The San Diego House

Nice place to explore your 5 sense’s. Employees are great and helpful. The tea and coffee is Starbucks price, but tastes a while lot better. Will be back for refills on my coffee beans and fresh teas.

I like this place, because the teas are fresh and they have a really good selection. The first thing I got was a mango yerba maté, and the mango flavor really shines through.
On my next visit, I got a green tea lemonade, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s whole-​leaf. While I brewed it, the leaves opened up, imparting a lovely scent and green color.
My haul also included a butterscotch tea. I look forward to trying the strawberry black tea. They have various pu-​erhs and matés, blacks, greens, whites, herbs, etc.
They have organic teas as well.
A nice thing is, you can open and smell every jar of tea. Tea tastes how it smells. Also, when they package your choice up, the bag is sealed. This will help keep it fresh until you open it. It travels very well like this.
Prices are by the ounce, and can get fairly expensive. Like I said in a previous review, my tea habit is quite serious. On my most recent visit, I spent over 30 $ on 8 ounces of tea.
You get a free drink with a purchase of I think 4 ounces, which is cool because you can try any tea in the store, and get ideas for future purchases.
I look forward to returning! I recommend this place to coffee and especially tea lovers.
My best tip is have fun at home mixing your own teas. Pu-​erh is a strong, stinky fermented tea. I brewed it with the green tea lemonade from here and it smoothed out the flavor significantly.
Pros:
— loose tea
— coffee
— bar (iced coffee drinks, etc)
— taste tests
— fun staff (The outfits are cute lol)
— free tea with minimum purchase
— tea flowers
Cons:
— can get pricey
— parking a nightmare

Cute little shop in Old Town San Diego. They have samples of tea set out for guests to try. The Blood Orange Iced Tea was so good that we couldn’t leave without buying some… both to drink and to bring home. The hubs also bought some mesquite smoked seasalt as well as some applewood smoked seasalt to try in his bbq rubs. The shop was incredibly busy but the girl behind the counter had it all under control, even remembering who to help next since there wasn’t really a line. Definitely worth stopping in to find some goodies to take home with you.

This tea house was beautiful. My nose was working overtime just smelling everything, looking at all the teas in beautiful jars, and tasting the samples. My boyfriend and I walked home with 16 oz. of 4 different flavors: Rooibos teas including Blood Orange, Hawaiian, Georgia Peach, and a Black Tea Earl Gray with Lavender.
Though the 4oz bag seems small for their price point, they are loose leaf and you get about 25 cups out of 2 ounces so the loose leaf does last a very long time.
All of them are amazing! The store was busy when I was there but that didn’t stop the staff for being very helpful, knowledgeable about the flavors, and sweet. The ICED AMERICANO was good too, quenched my coffee fix after tea shopping. Anytime I run out of these teas I will be back. Or just shop online for them, YAY!

My daughter and I are tea addicts. I found this place on Unilocal while we were in San Diego last week and decided to check it out. It was an experience just walking in! So many teas, coffees and spices You can open the jars and smell all of them, and they had 3 available to taste as well. I bought 4 varieties of rooibos teas and all of them are delicious! They gave me a free glass of iced tea for buying so many. Great service, too. If you can’t find something here, they probably don’t make it! I highly recommend a visit to this place.

Overpriced but good tea and coffee. Offers nice free samples. I would order the tea here but probably not the coffee. You can blend your own teas if you’d like.

Very large shop with teas, spices, coffees and craft soda pops. Passed by it many times thought it was some over priced tourist attraction. But it wasn’t. I was surprised my large cup of coconut Crème cost 2 dollars-​ish which is pretty average compared to the Starbucks standards. Walking in it had a very old vibe (it is old town) the ladies were in the traditional clothing and the gentlemen were in slacks. Everything is hand crafted they can make any tea you want, all you have to do is pick it out and ask for what size you want. That takes a bit of a while so if you’re in a rush I wouldn’t come down here for tea. On the weekend they have this special. It’s something about getting a tea or spice for free after you buy a certain amount? Ask about it. I don’t think the deals stay the same.

