Floating Leaves Tea

I stopped in yesterday on a whim, thinking I’d grab something on the recommendation of the owner for my husband. Did not expect such awesome service! The owner took a ton of time to talk about tea choices, asked about our beer preferences, then made a recommendation based on that. She demonstrated the brewing method and told me all about the place the tea was from and how it was prepared. She was clearly very passionate about tea, which totally rubbed off and made me passionate about tea suddenly. I came home with an oolong that is just amazeballs. I’d give this lady more than 5 stars if I could.

I feel so good about being a regular customer of Floating Leaves. Their knowledge and love of tea is extraordinary, and they are as warm and friendly to relate to as a loaded yixing pot. I’ve been buying from them every couple of months for the past couple of years, and I delight in their splendid selections every morning.
Much gratitude for Floating Leaves!

this is the best place to get quality loose tea leaves at a great price. schiuwen is not only very knowledgeable about the different types and qualities of teas in the market she is able to give good recommendations on what how to expand your repertoire of teas you should try. i most definitely recommend floating tea leaves. hopefully i will have a chance to try her one of her tea tasting classes.

I’ve been a customer for several years. Shiuwen’s offerings are all of the highest quality and she does some of the tea roasting at the shop. She travels to Taiwan to meet tea farmers and select their best teas to bring back to Seattle. For superb tea sold by someone with a passion for all things tea, you can’t go wrong at Floating Leaves.

A superb tea shop. The owner sets a high bar with her tea tasting offerings and her service to customers. Her passion for the high quality teas that she carries is evident, and she makes every effort to recommend just the right tea for each individual customer. She brings not only expertise and the latest knowledge of teas to the experience; she is delightful and fun as well. I will definitely become a regular customer.

This is the best tea house in entire Seattle, actually it’s the only real tea house in Seattle! Shiuwen is always smiling and will welcome you with a cup of excellent tea every time you come.

What an amazing tea store! We visit Floating Leaves Tea every time my husband and I visit Seattle, and we usually end up purchasing a year’s worth of tea.
Although I love all of of the oolongs offered here — aged and otherwise — my favorites are oriental beauty (such a complex layers of flavors), dong ding (several variety in this line), and muzha tieguanyin (I cannot say enough how good this tea taste and feel). Though this year’s batch of gui fei mei ren (refined and naturally sweet) and baozhong farmer’s choice (lightly fruity taste) are unexpectedly good and delicate.
Floating Leaves Tea is definitely a nice break from all the sightseeing and always deliver a variety of high quality tea.

She goes over the different tea’s and you get to taste as well!

This is a super charming tea shop, right in Ballard. The proprietor was kind and generous with her knowledge of tea. She offered us a wide variety for tasting, and the environment was calm and peaceful.
I love tea, and make it often at home, and I am so pleased to have another source of expertise, and great tea, closer to home than Pike Place.
What a treat to have a store like this in our neighborhood.

I’ve been buying tea from the woman who owns this shop for 10+ years. She used to work at a tea shop in Seattle’s International District, then she started her own business. I believe she sells the best quality loose leaf teas at the best prices to be found anywhere in Seattle. For anyone who might be interested, I would encourage you to break away from grocery store teabags and Teavana-​like loose leaf teas, and try this shop. The products sold are not cheap, but in this instance, you really do get what you pay for!

I used to live in Hong Kong, where there are truly hundreds of tea shops. I also used to give seminars to tourists on Chinese tea culture… While there is always more to learn, I know my stuff. Floating Leaves Tea is the best place in town.
Best place for high quality, reasonably priced loose leaf tea! Hands down, absolutely the best in Seattle. Highly recommended for those who want great Taiwan tea (and some others i believe) at a well curated shop. Also, this shop is unpretentious and will answer all of your questions, regardless if you are a newbie or a nerd.
Because I’ve had friends who made complaints, here is a little something:
If you are new to visiting tea shops for quality loose leaf tea (anywhere), in which the tea is hand selected by the proprietor throughout the year, please remember: Although these are reasonable prices for quality tea, do not expect to pay $ 5.99 for 30 bags of low quality, broken up from the bottom of the pile, black tea as you can at your nearest supermarket. This is the good stuff, and rightly so will cost you real dollars to insure its quality. Good tea costs money! That being said I’ve found $ 20 bucks goes a long way in a such a reasonable place such as Floating Leaves Tea!
Closed on Mondays I believe, p.s.
Cheers!

