Leslie B.
Yelp
I was birthday shopping for one of my cousins who happens to love tea. I had heard of Point Loma Tea, but had never been, so last week I decided to check it out.
It is located right next to Liberty Public Market. I was there midday on a Wednesday, and found a parking spot in the lot just next to the shop. When I walked in, I was the only customer there. There were two staff members who nicely greeted me. The store is cute and has lots of tea, of course, but also lots of fun gifts and decorations. They have a small bar area where you can purchase a tea to drink, as well as a back wall area where they have over 250 types of tea from all over the world.
I was informed that I could buy samples, for a cup or so of tea, a large pack of tea, or a flight of various teas. I looked around for a bit, and not certain what exact flavor my cousin would enjoy, I chose the flight of herbal teas.
I had stopped by during lunch, and decided that I would like a large cup of tea for myself to get me through the rest of the workday. I chose a hot Bon Bon tea, which was listed as one of the flavors of the day. I relaxed while they steeped my tea. The tea was warm and delicious, and provided me with the kick I needed to finish my work day.
On my way out, I noticed a small room that was decorated for Valentines day with tea service dishes, and a couple of ladies sipping tea. It appears that they use this for afternoon tea, and tea tastings.
I felt that it was a very nice and conveniently located tea shop. There were, however, a couple of places where it fell a bit short. I felt it was more of a place to grab my tea and go, rather than a place where I would sit and sip my tea, as it didn't have the atmosphere that invited me to stay. I think if they made the bar seating area more modern and slightly more spacious (maybe by clearing off some of the stuff that was for sale on the bar), and changed up the music, it would be much more inviting. The muzak/ elevator music that played while I was there, could be changed up for some light techno, or perhaps something either more classic or modern in order to provide ambiance.
The other issue I had was the tea packaging. Each packet in the flight I bought had a small logo for Point Loma Tea, but when looking at the packaged flight as a whole, it reminded me of something I would find at a Home Goods store rather than something from a trendy, local tea shop.
All in all, it was a great place to shop for a tea lover's birthday, and a nice place to get a flavorful tea to go.