I love this place! Easy to find, and easy parking, they have the best and awesome coffees and teas!
The best thing is that you can come in, try their samples that they have and make a decision off of that if you don’t know what you like just by smelling the different teas in the shop.

While visiting Old Town, we came across this tea/​coffee shop. What a hidden gem! It’s a small shop towards the back of Old Town after the Wells Fargo Bank and the cigar saloon.
Walking in, you are greeted by the fragrant smell of their teas and coffee brewing in the store. They have walls of different tea/​coffee selections in display jars, many combinations that I’ve never heard of. You can open and smell the jars to see what peaks your interest but the best part is they let you sample their selection! They also have these adorable bear-​shaped honey bottles that come in different flavors. To top it off, the workers are super knowledgeable and friendly.
You can either purchase the tea leaves or coffee to brew at home or have them make you a drink on the spot to enjoy as you stroll around.
A great stop for both locals and visitors!

This place was our final stop during our late afternoon visit to Old Town. They sell a wide variety of tea and coffee.
They keep their teas in special storage jars. You are more than welcome to open the jars and smell the tea. The staff here is friendly and they are more than willing to help or answer questions.
They invited us to try the sample teas and coffees they had out on the counter. I sampled their black velvet tea. It was quite fragrant and tasty.
We ended up ordering an iced green tea, a hot Earl Grey tea, and taking home some tea (Earl Grey with lavender). Both the green tea and Earl Grey tasted good.
They have a huge selection of tea flavors, it was hard to decide which tea to go home with. They sell their tea at a 2 ounce minimum which, if I remember correctly, will brew 25 — 30 cups. Prices are $ 7.50 — $ 10.50 for most teas.
It’s a really cool store to visit especially if you love coffee and tea. I’d definitely come back if I’m visiting Old Town.

Amazing selection of teas and spices. I would absolutely recommend any tea or coffee fan to visit this shop.

I love this place. The tea blends are so fun and playful. I spend way too much time smelling and exploring the different options while I’m there. I’ve fallen in love with their ice wine blend. I’m a wine lover and a tea lover, so it mixes the best of two of my worlds. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else.
The staff is super friendly and will help you find the perfect blend for you. It’s become one of my «must visit» places when I’m in the area.

Great selection for both tea and coffee. And I love that they always have tea samples out for customers to try.

Was showing my bf Old town today & stumbled along this little gem! Tasted a sample of Coconut Chai iced tea– before I read the label & I was hooked! I really do not like the flavor of coconut at all but you cannot taste it & this tea is DELICIOUS! I bought some loose leaf & a cup of the iced tea. The staff was so super friendly! The young man at the counter was so patient with me & explained a lot about agave & how they sweeten their teas. I was asking endless questions about this yummy tea and they were so great about it & never lost their patience or friendliness! There was also a beautiful African American woman working there who was incredibly knowledgeable about the teas & steeping times. We will be back for sure! Thanks for making our day pretending to be tourists (we live in SD) so much fun!

I’m a fierce protector of small local businesses, but $ 127 for 24 oz of loose tea, 2 oz of celery salt, and 10 cinnamon sticks??? My bank account is kicking me for not saying «Thanks, but no thanks.» Back to mail order for me. Stick with buying it by the cup here.

Very cute tea place with a ton of variety. You can buy in bulk or have just one cup made for you. Their teas are imported from all around the world, so if you don’t like to drink tea, this place is still cool to look at and smell the different teas they have.

Great variety of coffee and tea. I was in total awe, but then we don’t really have these kinda shops in Vegas apart from chain coffee places or the grocery store.
No one was at the check-​out counter when we got in, but I think they were just prepping to close ’cause we got there around 7PM. Super nice lady though. She gave me a free sample of the flavored rum brew. That certainly woke me up, so I ordered a medium to help me stay awake for our night out. Thought it was pretty nifty how they keep it simple, and they also leave it up to the guests on how much sugar and cream to add (behind guests upon check-​out).

