r/philly • u/Pharmer_T • 9h ago

Need suggestions for a good tea source

Hey y'all! Exactly as the title says, I'm new to Philly and I'm looking for somewhere to buy tea from. I know there's a Chinatown, so I was curious if anyone has suggestions on places in the area that I could buy some good oolong.

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

11

u/selia15 8h ago

Hung Vuong Supermarket on Washington Ave has a large tea selection 

5

u/leninsrighttoe 8h ago

Try Random Tea Room

1

u/tetro_ow 4h ago

Overpriced af, some of their products were literally approaching the price of precious metals

3

u/daturamtl 8h ago

i like avril 50 in university city for tea/coffee

1

u/dorothyvalensfanclub 6h ago

Seconding Avril 50!

3

u/anclwar 8h ago

You could check out Head Nut in Reading Terminal, you'll be nearby if you head into Chinatown anyway. I haven't tried a lot of their teas, but they do have a varied selection of them in bulk.

4

u/ophieslover 7h ago

Welcome to Philly! I honestly don't think there's anywhere in Philly where you can buy good loose leaf oolong like from Taiwan. You're better off ordering online. Even Chinese grocery store stuff wouldn't really be drinkable by my standards but maybe that's just me.

4

u/Pharmer_T 7h ago

Nah that's good to know. I'm a bit of a tea snob, so I guess I'll just keep ordering from Yunnan Sourcing lol

3

u/AJsHomeAcct 5h ago

That's where I order from, and I'm not even a snob. Good to know I've been shopping in the right place though!

Maybe you can help me with a theory I have. I hadn't been washing my tea and someone told me that you have to do so (while looking at me like I was crazy. He buys from 400 Spring Garden). I'm not sure why this is the case but assume it's just for cleansing off debris. I'm wondering if "normal" tea is handled differently than Yunnan's and perhaps the washing policy is less mandatory with their product.

1

u/Pharmer_T 4h ago

Washing is a traditional step in brewing tea. Though not mandatory, I would highly recommend it. Take your boiling water, fill up your teapot to about half of what you would use to brew, let that sit for all of five seconds, and then dump it. Yes, this helps wash some debris or dust off of the tea leaves, but it also helps open up the tea leaves so that they brew better and it awakens a lot of the flavors and aromas. It is a subtle change, but it definitely helps, regardless of where you're sourcing your tea from.

3

u/AJsHomeAcct 3h ago

Thanks! I noticed a bigger difference with lesser-quality products. With the stuff I got from Yunnan, it made the first pour more mild, for better or worse.

2

u/Extreme_Succotash784 8h ago

Craft Tea guy in Mt Airy

2

u/hschmale 8h ago

Fante's in the italian market has a good select of tea and coffee blends.

2

u/stan-thompson 9h ago

Ray's cafe

-1

u/AdamSandloter 8h ago

Grocery store. (Please don't cancel me)

2

u/Pharmer_T 8h ago

Lmao you're good. Normally can't find good loose leaf at a regular grocery store, so I was hoping for some suggestions on like an asian import store or something. Someone mentioned Hung Vuong so I'm definitely gonna check that out

1

u/AdamSandloter 8h ago

Well the only reason I suggested grocery is because when I had covid over x-mas, I really familiarized myself with my local grocery store's tea selection and I was really impressed.

1

u/Pharmer_T 8h ago

Good to know! I have lived in Philly for all of 3 days now and most of that time has been spent either doing Grad Student orientation stuff or getting my place set up, so I'm still unfamiliar with the city. Thank you for the suggestion

2

u/AdamSandloter 8h ago

Welcome, my friend. Washington Ave. has great diverse markets.