Wonderful tea shop– one of my favorite so far in the US. Shiuwen is wonderfully knowledgeable about tea and this shop has the best selection of oolongs I’ve seen in a while, and well priced for fine teas. I will definitely continue to buy from her through her website

Floating Leaves Tea is top notch. In my mind they set the bar for what a good tea shop should be.
The owner goes to Taiwan yearly and purchases tea directly from the farmers and as a result brings back quality teas. Some are competition teas, others are rarer finds and some are good «everyday» teas that won’t break your wallet.
Like any good tea shop, Floating Leaves lets you sample the teas before buying and there’s never any pressure to buy.
They also have a quality selection of modern pots, traditional Chinese ware (yixing, gaiwans, gong fu cha accessories, etc.) and ‘to go’ mugs.
I highly recommend Floating Leaves.

I’ve been getting tea from Floating Leaves for about 5 years. I started ordering tea online when I was living in New York and was excited to visit the tea shop when I moved to Seattle a couple years ago. The owner Shiuwen Tai is very knowledgeable about tea and a really nice lady to sit and chat with. In all honesty her high mountain oolongs are the best I have had. Over the last 5 years I have probably bought more tea from her than any other vendor because she reliably has high quality tea at reasonable prices.

Best teashop in Seattle for Formosa Ooolong. Enjoy sitting and talking with the owner and other customers while you sample her wonderful teas.

Tea houses and shoppes and rooms and lounges are popping up all over Seattle, like mushrooms on a cool autumn day. Most of them are silly places that offer strawberry oolongs, chai puerh, vanilla blueberry matcha, or booze-​infused tea cocktails. No no NO! According to the bylaws of the Not Allowed Society, at least twelve unpardonable breaches of tea appreciation are hereby committed.
Whew.
Floating Leaves eased my mind and lifted my spirits immediately. A small, cluttered storefront smelling of freshly-​steeped oolong. Unflavored oolong. My friends & I sat next to one of the regulars sampling the tea, and owner Shiuwen Tai immediately made us feel welcome. Her enthusiasm and humor are supported by her knowledgable appreciation for good tea. She swears she’s no expert, and would shock tea fetishists with her nearly punk disregard for the «proper» brewing methods. Ask her about «Grandpa Style.»
In this way Floating Leaves encourages the shy and the curious to sip alongside the geeky know-​it-​alls. Thank you, Shiuwen.

Best high mountain Taiwanese oolong in town. Nuff said.

One of the best tea shop experiences I have had the pleasure to have! The owner has som of the most WONDERFUL tea and knows everything! The prices are a bit high, but as a tea buyer, I feel they are also reasonable. You will never get bad tea here as the owner is VERY selective and goes to great lengths to know where her tea is coming from by purchasing directly from the farms! I love this aspect of the process anfd it is always nice to sit with a cup of tea and listen to her stories about the journey the tea has made from the farm into my cup!

The owner of this establishment is THE EXPERT in tea (we’ve been told, in the U.S.)… Whatever, she is great! A beautiful person with a sharp mind and witty personality, she treated us with warmth and generosity. Never a REAL tea drinker before, I walked out of there with more knowledge than I ever knew one could have on a timeless beverage with so many health benefits. She came highly recommended. I can see why.
Go here, spend the money for some high grade tea and allow her to pour for you. You can’t know what you’re tasting until you slow down and enjoy some of the ceremony that comes along with.

I really do miss the larger teahouse location where you could sit down and chill for a few hours but I’m so glad that I can still get quality teas from the owner.
There are more than good teas here, there are great teas. There is no bad tea here. Even the less expensive tea is still great. The majority of teas come straight from Taiwan and the owner visits Taiwan (sometimes taking groups on tea tours) every year.
The owner has great taste, is a very warm and friendly person and full of laughter, is very knowledgeable about tea and can set you up with a great tea (or three). You can ask to sample some before you buy as well. All samples are served upTaiwanese style.
There is a small selection of teawares for sale as well.
Come to Floating Leaves if you’re serious about tea. I usually come away with a giant canister of bao zhong!

