I came across this tea shop by accident while I was touring Pike Place Market. It looked quite busy (as Pike Place Market on a sunny weekend is crazy packed with people), so I came back on a week day while I was in the area.
Perennial Tea Room is located in the Post Alleyway, just up half a block from the main Pike Place Market. You can’t miss it if you are walking down the hill to Pike Place Market, or wandering around the area.
Perennial Tea Room has been there for 26 years! The staff at Perennial Tea Room were all very welcoming and nice. The shop is quite cute and an English style tea place. You can buy a cup of tea to drink and sit inside or in the patio. They also carry loose leaf tea, tea ware, British tea snacks, imported bagged tea, and great selection of tea books.
First off, I LOVE THEIR TEAWARE! Perennial has quite the wide selection of pretty teaware.
They have cute whimsy tea pots.
Strange modernist art tea pots and miniature scene tea pots.
Gorgeous, more traditional looking tea pots and cups.
A small yixing collection.
This cup, wow! The clay and the fun kitty cat handle!
Perennial also wins for their big owl tea ware section!
For their tea selection, they got bagged teas like Yorkshire gold and Barry’s Tea, perfect if you want that traditional cup of English tea. Majority of their tea is sourced, many times labeling the source. I saw a great selection of exceptional teas sellers I’ve tried and enjoyed, such as Justea, Harney and Sons, and Young Mountain Tea.
However, when I’m in a tea shop like this and I want tea, what I look for is house blends – teas that I can only get from them. I was pointed to a couple teas they make in shop – Seattle Breakfast Blend, Morning Blend, Room 11, and a Strawberries & Cream.
Their big sized purchase minimum and lack of samples is the one criticism I have of the Perennial tea shop. It is a 2oz minimum, and they had a sale for 4oz. They had baskets of 1/2oz samples, but not much selection. I know I’m not their usual customer, likely the bulk of the customers they get are tourists/western style tea drinkers so buying in bulk is ideal/easy to spin. However, 2-4oz is way too much tea for me to buy without having to try it first. I told them “I have a lot of tea.” I bet they hear that often, but I’m serious guys, I have more stash selection than their shop!
Oolong Owl’s Perennial Tea House Haul
I could not resist getting another Owl mug. Yes I know I have the same mug already but in mint, but I wanted this colour as I have a yarn that colour! I also got a matching Owl creamer. No I don’t use cream, but this owl would make an excellent gongfu pitcher! The pricing on these Owl teawares was pretty good, I purchased my mint owl cup online and paid pretty similar price after shipping.
I snagged a sample of the Seattle Breakfast Blend, as it was the only one they had bagged as samples for their house blends. I want to try their Strawberries & Cream tea, but I’ll have to see if someone wants to split 2oz with me. Hey, I’m a local now… I can go back!
Tasting of Perennial Tea Room’s Seattle Breakfast black house blend
I prepared this tea western as per the instructions and it was actually pretty good. It’s smooth, rich malty, and a touch of brisk tartness. As it cools there is an interesting fruity sweetness. What I like about this blend is that it is not super brisk and it lacks dryness or bitterness. I don’t think it needs milk and sugar as I don’t need to cover up anything. This black would make excellent cold brew and iced teas!
I did a resteep and it got moderately dry, but still quite fruity. I think you can likely steep this tea into the ground if you dont’ mind some dryness.
Comments
Perennial Tea Room is a pretty fun English style tea shop. It is flocked by tourists, but so far their house blended tea is good and they offer a lot of great other sourced tea. I’d say this shop is a must to stop by, if you are visiting Pike Place Market, just to look at the whimsy tea ware.
