping ...

I've liked Adagio Tea, and my cousin told me Teality is good. It looks like they have a good selection of Asian teas.

Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice has a really wide selection of loose and boxed teas and coffees, as well as some nice gifts, candies, cookies, teapots, utensils, etc. It's located down near the water at 215 S. Union Street. Last time I was in, the very knowledgeable and friendly staff even brewed up a small sample of loose tea for me to try before buying. (703) 683-0856.

Wegman's in Fairfax carries loose tea. Not that I'd ever shop there, of course.

Also, Steap in Philadelphia (has mail order) has a fabulous selection. Got some in a Christmas schwag packet from a consultant, and I've been hooked ever since.

Green tea with pineapple is the best!

My source for everything tannic and caffeinated.

I love Harney & Sons for loose teas and tisanes, as well as tea bags. I've always gotten raves from people who receive their products as gifts from me, as well. Some of them are even starting to drop hints now.

I'll second that. A few years ago I spent a month in Cambridge with many, many hours spent sampling their wares and reading case studies. I order from them a couple of times a year.

Until recently, both Borders and Barnes&Noble sold cannisters of specialty tea. The cans were about 7" high, 3" in diameter, with about a dozen sachets per unit. I bought orange, chamomile, red, green and white versions at various times. Now those items are gone from both chains. When I ask the people behind the counter about them, they drop their lower lip and say, "Huh?"

Alas, I never bothered to look at the trade name on the packaging. Does anybody know how to find those things, either online or in stores?

Are these what you had in mind? If so, I know for sure Wegmans carries them; I think Whole Foods may as well.

Yes, that's it. Thanks.

You can find them at Whole Foods and also at World Market.

My kids and I love the different teas from Republic of Tea. At least some of the Whole Foods locations (Tenleytown and Clarendon) are carrying a lot fewer varieties than they had in the past. It took me several weeks to find the British Breakfast. Wegman's does carry more flavors than I knew possible, but it is not at all convenient for me to get to one. Panera usually has a few flavors for sale. World Market has a pretty good selection, but not as many as Whole Foods used to have, or Wegman's.

For what it is worth - if one of the Republic of Tea flavors you like is rooibos (which isn't actually tea; the plant is a legume), then try Rodman's. They sell (in bags, not cans) the FreshPak brand that is commonly sold in South Africa at a fraction of the cost. The box may remind you of Lipton's but don't be put off. I've tried the fancy, expensive brands of rooibos and they aren't any better than FreshPak. Some are flavored, but the basic tea seems to be nearly the same in quality and flavor.

Also, I noticed last night that Balducci's sells Adagio teas in cans but I'm not sure if the tins contain loose tea or tea bags.

Ellen Paul
Chevy Chase, MD

At first I wondered if the Republic of Tea initiated a green policy when it comes to its tins of loose tea and local retailers decided that shoppers would be more inclined to purchase small quantities of tea bags as opposed to spending more than $25 on blah-looking paper bags filled with larger quantities of tea.

My favorite is the Cardamon herbal tea and I gave up searching for it. Just checked the company's Web site and saw this: click.

THEN, I noticed this page on the Web site: packaging options. Small quantities of both loose tea and tea bags are options.

It really does seem that retailers have decided loose tea is what hippies drank back when they bought their spices and bark-remedies in bulk. The tea section at Whole Foods still has a wide variety of brands, but a more conservative, limited range of varieties or flavors.

I ordered 6 cannisters online just short of a week ago and they arrived today, average speed. All of them have some citrusy component -- lemon, orange, etc. The advantage, of course, is that all the company's products are available, unlike Wegman's, et al, where some may be out of stock. Also, you get a free baseball cap, which permits you to advertise The R of T, at no cost to you, the consumer. Wow.

At Arthur Schlesinger's memorial service (as seen on C-SPAN), one of the speakers remarked that his two eccentricities were (wearing) bow ties and (enjoying) extra lemon in his tea. I don't wear bow ties.

This is probably the last spot you would think to look, but Eagles Nest (the campus conv. store at AU) carries them.

Bought a tin of Marco Polo variety by Mariage Freres at Balducci's, and love it. Who else carries Mariage Freres tea?