This tea house is as unpretentious as it gets. If you like tea and want someone who can help you find the right tea for an occasion or person. This is the spot.
The new space is more cozy but the selection and service is still top notch.

I was so excited to discover Floating Leaves Tea. Back home, similar tea houses are sprinkled throughout the city, and I miss them terribly. Floating Leaves provided a good helping of comfort for this homesick girl.
We went for a tea tasting session in late 2007. Rob was very personable. He shared a good combination of basic knowledge and anecdotes with the small group. I had a nice little chat with Shiuwen while she was packaging our purchases. She’s such a sweetheart… just like all the girls from Taiwan. ;-)
Grab a good friend or 3, and head on over to Floating Leaves. Even if you don’t think you like tea, go for the experience, especially if you’ve only had tea from a teabag or at Chinese restaurants (which is a real tragedy, IMHO).

Tea has been my obsession lately, so I took advantage to try a new place tonight with a friend. I’ve been familiar with this place for quite some time (I use to frequent another biz in the building), and finally got the gumption to go.
I went with my friend who’s not a big tea fan, and from the experience he left appreciating pu-​erh (Cooked Leaf variety)!
For me I took the opportunity to try Matcha. I’ve tried it before, but it came in a tea bag, smelled vile, and tasted only slightly better than vile, so I figured if I tried some authentic high quality Matcha that hopefully I’d have a much better experience. Indeed I did, though I’m not won over yet as a full fledged fan. At first I thought it tasted and smelled like fresh warm grass, and my friend said that wasn’t it. We talked and enjoyed the atmosphere when it hit me… it tasted and smelled like fresh raw spinach. Indeed, we both agreed. Either way, I enjoyed it.
The place itself has the authentic Asian flare you don’t get at most local tea houses. It was quite lovely. There are games there you can play. I’m assuming they might have had wifi, as one gentleman showed up with his computer. Very relaxing and friendly.
There was a tea tasting party going on, of a group of people from PDX. I was quite envious and wanted to join their group!
I noticed both from the party and from their shelves of cups for sale, these little cups of different heights. I asked the owner what was up with those and she very kindly demonstrated for me how they work and what the benefit was. I was impressed with her friendliness and helpfulness. Also the young man who made my matcha at our table was very helpful and knowledgeable.
I will definitely be going back there again and again.

This place is like a good cry.
The first time I went to Floating Leaves I was alone. I ordered a pot of genmaicha, took off my shoes, and sat cross-​legged on a pillow, hoping to write a few lines in my notebook. In less time than it takes to drink a pot of tea (which isn’t very long, for me) I’d covered five pages. I then managed to sink into a relatively deep meditation… especially considering the number of people in the room!
My second trip to Floating Leaves was with a friend, and we chose a table instead of the raised pillow-​covered area. I converted her to genmaicha (try the others, though — I just love genmaicha) and upon leaving we felt calm and content.
The great thing about floating leaves is that it somehow manages to cater to those looking for solitary, serene reflection AND a friendly alternative to the typical Seattle coffee house. Whether you’re with a group of friends looking for somewhere to chat or a lone writer trying to find some internal inspiration, Floating Leaves is the place to go. Believe me — I’ve done both.

Ah, Chinese furniture. So elegant to look at, so uncomfortable to sit upon. And you can never get your knees under the dadburned table! Furthermore – an oddity particular to Floating Leaves – some of the chairs bear price tags. «If you can bring it in, you can take it out!» the owner said. This makes a distinctly eccentric sort of sense.
But anyway, many varieties of good tea available, served in a fashion that allows the leaves room to properly steep but doesn’t involve too much extra fuss and equipment. The owner provides good advice without condescending, and is contemplating reviving a Go night she used to have (there are several nice solid wooden Go boards and sets of good, stony stones available, if you need something to amuse yourself with while you drink your tea) and starting a Mahjong night.
The art on the walls is, unusually for Seattle, pleasing to the eye, and the sunken seating area makes for a very comfortable-​feeling space. The tea equipment on offer (sale of teapots and cups seems de rigueur for tea shops) seems designed for actual use, not just to be set on a shelf to look pretty.
I approve.