Hina's Tea House

2319 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95816, Phone: 916-443-9100
Open Monday - Thursday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, Friday - Saturday 9:00 am till late, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm

Trying a tea place in Sacramento fairly close to my brother’s house called Hina’s Tea.

I’m trying their Kangaroo Lapsang, which many non-tea drinkers may find absolutely disgusting (as would be true with just about any Lapsang tea), but this is definitely an interesting member of the Lapsang family. It’s a little lighter than Lapsang typically are, but the taste is equally as pungent and earthy.

The customer service is definitely good, with a knowledgeable person, possibly the owner, behind the counter ready to give out recommendations based on past tea experiences. Perhaps speed could be helped a bit if she weren’t so talkative to each customer, but friendliness and conversation can hardly be a negative when visiting tea houses like this.

The decor is certainly not what I expected upon hearing the name, but it was a pleasant surprise not walking into a traditional Japanese tea house. Everything is very colorful and fun, with some interesting photographs, of which appear to be Japanese tea fields to the untrained eye, adorning the walls. Nothing is absolutely eye-popping or crazy, but everything seems to fit.

The glassware used is very nice as well. Again, nothing overly extravagant, but practical, appealing to the eye, and easy to grasp without a burn. Though I don’t use any sweetener myself, the pump bottles (hand soap style) of honey are a wonderful idea to keep a honey mess from getting out of hand.

All in all, this was a very good visit to a very nice tea house. I’ll definitely be back to try some of the other more mainstream teas if I am in the area again.

-Max

I think you might be able to order tea from them through http://www.hinastea.com/, but I also highly suggest visiting Tranquil Tea in Downtown Fullerton if you’re in the area.