The Pros: Massive Variety: Truly a "one-stop shop" for tea…read moreenthusiasts. Low Pressure: The staff greeted me and then stayed hands-off until I had questions. The Price: Easily some of the best values in the city. The Con: Sealed Packaging: Everything is pre-sealed in 1lb plastic bags. Because of the sealing, you can't smell the tea before buying. I'd love to see them implement scent jars in the future to help with the selection process. Neutral Observations In-House Packaging: All the tea is packaged identically in 1lb bags, which suggests they likely process and bag everything in-house. Labeling: I didn't notice any specific organic labels on the packaging, though I didn't explicitly ask. If this is a deal breaker, you may want to ask. Review If you're looking for a genuine loose leaf tea source -- your search ends here. I stumbled upon this place after endless online searching (blogs, search engines, etc) and it was well worth the effort! Just a heads-up on navigation: G-Maps is slightly off. If you rely solely on that, you'll be a few doors down. Look for the Volvo mechanics and the shop is located just on the other side. The exterior is unassuming, no windows, just a sandwich board on the sidewalk and a door. Looking inside it's a bit of a mysterious vibe, you'll see a stairway to the left and a hallway ahead. Go for it. Ignore the single pane glass, bank-teller-style window to your right (which directs you to the main door) and just head in. Also, keep an eye on the clock because, per the phone tree, they close for lunch from 12:30 to 1:00. I arrived right after 1pm and was able to park right in front. There was also plenty of other parking spot around at that time. IDK why, but before walking in, my imagination had prepared me for an old-world San Francisco opium den. I was thinking there was going to be this lingering aromatic smoke, plush floor pillows, people lounging, sipping tea, and the soft, ambient melodies of an upscale spa. I had also pictured rows of heavy, whiskey-style wooden barrels overflowing with loose leaf tea, topped with clear lids and metal scoops. The reality is much more utilitarian. This is not a den or a spa. It's clean, straightforward, and focused entirely on their product. The selection is robust and incredibly diverse. While they claim "wholesale to the public", I can't verify the industry margins, but I can tell you the prices are very good for the quality you receive. The employee greeted me and then stayed hands-off while I browsed, which I appreciated. When I did ask specifics, they had basic foundational knowledge. Honestly with the diversity and sheer quantity of products offered, it would take forever to earn a Tea Master badge. No harm no foul. The only real bummer here is that everything is pre-sealed in 1lb plastic bags, so there is no way to smell the product. I'd really appreciate scent jars in front of the bags. Since they seem to be doing the packaging in-house anyway, it makes me wonder why they haven't set aside a small amount of each batch for scent jars. It wouldn't require a change in their supply chain, just a few ounces and a glass jar to help customers navigate that massive variety. That aside, I absolutely loved this place. I've been searching for a spot like this for a long time. I'm just glad I finally found it. If you're at all interested in loose leaf tea, I'd suggest giving these folks an honest try.

I needed dried lavender for simple syrup and ice cream and found this place online. Prices are very…read moreaffordable and they have so many options! I'm not able to post all my photos but this is some of what they offer! Will definitely come back.

Lots of awesome spices and selection along with knowledgeable and friendly staff, more than willing…read moreto help you find what you're looking for and provide their opinion! Prices are also very good even though it's located in a more expensive retail area. I'm looking forward to trying more items from here!

I noticed this spice shop while stopped in traffic and walked over after I parked…read more The store is highly visible and inviting from the street and inside, beautifully organized with tempting sounding blends like popular Cyprus Wild Mushroom Umami Sea Salt I happened to pause in front of. I remarked how this salt looked like Egyptian frost salt and got a head shake, "Don't know that one". Okay, it's esoteric but also got a non-committal head shake they don't carry Maldon sea salt, commonplace for baking and a finishing salt. I explained I use it to make Blue Bottle Coffee's granola blend. Weak smile. I remarked that I liked their photography cards of beautiful recipe ideas near the jars ("What a good idea!") and shared my use of Vadouvan in a eggplant, chicken & basil stir fry I made up. I got another tepid response. I explained I cook a lot at home and had over 200 jars from the former Spice Ace store that needed to be replaced, "Sadly they faded with time." At this point, don't you think the salesperson would've jumped on that, "Would you like me to pull some jars, get that project underway for a New Year?" No. The owners should be slapping their hands on their forehead watching hundreds of dollars not go into their till that day and developing me as a regular customer. I have money to spend, clearly like to cook and told them I need to replace 200 jars. I practically placed a grappling hook in my cheek like a big mouth bass and told them to reel me in! I decided to ask about their pricing structure, noticing the nonsensical spread on the large and small jars, "Because they didn't get good pricing when they bought the smaller jars" Now muttering to myself, "So how is that *my* problem?" Oaktown Spice Shop is a growing and well-received small chain of three retail stores, two in the East Bay, that has a wholesale roster of James Beard and Michelin starred restaurants and high end delivery services like fellow East Bay business Good Eggs. If the owners read this review, they desperately need to retrain their retail staff. They rang up my small $22 sale as I began mentally filling my old Spice Ace jars at Rainbow Grocery.