Had the blueberry iced coffee, it was really interesting, was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. This place is adorable and they have a great selection of teas and coffee, its a very special shop.
They offer up samples of what they are brewing that day and the staff cannot be any nicer. Getting your coffee is a little on the slow side, but it doesn’t matter, dont be in a rush and look around at the wonderful selection stuff they have to offer. Enjoy!

Really bad customer service and a very small selection of organic teas! However there are an interesting sorts of chai teas

We were in Old Town San Diego visiting one of the shops. The owner of the shop we were visiting suggested that we try this tea shop. She said it was one of the best tea shops, and she was right.
This little tea house is full of all kinds of different teas from all around the world. My wife loves tea. So she bought many different kinds from this store. I also tried one of the tea samples that they had prepared earlier in the day. This tea was the Peach Melba and was sweetened with Agave. See my picture (
). It was so good! I ordered a cup of cold tea. It was a hot day that day and it helped to have a cold tea like this. We are so glad that we came here and we are still enjoying all of the teas that my wife bought from this store.

Cute coffee/​tea house in Old Town San Diego with walls full of selections!
I got to smell a few and I could tell they are quality leaves. Based on the clerk’s recommendation, we tried the Empress tea which had lavender, rose, peach and mango and it smelled divine.
The sipping takes a few minutes and the you can add sugar/​honey to your taste. Ours definitely tasted better with some sugar.
They have tables outside facing the plaza so it’s a nice place to chill and take in the beauty of Old Town SD!

Best spot in old town. Fresh tea everything I walk in I’m in tea heaven. The staff is amazing like always. The only bad thing is that they need bigger sizes. There tea is too good

I don’t have a favorite because every time I come here, I try something different. This is my favorite little shop in Old Town, i’m such a tea fan so when I first came in here, I couldn’t even comprehend this place. The girls who work here are so nice, and there’s so many different types of flavors and different types.

I usually will have a tea here with my family and or friends. Big selection of teas and very friendly staff dressed in old Town garb. The best part is sitting outside sipping on a tea and watching the tourists. Try this place if you’re in old Town.

As a local, I often stay away from Old Town unless friends are in from out-​of-​town. It’s known for high prices and bad service, tourists with cameras taking pictures of fake replicas, etc. There is one thing that is truly fantastic about Old Town, and it is The San Diego House. Hundreds of loose leaf teas (my favorite) and coffees from around the world line the walls. It also serves as a café with coffee and tea to order. When I bought a pound of coffee and 2 oz. of tea, I was offered a complimentary drip coffee. Everyone in there is nice and helpful. I go to Old Town sometimes just to pop in here. I recommend!

Tea-​licious! What an unexpected pleasure. First of all, this store offers tons of teas for every taste. Herbal, green, flavored… You name it! Second of all, they time the minutes each type of tea needs to be brewed. The result? Fabulous tea. Service was great too. Love this place!

Based in Old Town, San Diego, the San Diego House is a comfy establishment along Old Town Historic Park. It has a rustic feel and features tea from all around the globe. My comrades and I got the following drinks:
(1) Cherry Sencha: it’s very light, fruity, fragrant and refreshing. The drink gave me energy and quenched my thirst.
(2) matcha green tea: earthy and healthy. It has a pure flavor
(3) Pai MuTan peach smoothie: provides an abundance of energy and has a beautiful citrus taste. it has a wonderful peach aroma to delight the taste buds. The first time I ever had a peach tea smoothie and it’s given me a new perspective on life.

Place was NOT busy and they were fully staffed with nice employees.
Issues:
1. Asked for 2 iced latte and they made hot
2. Asked for 3 shots of espresso. Since they messed up by making hot coffee, they tried to salvage it by pouring it into ice with the rest of the order. It tasted like milk with no coffee flavor.
They kindly remade the order and greatful that they did with no questions asked, but the lack of paying attention to detail especially when it’s not busy irks me.
2.5 Stars.

