Went there to try a couple of of teas that I have heard about and wanted to get some advice from the person at the counter. He seemed very bitter and all he could talk about was how she didn't like the US and wanted to go back home to Malaysia. Really wasn't helpful at all and just seemed so condescending and depressed. How do you run a business like that? They also claim that they do not offer any free tasting. Don't you think they should remove the sign?!? Unbelievably bad! Oh, and by the way, I ended up buying two teas from a competing store! read more

Aroma Tea Shop - False advertising!!! - Tea Rooms Near Me - San Francisco, California

Love the ambience, the authentic presentation, the owners and the genuine feeling of it. Tea is delish and this feels like San Francisco to me. They have sample tastings and are very well travelled in many counties. Try it. It's a treat . read more

Found this shop while wandering around in Richmond. The store had a good amount of teas tins on shelves though a bit messy, but the inside of the shop absolutely reeked of a sickeningly sweet smell. Turned out the staff had not one but TWO candles burning with an overpowering floral scent. We actually asked them if they could blow them out. You couldn't appreciate the aroma or even the flavor of any of the trial teas because of the nauseating smell. The guy behind the counter who appeared to be the manager or owner, had a very brisk hustler vibe giving very rushed, canned commentary on various teas we were interested in. He offered to make some of each so we could try them, but he used so little tea all we got was mostly hot water. He was barking impatient commands to a younger guy who didn't seem to know what he was doing at all. The smell was so nauseating we left (though we did buy one tea). A larger number of people came in as we were leaving and this seemed to really flummox the manager dude. Overall it was not a calming atmosphere and the manager didn't really seem like he wanted to be there and he had the style of a used car salesman. Nothing like the original owners who were real connoisseurs of tea. Came off as rather low-rent and the lack of awareness that overpowering the air with stinky candles doesn't allow customers to taste or smell your teas is just a bad sign. read more

They did not weigh the Pu Er tea! Initially we purchased Genmaicha at a price of $22 for 4 oz. The lady weighed out 2 bags, with allegedly 2 oz. per bag, and charged us $22. That purchase was fine. Then we looked at the Pu Er teas, smelled a couple of them and selected one that was $70 for 4 oz. We wanted only 2 oz. The lady filled one bag and charged $35. I assumed that she weighed the tea, but apparently not. When we got home, we measured the bags of tea. One bag of Genmaicha weighed 1.7 oz., but the bag of Pu Er weighed only 1.2 oz!!! In other words, we were charged nearly twice the price for the Pu Er! Was this mere carelessness or a deliberate deception? The fact that she did not give me a receipt, makes me suspect the latter. I would have used a credit card, but hubby got pickpocketed earlier in the day, so we had to cancel our cards and use cash. So we essentially got victimized twice in one day! Don't be a dumb tourist like me! Keep a firm grip on your wallet or purse, and an eagle eye on the transactions. read more

