Vital T Leaf

They have a great selection of delicious teas and great service! I highly recommend staying for one of their tea tastings. You will leave feeling like you’ve been to «tea college» because they are so informative and interesting.

I came here on a cold Saturday to try some and buy some local goods. There were two teenage guys who had served us — both were very knowledgeable and adorable. There was a group of 6 of us and we were served some great samplings of tea. We were able to try different types of teas — and were advised upon which other teas would best suit our needs. I really wanted a fruity green tea flavor — and ended up with a nice pineapple green tea. I tried out many other similar varieties during the tea tasting. Prices are very reasonable — about $ 16 for a quarter pound of tea — which is competitive with teavana. The added benefit of of buying from this place is that you get the opportunity to support a locally owned business.

Wow! Top quality tea and a fantastic host. This is truly worth a visit. I am so thankful to have access to such exceptional tea.
We learned so very much and are thrilled with the teas we purchased. Take the time for a tea tasting. It was the highlight of our time in Seattle!

I have walked by this place a million times and never gone in, boy have I been missing out. Ben was great about helping us look for the reusable tea bags we needed, He also gave us a lot of great tea samplings and tips. I loved the Siberian Rose tea, which I got. I can’t wait to go back!

My wife and I walked in here not knowing what to expect. We figured it would be a tea shop where we could get a cup to go. How we underestimated Vital T Leaf.
A very entertaining young man (Ben? Let’s call him Ben.) sat us down and gave us a half hour tea tasting and very informative lesson on different teas. After only 5 or 6 demi tasses we were pretty amped and Ben was bouncing off the walls since he does this all day. Although we didn’t plan to, we left with 2 large bags of loose tea.
What caught my attention was that there was no sales pitch. None! Just a knowledgeable and likeable staff and some wonderful teas. A memorable and unexpected experience which I can recommend.

This place is a most to visit. I really like the design and the lay out for you to try their tea samples.
The place is very relaxing. If you had a long day, you might want to come to this place and drink their relaxing tea.
The staff is very nice and funny. They are very knowledgeable about all the kind of teas you have question about. They will have you taste every tea they got, you will be stuffed by the time you leave this place.
I will definitely come back to this place again.

Fun place to unwind and learn about tea. They have a large selection of teas and the staff are very knowledgeable about them. They will allow you to sample the teas that you want and give recommendations based on your preferences.
I want to go back again and try a few other types and buy a few things.
I love the layout of the place. I just want to sit and relax even without drinking tea.

my wife and I happen to been to be in Seattle walking around the market. We noticed that this place had free tea tasting, and decided that we wanted to try it out. The atmosphere was great, and the staff there was extremely friendly. We are able to try different types of tea with different types of aroma, and attributes to the body. I definitely would recommend this to anybody passing by to give this place a try. we were able to gather their information because we do not live in Seattle, but will definitely consider ordering some products online. We have some friends here that will also consider buying some products, and if your ever visited Seattle definitely stop in it is extremely worth it..

I love this place. It’s where I get almost all my tea. The tastings are great for finding new teas.

If I was to give a tour of Seattle, I would include a trip to Vital Tea Leaf on the agenda. Not only is it conveniently close to the market, but it’s far enough away to keep from being over-​crowded, it’s actually a great destination all by itself!
When you walk in, they should offer you to sample some teas. If they don’t, go ahead and take a seat at the counter and they’ll offer soon enough. If you’re a tea connoisseur, this is where you’ll tell them your favorite kinds of teas, and they do their best to match teas to your palette. If you’re new to tea, they’ll give you a wide variety to taste, which is how I’ve found some new favorites!
I LOVE the Siberian rose. It’s non-​caffeinated and I drink it almost every night, sometimes with a cookie if I’m yolo-​ing. My partner loves an oolong they have there called «Blue People».
There’s tons of room at the counter, so it’s good for groups of up to 15 or so I would say. They also have all sorts of tea drinking swag here including tea pots, strainers, spill boards, etc. If you order bulk tea, the price goes down.
I wish they had some organic or fair trade tea here. The people working here really know their stuff though, and generally love chatting about tea. I highly recommend to locals and tourists alike!

I prefer the Western Ave location to the 1^st Ave because it’s a bit more intimate and doesn’t feel as «rushed» as the one near the market. The gentlemen there was very friendly and knowledgeable. We sampled about 5 different teas. I didn’t feel pressured to purchase which was nice and helped me feel good about wanting to make a purchase. All the teaware was very nice, I hope to purchase something from there eventually.
Tea: It is tasty. It’s better than bagged tea of course but lacks some freshness in some vs others. The tea is stored in large glass containers — I’m not a fan of this because light degrades the flavor or power of tea over time and diminishes luxurious complexities that would otherwise still be there. Though the quality is ok if I were to drink immediately within a few days.
The art prices made of puerh were amazing.

Great tea shop. I think they have two locations– one right inside Pike Place market and a slightly larger one nearby. The lady working there treated us to free samples of tea, pouring out oolong, rose, jasmine and puerh. The first three were quite good, but I wasn’t really a fan of this puerh (and normally I like puerh). Nice atmosphere, and great selection of Chinese teas (FYI you won’t see Japanese style teas like Sencha in here).
My only gripe is that she was reluctant to sell me bulk tea, as in «I want X oz» and they scoop it up and package it for you. She kept trying to get me to buy a huge ¼ pound pre-​packaged bag of each type of tea. I drink a lot of tea, but I know I can’t get through that much quickly. Also I like variety, so for me it is better to buy it in small quantities and simply buy more as I run out. Plus, I feel that bulk tea is fresher than something already sealed up (not sure if that’s true, but to be honest, those bulk containers behind the counter were the primary reason I stepped inside the shop).
Prices seemed normal for a specialty tea place. My 1 oz bags were $ 5 each, and that’s a decent amount of tea (at least for me). $ 5 an oz translates to the $ 80 a pound which was marked on the jars. Some fancy teas were priced $ 120 or higher.

