By Christopher Howard
Seattle is known for its coffee. It is arguably the coffee capital of North America (at least we think so). But there are a few of us who prefer beverages other than coffee (believe it or not). Seattle does sport a few places to the most classic of those beverages: tea. Worldwide tea is more popular than coffee and is second only to packaged water as the most consumed beverage.
Tea (camellia sinensis) is said to have been discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen Nong around 2737 BC when a tea leaf accidentally fell into boiling water. It was originally used as a medicinal drink, but for nearly two thousand years it has been documented as a daily beverage. The Dutch were the first to export tea from China early in the Seventeenth Century, and China continues to dominate the world tea market, but there are substantial other sources of both traditional and alternate teas.
Tea and coffee both contain caffeine and various antioxidants. Cup for cup most coffees contain more caffeine than tea, which is one explanation for the quicker impact (or jolt) coffee may have on some people. But tea also contains L-theanine that buffers the caffeine, releasing it more slowly and giving a softer, more relaxing, caffeine hit. The actual amount of caffeine depends upon the specific tea (or coffee) and how each is prepared.
With that in mind we set out to expand our tea options in Seattle. We are not focusing on “high tea,” the midafternoon fancy preparation that seems appropriate for special occasions. We are saving those options for winter time. Instead, we are focusing on places to go for specialty teas that allow one to sit and taste on site as well as getting bulk tea to go.
First Stop: The Market
We started close and convenient to downtown at the Pike Place Market. We avoided the hustle and bustle of Market Spice Tea located in the heart of the tourist section of the market and instead visited The Perennial Tea Room, 1910 Post Alley, 206.448.4054, https://perennialtearoom.com, which touts itself as “Seattle source for tea since 1990.” Located in a part of Port Alley that is not quite as crowded with tourists, Perennial Tea Room has a wide variety of teas to drink there or to buy in bulk. They have both inside seating and covered outside seating. (And they are located next to a chocolate shop if you wish to try to pair tea with chocolate while you sip.) Perennial Tea Room’s selection includes green, white, oolong, black and pu-erh (a fermented and aged tea). They informed us their goal is to be a “first stop” for all things tea, whether for buying or for information; if someone is looking for something they do not have they hope to know where to send you.
Perennial Tea Room is a great resource if you are working downtown and want someone to give you advice on the tea you are buying and how to prepare it. And a good place for bulk tea while avoiding the crowds at the better-known Market Spice Tea.
Next Stop: Wallingford
Despite the name, Friday Afternoon Tea, 4228 Stone Way North, 206.420.2798, https://www.fridaytea.com, is open every day of the week. This tea shop specializes in blended teas, blending various teas and other ingredients to create teas inspired by various themes that strike the owner’s fancy. As opposed to simply being knowledgeable, those we met at Friday Afternoon Tea were tea fanatics. We sampled a pu-erh and an oolong lemon peel and pomegranate blend called Black Cat which we later learned was inspired by a Sailor Moon character. (The owner arrived while we were there and she explained several of the varieties this quarter were named for science fiction and fantasy television shows (Sailor Moon, Game of Thrones, Firefly, etc.); next quarter they will be based on literature (but probably still with a fantasy theme). The teas were served in a French press and the water temperature used was different for different teas.
Friday Afternoon Tea offers a small assortment of cookies scones and the like from La Liath (“A British Isles Bakery”) that is just a few blocks up Stone Way. We selected a small slice of an iced chocolate and Guinness cake. We enjoyed both of our teas and the cake did not overpower either.
Friday Afternoon Tea has a second location, but it is dedicated to shipping; the business is at least half online since covid. At their Fremont location they also host a variety of theme afternoons each week (board games, discussions about mortality, etc.). But the real reason to go there is for the enthusiastic sharing of their expertise (and fanaticism) about all things tea. Definitely worth a visit.