Aroma Tea Shop - 1.7 oz. of Genmaicha. Supposed to be 2 oz. - Tea Rooms Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Similar to others who posted reviews, I purchased 4 ounces of tea listed for $32 per 4 ounces. What I actually received was 3.5 ounces of tea and 0.5 ounces of the bag it came in based on the weight I checked at home. They also weren't going to offer me a receipt, but when I insisted they email it to me, I noticed they also charged me $33 for the tea (and I was taxed on the $33 purchase). There are many more honest tea shops in the area; better to go to another shop and please skip this one. read more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ White Devil meets Chinese Tea Culture & EVOLVES! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The descendent of a "Tree Shrew-like" Creature... crawls into the welcoming Aroma Tea Shop. He is fearful that something will step on him. ^^ {{{{{{{}}}} {{{@ {{}}}}))) AHHH! ========{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}} {{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~ {{{{ {{{{ }}}}} ?}}}}} {{ {{ }}}} }}}} {{ {{ }}} }}} ((( ((( }} }} {{ {{ Later..... The descendent of a Australopithecus sniffs the aroma. He is wary & looks for a drinking hole. The descendent of a Homo habilis sits at the funny flat "rock". He grunts his comfort. The descendent of a Homo erectus picks up a cup shaped tool & drinks the first infusion. He smells the Jasmine, but does not know the word. The descendent of a Homo antecessor now drinks the second infusion. He now knows how to smile and not bite anyone near. The descendent of a Homo sapiens heidelbergensis now wants the third infusion. He now bangs his cup for more. The descendent of a Homo rhodesiensis gets his fourth infusion. He drinks too fast, burns his tongue, & looks ready to bust up the tea shop in anger. The descendent of a Homo sapien gets his fifth infusion. He gets a dreamy look in his eye as he gazes in wonder at all the varieties of Tea. The descendent of Cannibals gets his sixth infusion. He looks like he wants a snack to go with the Tea. The descendent of Barbarians, who sacked Rome, gets his seventh infusion. He thinks about stealing the Tea, burning the shop, & pillaging Chinatown. The descendent of Peasants, who were overrun by the Turks, gets his eighth infusion. He grovels before the nice Tea Mistress, in supplication, as she admonishes him not burn the Jasmine Green Tea, with water over 175 degrees, after going home. The descendent of Slovak immigrants, who "made it", says "Thank you, I had enough. No, I will pass on the $80 one for 4 oz., but I will take the $37 one, plus 2 oz. of two Pu'ers".... He takes out his wallet~ He takes out his credit card~ He takes a look at the total =$$$ glances at his frowning Chinese wife~ and fakes indifference :[] He goes home, makes the first infusion with 175 degree water, the sweet flowery aroma of Jasmine fills his nose & tickles his tongue :) He then does a second infusion, but uses 195 degree water, it is now bitter on his tongue :( He exclaims to himself," Wow, it is true, I am a fool of a primate, know nothing about Tea, and I burned the delicate Tea treasure" ; 0 ````````````````````````` He is a descendent of a long line of White Devils, millions of years old. What does he care? ...but alas, he does. He dumps the burnt Tea, gnashes his teeth, & curses the stupidity inherited from his ancestors, his ancestors ancestors, his ancestors ancestors ancestors, and so on, back beyond the time of the Ice Ages. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Descendent can NEVER NEVER go back to the Land of Lipton!!! Otherwise he will Devo !!!!!!!!!!!! $$ [ ] $ \ O / \ ! / \!/ !!! !!?!! !! !! ! ! [MORON AGE] ~ ~ \ 0 / \\ ! // \\!// !!!!! !??! !! !! [BRONZE AGE] ~ ~ 0 ! / \ /\\!// \ / !!!!! / ??? [STONE AGE] ~ ~ = 0~^~^~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~*** / ? \ [LIPTON AGE] / \ / \ / \/ \ ~ ~~ ~ read more

Say hi to Ying, the owner. She's really knowledgeable and treats you like you're at a tea bar. I stopped in here with my bestie to get tea wasted. Boy, did we get tea wasted. Ying is super patient and lets you try as many teas as you like. Her tea isn't cheap by the way. All of her teas are sold by weight. Some go as high as in the hundred dollar range. If you're a tea aficionado, you'll love this place. Aroma Tea Shop has quality tea at a reasonable price and service with a smile. You can't really ask for anything more than that. There's also another location in the Richmond which is run by Ying's husband. read more

When I get to Chinatown I always stop by this lovely shop. I give this Interesting Small Gem five stars because of Knowledge. Their passion for tea and which they are so happy to impart makes the visit beyond tasting! They are so friendly and welcoming! read more

This is a very cute tea store that just opened not so long ago. When you walk in, you are quickly greeted by the warm hostess as she invites you to sit down at the wooden round tea bar for a free tea tasting. Unlike the more tourist catered tea shops located on Grant St. , this tea store is very cozy and intimate with a huge selection of fresh herbs and teas. I really enjoyed the Jasmine teas and the Eastern Beauty Oolong. read more