Free tea tasting. Yes. You get at least four different flavors and strength and focus out of the four.
Ok you get a tasting in the smallest tea cup ever but it hits the spot. You also get the full flavor and in the end of the tasting I was buzzed. But then again I get buzzed easily caffeine wise.
The store is loaded with everything tea related. Although a cute little guy made of clay is the best! Pour hot water over it and you’ll see what I mean:)
The tea tasting itself is very informative. You get the info on each tea. What it does for you. How strong it is. Of course on how to steep it properly. You can have a repeat tasting of any of the tea you want to explore further. For free.
It’s an oasis and a calming zen area away from the mad house effect just a step from the door.
You might just find what you need to help what ails you. Ask the kind gentleman he knows his tea. I’ve visited this place a couple years ago but never reviewed it till now.
Worth the stop for a breather. No pressure to buy but I did end up with a half a pack of the Black tea Lychee.

What a great place. It’s always quiet in here. Not many people at any given time. You are pleasantly greeted when you enter and instantly offered to try samples of tea. Tea leaves are taken fresh from the jars and brewed right in front of you, starting with the most subtle flavours and working up from there. You are encouraged to offer your opinions on the teas. Everyone has different flavour preferences. The teas are very good quality and the leaves can be reused several times so you really do get a good trade for your money.

I was just browsing through the selection when the woman working there asked if my mother and I wanted to try a sample. I had been on the point of leaving but said OK just to try it out.
I think it was some sort of green tea or oolong. I didn’t really like it, and said as much when the woman asked how I liked it.
I had seen all I wanted and wanted to get out of there, but the woman kept pressing me: «What kind of tea do you prefer? Oh, oolong? What kind of oolong?»
I told her I didn’t know because I wanted to cut the conversation short, and she replies, «Oh, you don’t KNOW?» in the most condescending manner.
COME ON, LADY. I thought I was in Vital T-​Leaf, not Teavana!
Honestly, this one experience has turned me off from this brand.

So I’ve been ordering and drinking their tea for a few years (since my last review).
The inspiration for today’s review is some loose aged pu-​erh tea I ordered about 3 years ago and its been aging this whole time. When I first got the pu-​erh it was fishy smelling. A year later still fishy. Three years later STILL fishy. Leads me to believe they are selling CHEAP quality pu-​erh that was not processed properly. I’m pissed because I paid close to $ 50 for this container of loose pu-​erh tea. RIP OFF!!!
Now on the other hand, I have their dragon well tea that is pretty expensive and it is absolutely one of my favorite teas ever in life. I want to drink this every day its so good.
So where does that leave me? A complete strike out on the pu-​erh, and a total home run on the dragon well. So I’m going to give them 3.5 stars rounded to 4 since I like some of their other teas and they have given me lots of samples over the years.
In summary:
I will NOT buy their pu-​erh ever again unless I know exactly where its from (which factory in Yunnan). Only the big name commercial stuff from now on from here.
I WILL be buying more dragon well as soon as I use this up which will probably be within the next few weeks.
So you can decide… I suggest you request samples first if possible. They often have online deals for free samples if you buy over a certain $ amount. Keep an eye out or get on their emailing list.

On a road trip with some friends up to Seattle. I love drinking tea and my friends always tell me about this place.
Walked into the store and was warmly greeted by Tim. He sat us and let us try 10 – 15 different teas. He was very friendly and bought some delightful tea.
Blue people and the Jasmine pearl were my two favorites. Tim was very helpful in suggesting teas for whatever you would want.

Is you think «strawberry mango tea» could possibly be a real tea, this review isn’t for you.
I have a long history of tea drinking, and I have received certification in China. If you’re looking for authentic tea, this is really the only place in the whole city that sells it. Every seasoned tea drinker knows that you can’t tell how good a tea is by looking at it or smelling it, and every tea store that offers to let you smell it instead of taste it, is absolutely scamming you.
Vital T lets you taste the tea before you buy it, and they let you taste multiple teas. This is how real tea purchasing is done, and it’s the only way to go. Especially if you’re unfamiliar with tea, you’ll probably realize over the course of tea tasting that actually, «green tea» doesn’t taste that great, and one of the teas you’ve never heard of tastes much better. There are seven different kinds of real tea, and they have at least 6 (I’m not sure about Yellow).
I walked away with $ 70 in purchases, including Da Hong Pao, and Feng Huang Dan Cong — two beautiful Oolong teas.

The folks at Vital T Leaf are super friendly, so we decided to take them up on their offer for tea samples. The warm tea is just what we needed after spending some time near the brisk water front. They were super generous and let us have as many samples as we wanted. All of the flavors were excellent, but the ones that stood out for me were the mango and the coconut. My mother received a gorgeous tea pot for her birthday, so I plan on returning here to purchase some of the delightful loose tea to gift.

A neat place for tea lovers located at north of the Pike Place market.
Many choices of bulk tea for sale on display in jars.
Great Ambience with nice merchandizing!
Staff is friendly. Quality products and service with tasting of tea of your choice.
Will definitely return again with friends to this classy place to enjoy good tea!