My 4 favorite tea shops

The other night I was doomscrolling Twitter, as one does, and stumbled upon this article from the Onion titled, “Relaxing Tea Better F*cking Work”. I was laughing so hard because honestly it sums up my relationship with tea pretty perfectly. As an avid tea drinker of 15+ years, I’ve found myself clinging to the calming effect of those delicious leaves even more than I have before over the last couple years for obvious reasons. However, as much as I love drinking tea to relax, sometimes shopping for tea is the better stress relieving activity.

So, this article got me thinking that it was high (tea) time I shared my 4 favorite tea shops with delicious, creative blends that have me visiting them over and over again!

1. Petals and Poison

From their site: Petals & Poison is created from the heart and soul of Jená Bhone. She specializes in Gothic Victorian inspired items such as the original Into the Unknown Candle Rings, Mourning Brew Tea Blends, and the coveted Nu Antiques.

Petals and Poison offers speciality loose leaf tea blends, called “Mourning Brews” inspired by movies, shows, and classic literature. I’ve tried many different kinds of both their fandom and original blends and I’ve loved every single one.

Petals and Poison is truly one of my favorite small shops and favorite creators. Jená makes the most beautiful fandom and gothic inspired goods, but the items I’m most obsessed with are the Lucerna tea set. Honestly tea just takes better when you make and serve it that full gorgeous gothic tea service, imo.

My personal Mourning Brew recommendations are Van Tassel’s Tavern and Ghosts are Real!

2. Magic Hour Teas

From their site: Magic Hour is a Tea & Transformation company with a mission to connect our world through tea ceremony. Our organic ceremonial teas are made with love in mystical Ojai, California by Zhena Muzyka.

Magic Hour is my newest obsession right now. They have an overwhelming amount of loose leaf tea blends and an array of creative collections inspired by gemstones, the zodiac, moon cycles, wellness, and more. I have truly spent hours browsing this site creating a wishlist of all the tea I’m going to try next. My absolute favorite thing about Magic Hour though is that their teas come in gorgeous purple apothecary jars. It makes every time you drink tea feel like you are brewing a magical potion.

So far Ruby Moon and Taurus are my personal favorites. Ruby Moon is especially incredible iced and it’s been my go to summer afternoon drink.

Edit: a few months after I wrote and published this post I was accepted as an affiliate for Magic Hour! If you make any purchases through the links above, I will earn a small commission.

3. David’s Tea

From their site: Tea-obsessed since 2008, DAVIDsTEA exists purely for tea perfection. We’re on the ground worldwide in search of well-crafted, single-origin loose leaf teas to share with our North American community.

I first stumbled into a David’s Tea store on a visit to Chicago many years ago and I’ve been obsessed ever since. They offer every kind of tea blend you could ever imagine, and their aesthetic is so bright and happy you can’t help but smile while browsing it all. Their drinkware is also super fun and they have everything from mugs with infusers, tumblers for iced tea, loose leaf tea spoons, and more.

My tried and true favorite blend is Cold 911. It’s the perfect drink to soothe your throat and calm your sinuses. A few years ago I had the absolute worst cold-turned-sinus infection and I just drank Cold 911 constantly to get me through it.

4. Adagio Tea

From their site: Gourmet loose teas sourced directly from the artisan farmers who tender them.

Adagio has an absolutely endless amount of tea to browse through, but my personal favorite items on their site are their fandom tea collections. Fans from all over the world create custom tea blends inspired by their favorite fictional characters, and they even design the art that goes on the packaging. You can search for blends by name, creator, and fandom. There’s even an option to create your own blends and share them with friends or followers! I absolutely love how open source and collaborative Adagio is, and the fandom blends I’ve ordered from there are not only delicious, but extra special because you know they were created by fellow fans.

I first discovered Adagio by stumbling into Cara McGee’s amazing Dragon Age collection. The Cullen Rutherford blend is my favorite out of the bunch.


I hope you try tea from some of these place and discover a new brew that you love. While these are my 4 favorites, I love trying as much tea as I can possibly get my hands on, so if you have any of your own recommendations please comment below!

Check out the rest of my blog for more recommendations, and over on Instagram I post tea aesthetic pics from time to time. Happy brewing!

Alyssa Bradley

Visual artist and fandom fashionista burdened with glorious purpose.

https://www.alyssa-bradley.com
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