Aroma Tea Shop - a group of people sitting around a table - Tea Rooms Near Me - San Francisco, California

I came with an expired Groupon that states you can still use the value you purchased with, but not the deal. Which I am fine with. The person in the shop called the owner and told us they couldn't even honor that. Refused in any way to do just the $25 spent on it because it was old. Told us to talk to Groupon about it. Rather disappointed with their treatment of customers. read more

Aroma Tea Shop - Tea Rooms Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

We walked in for a tasting, were expecting to pay the $5 per person and ended up leaving with three packages of 4oz tea instead (fee waived with purchase). The owners have a farm in Southern China where they source some of the tea and other tea comes from farms they have personally visited. Ying was patient with us, answered our questions and let us taste and compare different types of tea. We stayed for an hour, sipped, smelled, relaxed. Perfect cloudy afternoon activity. read more

I came in with a deal from Living Social or Groupon or something given to me by my Aunt. I completely forgot about it until it was about to expire, so I hauled ass to Chinatown one weekend. It's tiny, but easy to find. Just one room with big jars of tea on both sides and the table where you can sit and taste at the end. I was a little indecisive, and was allowed to browse to my heart's content, smelling the jars and waffling back and forth. The woman working there made me a few samples of the teas I was thinking about, as well as a couple that she said were her favorites. What sold me for sure, was that I was looking at one of the more expensive teas and she said I might not like it, let me sample one that she thought was better, and it ended up being much less money. Yay customer service! Highly recommend the Autumn Dream tea. read more

Go "cross town magic" badge for this checkin. Looks like cross town means 30 miles, south bay to San Francisco. Got some $25 by weight tea. read more

I love going to Aroma (either this location or the original location in Inner Richmond). The owners will spend a long time explaining their wide variety of tea selections and tasting them with you. Each time I go I learn something new about tea and discover a new variety that I like. If you love good quality loose leaf tea, you will love Aroma. read more

Had a really bad experience here with an Amazon Local voucher. I looked up the shop online and found a number of good deals (Kemun tea for $9). When I arrived at the shop, the employee very rudely told me that these teas were not available (actually NO green or black teas for under $17 were available!). I had to actually pay $22 for the only Kemun they had in the store! I was not offered a free sample, was directed to the most expensive teas first, and just treated with complete rudeness all along. The tea was filled in bags in a location where I could not watch and no weight was put onto the bags - I had no way of checking if I was charged the correct amount. Highly recommend NOT going there. Ever. read more

As soon as my friends and I walked into the shop, we were not greeted or acknowledged. There were two employees eating at the tea tasting table. This does not seem very sanitary. Perhaps they need to invest in a break room. I asked to try a particular tea and 3 mini tea cups were brought out, when there were 5 of us. Staff was not at all inviting or friendly. read more

Not very friendly. The sign say free tea tasting but we asked and she said it's all finished Nothing was offered to try. Even after we made a small purchase. Hello!!! There are many tea shops to choose from in China town read more

They do some tea-tasting, and the owners are very knowledgable about their tea. Definitely tea connoisseurs. I'd strongly suggest any tea lover check it out. read more

^_^ Just bought some green tea from there, it's a nice place with great tea and good service~~~~~~~ the person who works in there is very helpful and nice ~~~~~~she found me the green tea that I needed read more

Wonderful experience!! This IS what you want to do in China Town. They are incredibly kind and accommodating. Huge tea selection. They took the time to explain all about the teas and how to enjoy them. The tea tasting experience was both authentic feeling and warm. Made us feel like friends! read more

I love the Aroma Tea Shop. I've been getting my tea there for the last year or so and it's just great. The owners are super knowledgeable (and at the same time unpretentious) and I learn something new every time. I love taking my time tasting the different types of tea and then picking what i want to take home with me. I have tea-loving friends around the world and Aroma made xmas shopping really, really fun. Thank you, Aroma Tea Shop! read more