A Museum that also Serves Tea
The tearoom (and bar) at Panama Tea & Coffee, located in the Panama Hotel & Japanese American Museum of Seattle, 607 South Main, 206.515.4000, https://www.panamahotelseattle.net/panama-tea-coffee. As the name of the hotel suggests, the tea room is as much a museum as anything else. This location serves as the setting for the opening scene of the best seller Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. This hotel offered storage for the Japanese Americans being sent off to interments under Executive Order 9066 in 1942. The upper room has a window in the floor showing the storeroom that still contains the belongings for those who never returned to reclaim them. The rest of the two rooms is replete with photos and information about Japanese American history in Seattle.
Panama Tea & Coffee has a decent selection of teas and blends, as well as coffee and a bar (for Irish coffee and the like). They prepared both of our beverages (an oolong and a pu-erh) with steamed water (i.e., very hot) which probably made the pu-erh more bitter than we would have liked. They offer an assortment of baked items, but they do not feature any specific bakery.
Panama Tea & Coffee is worth a visit for the historical experience, and to visit the host cat (be forewarned if you have an allergy). But, apart from that it was not our favorite tea experience.
And, What is this Bubble Tea Stuff?
And some of us have never sampled bubble tea, so we tried out Drip Tea, 1416 10th Avenue, 206.457.4374, https://thedriptea.com, and, given the diverse and interesting choices on their menu, we still have not tried bubble tea. The menu had a wide variety of fruity and even chocolaty concoctions, many but not all based on tea or matcha. They also had a few Vietnamese coffee drinks. (select % sweet in 25% increments)
We tried a BFF, a strawberry fruit drink and a mango special (“Mm Kink is Mango,” not on the regular menu). Both drinks had ample fruit, but no tapioca bubbles. The mango drink consisted of mango chunks with Tajin and Chamoy, both Mexican sauces that made the beverage both savory and slightly hot — it was very interesting. We liked both of our drinks, and there were many more interesting offerings to try. The staff, however, was not very interactive or helpful in answering questions.
The Drip Tea we visited on Capitol Hill is around the corner from Frankie & Jo’s, but a new location just opened in Kent at 221 Washington Avenue North, Kent. Most of the beverages on the menu, including those we sampled, resembled dessert in a cup, and that is what we would return there for. There are other outlets that specialize in bubble tea which we will (finally) try for our next tea issue.
Last, But Certainly Not Least
We are not reviewing high tea, but we still had to stop by Queen Mary Tea Room, 2912 NE 55th (just up the Street from Ravena Volvo), 206.527.2770, https://queenmarytea.com. This landmark in the Ravenna neighborhood claims the
title as the oldest independently owned tea room in America, having been in operation since 1988. Queen Mary will serve high tea all day, but they also have brunch, lunch and dinner menus every day of the week. The servers will generally go through the menu with each table, although our server could not answer technical questions about the tea. We went with the Bangers and Mash for brunch, which is English sausage, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs with a generous side of fresh fruit. This fit in with the very English vibe of the place. We accompanied that with a generous pot of Darjeeling tea. They mention they steep tea at different temperatures for different teas (appropriate) and provide you a timer for how long you may wish to steep your tea. The food and tea were both very good.
We observed others ordering the high tea, and noted they prepare a special version for children, which inspires us to want to go back for a future high tea edition. If you go, reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. And, the prices for the food and the high tea are noticeably higher (at least 10%) on the weekend because the weekends are so popular. And, although they were busy when we were there, Queen Mary has a GoFundMe drive going to help them recover from the difficulties of surviving Covid.
Queen Mary also operates an Emporium across the street and half a block down the hill. This appears to be where the people with tea expertise work, as they could answer more of the questions we had about the teas (e.g., they blend about 1/3 of their own teas). This is a fairly fancy gift shop if you are looking for themed gifts.
Learn More About Tea
And, conveniently if you want the chance to learn a lot more about tea, the Fourteenth Annual NW Tea Festival will be held at the Exhibition Hall at Seattle Center (301 Mercer Street) on September 28 and 29. This event will feature several formal classes and informal tastings. It is a great opportunity to taste varieties you may have never heard of before and to learn a lot more about tea in general. The web site for this event is: https://nwteafestival.com/about.
Dining Out is coordinated by Christopher Howard with help from friends and family. You may send comments and suggestions to him at chh@f2t.com or 206.669.5956.