Feed me some caffeine and I swear that I will fall in love with you! LOL
This place does it for me. Each time I stop here it is pure pleasure. I love the good variety of teas, coffees, spices and flavored sugars. This place is by far outstanding in their service as well.
The staff is knowledgeable of the different teas and what types of benefits they may offer. I try a different flavor each time. I like the Hibiscus Pineapple Lychee tea and they tend to sell out of this or have a low stock each time that I visit here so clearly others like this flavor too.
They usually have several iced teas that you can sample. I recently tried the Paula Berry and fell in love with this flavor too.
If you buy a bag of coffee they will grind it for you. Also with your Unilocal check in you can save 10%. This was awesome since they carry one of my favorite coffees, Tanzania Peaberry. This is not the easiest to find. so when this chickadee finds it she buys it. LoL
If you are so inclined this place is part of American House which offers franchise opportunities.
They used to offer a frequent buyers card program but I think that they do not offer this any longer.
Each cup of tea is made especially for you so you typically have to wait for your tea to steep. The wait is worth it. There white tea smoothies are full of flavor… or at least the flavors that I have tried like Peach, Mango and Strawberry.

Great iced coffee, even better chai tea.
Walk around and stick your nose in a couple of the hundreds of jars full of teas they got from all over the world. Sensory overload.

This Coffee and Tea House located in the heart of Old Town has quite the collection of teas and coffees. I stopped get a coffee and I settled for the coffee of the day: The French Caramel Iced Coffee.
Cold brewed, the coffee still maintained its rich coffee flavor followed by a hint of caramel. It was flavored and refreshing at the same time (
). They carry a variety of organic teas, flavored coffees, and organic spices as well. In addition to making fresh coffees and teas, they also sell in bulk as well. Prices a little higher than most, probably due to their location.
The girls at the counter were very informative and helpful. I liked their friendly attitudes and willingness to share their knowledge about the store’s products.

For those that like loose leaf teas, this is your heaven.
They have a vast selection of chai, black, organic, roobios, green, and white tea, in almost every conceivable flavor you can imagine. Loose leaf teas are sold by the ounce, with quantity discounts. Prepackaged teas are also available, as well as coffee. They also have samples of a few of the teas that you can try.
The staff here were fabulous and were so helpful at giving suggestions on what teas to get based on my preferences. We got 3 packets of 2 oz loose leaf teas, which qualified us for a bulk discount, and we also were offered a free chai tea with honey and milk as thanks! The chai tea was heavenly and crafted to perfection, with just the right amount of spice, milk, and honey.
Some examples of tea flavors are Granny Smith green, coconut chai, tropical Earl Grey, and black forest black tea.
Definitely stop by here if you’re in the area and love tea!

A (somewhat) secret place in Old Town that’s certainly worth the venture into historic San Diego.
Located by the main square, this amply stocked tea store features walls and walls of delicious teas. Herby, caffeinated, non-​caffeinated, and heck, they even got hot chocolate mixes.
Prices are a tad high if you bag to-​go, but the staff are wonderful people that will let you sample until your taste buds fatigue.
PS: If you’re sick, just tell them and they’ll recommend you some delicious feel-​better options!

Being in Old Town San Diego, one would not expect to find a tea/​coffee house such as this. I was pleasantly surprised as to their variety and customer service. Upon walking in you will see tons of glass jars filled with an assortment of teas — some are mixed with fruits and others are kept bitter.
What I had: Iced Jasmine Pearl Tea
The Good:
Variety
Customer service was excellent
They make any tea for you on the spot, or you can take it raw home with you
Interior design was unique
No sales pressure
Outside seating
They have a good selection of green teas
The Bad:
Price was a bit steep for items (see picture)
Be prepared to wait for your item if there are people ahead of you
Can get crowded on hot weekend days
I am not sure of the origin of where most of the leaves they get is imported such that I cannot attest to the actual quality/​price. Are you getting what you pay for? Yes and no; however, the drinks here are far healthier and great for the hotter days.