Love this local gem…read more I'm slowly replacing all my seasonings with their products (with the exception of some Persian food seasonings like sumac which I still get from Sadaf). Friendly and helpful people working here and a nice bottle recycling program. If you are anywhere near 24th St. enjoy cooking, I do recommend stopping by. Both their standard seasonings and special blends have been great.

I love this place, and it is so great to have them in the heart of Noe…read more The selection is excellent and the blends are superb (I recommend the Noe Valley sweet herb blend.). The space is calm, the folks helping are friendly and knowledgeable. It feels good to support a local small business plus their goods make great gifts - who doesn't want to spice up their spice rack from time to time!

Walking around San Francisco you will run into a few pleasant surprises. San Francisco is always…read morefull of surprises which makes it a unique city. Although it feels comfortable with familiarity with some common spots there is always room for spontaneous things appear out of nowhere in SF. Shopping in the city you will find stores with many different goods. I found a grocery store in Chinatown sells alcohol such as wine and whiskey along of tea from China. It's located on Stockton street and it's called Golden Way Trading Company. On a Summer stroll almost Fall I landed on Stockton ( not the city) street at the Golden Way Trading Company. Inside you will discover lots of different items such as mushrooms and noodles ( not Angel Hair) along with different sauces. They have everything from canned Ovaltine to canned Pho broth. You will also find an aisle of liquor ranging from cognac to red wine. This place has many ingredients like corn and others to make breakfast , lunch, and dinner. This is a place worth checking out and especially if you are on a liquor run in Chinatown in SF. San Francisco has an interesting food and grocery "scene" and at the Golden Way Trading Company that sells tea that's "green" and some with or with or without "caffeine" and you can find anything from a bottle of cognac to a can of "Ovaltine" Walking around in SF things happen "spontaneous" you run into a bunch characters on social media in SF with an "alias"and some occurrences that happen in SF "simultaneous "and this all goes down and happens in a 7 by 7 square mile "radius"

I needed some chili oil asap and didn't want to wait on a delivery from Weee! or Yami plus have to…read moremeet a minimum spend threshold, so I explored the Chinatown supermarkets and ended up here after a couple other options didn't yield results. They have a lot of options in stock here, so I loaded up on spicy chili crisp, chiu chow style chili crisp oil, and some mala red oil chili sauce by the classic Lee Kum Kee brand. I also bought a bag of chewy 陈皮糖 chénpí táng that I saw next to the cash register while I was at it. Altogether after the 3% credit card fee, my total came to $18.08. Such a bargain, I will be back.

Beautiful store. You want to take everything with you! A…read morelittle pricey but you find lots of organic herbs. Also, great selection of books and Cristals.

Staff was so nice, helpful and patient. Excellent A+…read moreproduct. Beautiful store. Not cheap but far less expensive than I expected. Gave me a discount as I checked out. 10/10.

The owner welcomed us as we walked in and it's a very nice spice and tea place on the second floor…read moreof Pier 39. We looked at the honey and the spices. The owner came over and introduced us to the jars that are all around the shop. You can open these jars to smell whatever spice or tea to get a feel for what you would be purchasing. If I remember correctly, the owner and his girlfriend blend it themselves. We purchased some flavored salts, and cranberry apple jam honey. They also had samples of a white strawberry tea that was amazing. This store is great and the service from the owner was fantastic from a details end. I appreciated what they were doing and definitely will be back when we venture out to Pier 39 again.

