When I branched into loose-leaf teas as an undergraduate student, my first stop was a café called the Root Note, where I would sometimes drop in on Tuesday nights to listen to a friend’s jazz combo. As a neophyte tea drinker who only brewed by the bag at home, I was daunted by the requirement to have anything more than boiling water on hand, and even reading through the scant descriptions of different teas that lined a small shelf in the corner of the café provoked a little anxiety. As folks ordered crepes and beers at the counter while the bass thumped from the small stage on the other side of the bar, I searched for whatever description registered closest to the English Breakfast tea I was most accustomed to drinking, landing on an Assam. A few Jazz Tuesdays later, I gambled on a green tea blend with lemongrass that became a quick favorite, and I managed to let the tea cool long enough in the pot to not burn my tongue on first sip.

Approaching tea with such trepidation seems silly in hindsight, but stepping into any unknown can feel intimidating. What if I spent ten bucks on something I didn’t like, especially when I had little disposable income? What if I was stuck with a bag of something that I couldn’t drink (I know others love it, but even in blends, the high acidity of hibiscus makes it difficult for me to sip, and it tends to upset my stomach)? In a small town like La Crosse, Wisconsin, where there weren’t any local tea shops, I was fortunate to stumble across a modest selection of loose-leaf teas at the food co-op. I experimented with the limited stock to discover what I might like to try more of the first time I entered a real tea shop, and this emboldened me to ask for suggestions. I’ve found tea specialists are always happy to provide recommendations and answer questions to highlight teas they think customers will enjoy based on their preferences.

As I ventured north from Albuquerque to continue my tea tour of New Mexico (ABQ edition here), I tried to keep these formative experiences with tea in mind, asking questions and tasting some teas that stretch beyond my usual preferences in order to provide insight into all that these locations have to offer. Luckily, there are an abundance of loose-leaf teas available in Santa Fe and Taos for even the most timid to try, and knowledgeable staff at each location who are ready to share their expertise.

Santa Fe Teahouse and Bistro

Initially, I was both excited and a little leery about my first visit to Santa Fe Teahouse and Bistro. Of my three northern New Mexico stops, the Teahouse on Canyon Road is the only location with tea service, but I was slightly put off by the reservation box displayed on almost every page of their website. I decided to roll the dice without a booking, visiting with a friend on a Saturday just before lunch. Given our timing, I was surprised by not only the immensity but the wide availability of outdoor seating, which includes numerous tables in two greenhouse-style structures designed to keep the cool breeze at bay. Even though we opted for an indoor table, there was barely a wait before we were seated in the naturally bright space.

As we browsed the menus, the server quickly arrived to ask if we had visited before and if we had any questions. I found myself flipping back and forth between pages, trying to decide what I’d like to try first, because although their tea menu is fairly extensive, boasting a range of black, green, oolong, white, and herbal and Ayurvedic teas, it is sandwiched between listings of their other beverages, pastries and snacks, breakfast and lunch fare, and a small selection of teawares. The King of Orange pu’er, a high-grade gong ting tea fermented inside of a king orange, caught my eye first. Rather than brewing by the pot, the Teahouse brews their tea in large glasses with strainers and offers refills of hot water, and both cups of this were deeply rich and complex. For my second tea, I shifted to something much lighter, the Yuzu Kukicha, a green “twig tea” brewed from the stems, stalks, and twigs (rather than the leaves) of the tea plant, mixed with matcha and yuzu for a slight tang of citrus.

Knowing that we wanted to order some bulk tea to take home, our server mentioned that several teas on the bistro menu are labeled with different names in the bulk menu at the counter, but the staff were able to assist with sorting out which was which. The Teahouse prices their bulk tea a bit more steeply than other shops I’ve visited, but I did pick up a sample size of the Blood Orange black tea blend and the Ginger Lemon Basil herbal tea, the latter of which has been particularly wonderful for my throat as seasonal allergies have set in.

📍821 Canyon Road, #3, Santa Fe, 505-992-0972

ArtfulTea

I never would have expected to find ArtfulTea tucked away behind Midtown Bistro if I hadn’t known where to look for it from a map. However, this hidden (at least to an out-of-towner) gem is well worth seeking out. With over one hundred teas, including many hand blended in the store, there is something for every tea lover at this shop. The teas are organized by type on shelves toward the back of the store—herbal, rooibos, green, flavored green, black (classic), flavored black, purple, pu’er, oolong, and white—with each tea including a small corked jar to smell alongside prepackaged teas (additional sizes can be packaged to order). The vast array of teawares, from cups to strainers to full cast-iron tea sets, and other tea-related kitchenware, make this an all-in-one tea stop. For those new to tea, one of my favorite parts of this shop is the small set of shelves stocked with individual bags of different teas that can be purchased to try before committing to a larger quantity. Although ArtfulTea does not brew tea to order, they do offer samples of two rotating teas at the counter, and their teas can be found at both Iconik Coffee Roasters and Sky Coffee in Santa Fe.

The first of their teas I brewed at home was the Ginseng Oolong, a withered and rolled leaf that is coated with powdered ginseng and licorice root, the latter helping to balance out some of the natural bitterness of the former. It is wonderful as an afternoon pick-me-up. Even though I rarely order chai mixes, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try their Chimayó Chai. The black tea blend has an incredibly pleasant, lingering spice from the crushed red chile, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. I also brought home a bag of their Yerba Maté, because of all the stops on my tea tour, I had yet to buy any locally, and it has a very fresh, herbaceous taste akin to my favorite out-of-state maté. 

📍901 W San Mateo, Santa Fe, 505-795-7724

tea.o.graphy

I was excited to discover tea.o.graphy, because I’ll take any excuse to travel to Taos in winter so I can stop along the Rio Grande to breathe in the cold air and listen to the river. The promise of tea made for an even better day trip. tea.o.graphy has a small retail space that focuses primarily on herbal teas, black teas, and tea blends, though they do offer some single-origin green teas and a limited number of other varieties. All of their teas are displayed in canisters on shelves along the front walls as soon as you enter, with small magnetic tins of tea stuck to the shelf below each for patrons to view and smell. These teas can each be purchased in prepackaged sizes of one or two ounces, with many also available in a smaller sample-sized bag containing three servings.

I really appreciated that, unlike at many of the other stops on my New Mexico tea tour, all of their teas can be prepared by the cup to take with you as you wander the galleries and stores around the plaza. The tea clerk mentioned that the High Desert Sage, a mix of sage, cassia cinnamon, peppermint, and Dutch lavender, is one of their bestsellers, and I took his suggestion to heart. As the name might suggest, this tea is sage forward in both taste and aroma, and I could feel it drying in my cheeks well after taking my first sip. I also ordered the Black Magic, a blend of Assam and oolong teas, anise, eucalyptus, and licorice root, to take with me to the Rio Grande Gorge. The combination of anise and licorice were delightful as I trekked down the West Rim Trail. Of their teas I purchased to bring home, my favorite has been the Cat’s Pajamas, which I enjoy as a late-night tea drinker because of the amalgam of peppermint, chamomile, catnip, valerian root, hops flowers, and lavender. 

One thing I learned reading online before my visit was that the prices aren’t clearly labeled on their prepackaged teas, so some folks are caught off guard at the cash register. If you have a chance before going in yourself, you can check out their packaged sizes and prices for each tea on their website. However, it also bears mentioning that all the manufacturing, blending, and packaging are done by hand locally, and almost all their packaging is fully compostable. This generally requires a higher cost, but it’s one I think is important to front as a consumer when a small company cares so much about the quality of their product and their own responsibility to the environment.

📍125 Kit Carson, Taos, 575-741-6316