A tea house on Willow Lane
Willow Lane Tea House (sample) opened in 2014 as a counter with twelve jars of tea. It is still a counter, with a tea room behind it.
Our story
We opened because we could not buy good loose-leaf tea in town without ordering it from abroad. Today the shelf holds about sixty teas (sample), and the tea room seats twenty-four.
Everything is sold by weight, so you can buy 25 g to try and come back for more. Bring your own tin and we fill it.
Every lot is tasted first
Gardens send small samples of each harvest. We cup them side by side, the same way as at our Saturday cupping, and buy only the ones we would drink every day.
- We buy direct or through one importer we trust
- We list the garden and the harvest on every bag
- We sell a tea until it runs out, then wait for the next harvest
Behind the counter
Five people, all of whom will brew you a pot and tell you why they like it.
Mei Chen
Owner and tea buyer (sample)
Tom Ashby
Tea room manager (sample)
Priya Nair
Tastings and classes (sample)
Jonas Weber
Counter and online orders (sample)
Aiko Tanaka
Weekends and gongfu trays (sample)
Come and taste first
The tasting table is open from 11:00 every day except Monday. Taste any tea on the shelf before you buy it; there is no charge.