Me and my guy were walking by when Andrew drew us in with a delicious floral tea and then invited…read moreus in to look around. The store is very large, and there was so much to look at and smell. We were greeted by the owners, who were very helpful in showing us their store and products. We went to pier 39 just to walk around, and ended up having the best experience while there. We ended up getting a bourbon bacon salt, a honey spoon, and got a free tuna rub! The store was so clean and well organized. I love that the spices/herbs/salta/sugars all had jars that you could open and smell for reference. The candles are also noteworthy! They smelled fantastic and I might just have to make my way back for some! Overall, Andrew, Mauricio, Blair, and Ian made the experience excellent! If you're walking through the pier, definitely stop into the business and give them look and purchase!!

All. The. Spices! I…read moremay have temporarily lost my sense of smell while so, so excitedly sniffing ALL the scents, but I finally made a decision (with a little help from the nice employees). My favorite so far is the smoked salt because it's so versatile! I also bought a guava jam that looked so divine, but sadly the airport trashed it (I am convinced they just ate it because again...it looked so yummy), so maybe one day I'll try again! I will be back next time I'm in the bay to stock up on more spices.

You'll know you're right at home as soon as you walk through the door. For anybody that's wondered…read morerows of disorganized shelves of stuff all over the place or spots that are less than well kept, look no further. Oaktown Spice Shop is immaculate, well organized, and staffed with folks that are quite passionate about the goods! Also helps that it smells amazing, but it really speaks to the quality of their stuff. If you had any doubts about them, put that to rest and just visit or use their online store! Any foodie worth their salt (hah get it) will be able to appreciate what this place has to offer.

Amazing co-op grocery store with tons of specialty food items and more! They have produce, pantry…read moreitems, frozen foods, snacks, home and body care, and a huge selection of things you can pay for by weight. From herbs & spices, dried foods, olive oil, soaps, shampoos and more, they have everything. The prices are reasonable and there's less plastic waste. They also source locally which is nice. They also carry some gourmet food items like sambal from Azalina's, and locally made curry paste. I need to come here more often.

I don't live super nearby to this Co-Op grocery market but my good friend does and she brought me…read morehere while on a walk, and I was blown away by the whole place! Firstly, it was my first time shopping at a co op and I really really really love that aspect of it. Anytime I can support a business like this, I want to! But beyond that, I was skeptical that the prices would be outrageous and was fairly surprised that they really weren't! Ok sure, some items were pricey, and that's true for any small store in this city, but for the bulk items and dry goods, the pricing was incredibly reasonable! I even found the same scones I buy at my local box box grocery store for cheaper here!! What?! I was also just blown away by the variety of choices.. they've got everything here.. produce, condiments, dry goods, chips, snacks, bulk items, tea, medicines and supplements, and a section of boutique handmade goods that was so awesome to look through!! I don't live close by but I will be back anytime I go to see my friend (which is often).

Showed up for a fun run, staff was friendly offering us a couple of samples. Parking can be tight…read morebut fortunately they have staff on site. Cool selection of products, they don't sell meats here because there are many vegan options available. Cool produce section, diverse selection in household and other care items. I did skip prepared food section, perhaps in a future time 5/5. Amazing place

If I made more, I would shop here almost exclusively. But alas I can only come here on occasion…read morewhen I cant find it elsewhere. Best place fir supplements!!!! They have the best, wholistic, hippy foods and items ever! I love this grocery store so much & its very well stocked & a great part of SF for years! It has everything a earthy, health consciousness, green person would want. brands that are non toxic and ethically correct. ugh they are the best store ever for supplements and prices are fair basically the same as whole foods... Bulk stuff its wildly overpriced but worth it. I only get a few items here ...Its a co-op which is super good but kinda means employees are free to do whatever they want & they are sometimes helpful sometimes not with questions.

New speciality food and home store in the Inner Sunset! I was on my way to dinner nearby and came…read moreacross this charming shop. It's well curated with lots of cool kitchen and pantry items, as well as other household goods. It's the perfect spot if you want to treat yourself to something gourmet or to get a gift. I picked up a Fat Gold Olive Oil since it's local to California.

Pepperjack Provisions is a super cute neighborhood gem with a variety of unique, high quality food…read moreand food related items - perfect for gifts for foodies or for treating yourself. I love browsing throughout the shop, but it's pretty expensive, as most of the items are marked up from retail. Products that caught my eye include fun, colorful glass straws and glass teaspoons, matcha bowls and whisk stands, specialty chocolate bars, jarred goods like Rooted Fare spreads, and ornaments. My most frequently bought item is the Kolsvart Swedish candy fish. The elderflower is unbelievably yummy, and the sour blueberry, sour raspberry, and black currant and raspberry ones are also available. If I had more money to spend, I'd be buying a lot more from here!