Teance Fine Teas

04/01/2026

Our next Saturday Night Tea Social on 4/11 is a Spring Theme with Lei Cha 擂茶 🌸🌿

Saturday, April 11th
5:15-7:30pm

5:15pm - Doors open
5:30-7:30pm - Tea Social & Tea Exploring
In addition to exploring teas of your choice, we will prepare a bowl of Lei Cha 擂茶 for everyone.

Lei cha 擂茶 is a traditional Hakka drink used for nourishment as well as ritual purposes, and different regions offer a different versions depending on their local ingredients and customs. In Taiwan's Hakka regions, lei cha 擂茶 is often made with peanuts, sesame seeds, roasted rice, and tea leaves ground into a powder and brewed with hot water. Some regions like to sweeten their version of the drink.

When she visited in February, Chih Hui got to grind the nut and seed mixture herself! After her experience, she's looking forward to bringing back lei cha 擂茶 to the tea shop to taste and enjoy together at this event.

Note that the lei cha 擂茶 is pre-ground. We will experience mixing it into an oolong tea and enjoying slowly.

Like every Saturday Night Tea Social, the $25 registration fee will cover any / as much tea from our menu of your choice. Since it's a communal gathering where others will also be choosing teas, this is a fun opportunity to taste a variety of teas from our menu with other tea lovers!

Register here: https://www.teance.com/saturday-night-tea-social.html

04/01/2026

Taiwan Tea Core class this Saturday 4/4 afternoon will focus on processing methods of major Taiwan teas. We'll look into what it takes to make your favorite high mountain oolong and a roasted Tung Ting (D**g Ding)!

More info & registration here: https://www.teance.com/taiwan-tea-core-courses-saturday.html

03/30/2026

CRAFTEA CLUB
1st & 3rd Fridays | 5:00–7:00 PM

Unwind at the end of your week with a cozy evening of tea, creativity, and community. Bring your latest craft project and settle in with fellow makers and tea lovers for a relaxed, welcoming gathering.

Whether you knit, crochet, bead, sketch, or creative project in your own way—any portable craft is welcome.

Enjoy a thoughtfully curated tea flight of 4–5 selections served throughout the evening, always including a soothing caffeine-free herbal option.

Come sip, craft, and connect ✨

$10–15 sliding scale (pay at the door)
No reservation required

If you plan to join, we’d love to know—feel free to email us at [email protected].

https://www.teance.com/craftea-club.html

03/25/2026

Here's a brief look into Chih Hui's recent visit to Luye, Taitung in Taiwan. The beauty of the land, the plants, and the little green hopper speak for themselves. 🍃

She was also put to the test to identify six Red Oolong in a guided tasting. Watch until the end to see how she did!

We'll be doing the same comparative tasting this Sunday, 3/29 from 10:30am-12:30pm! Let's have a fun time being guided by our taste buds and sensory observation. 🌷
https://www.teance.com/morning-flow-red-oolong-melody-comparative-tasting.html

Annnnddd ...we now have these six oolong available as a set, called Organic Red Oolong Melody! ❣️
https://www.teance.com/organic-red-oolong-melody.html

03/21/2026

🌸Osmanthus Golden Oolong Cold Brew with “Taiwan AliShan Edged Plum Syrup”
桂花烏龍冷泡茶佐「台灣阿里山紫蘇老梅汁」

🙌Starting serve for a limited period, until the plum syrup runs out 🌸

Oolong tea notes are gently wrapped in delicate osmanthus aroma, while the sweet-tart Alishan plum slowly unfolds, creating a refreshing, balanced, and softly layered finish.
烏龍茶韻中，縈繞淡雅桂花香；阿里山梅子的酸甜緩緩釋放，清新平衡，層次柔和。



#桂花烏龍
#冷泡茶
#紫蘇梅汁

03/18/2026

On the morning of Sunday, March 29th, we invite you for a special Luye Red Oolong comparative tea tasting led by our tea buyer, Chih Hui 智慧. We will begin this Morning Flow Tea Gathering before the shop opens, creating a quiet and intimate time to enjoy tea together.

Originating in Luye, Taitung, Red Oolong reflects the terroir of Taiwan’s Longitudinal Valley—southern sunshine, fertile soil, pure water, and mountain breezes. Combining oolong roasting with black tea oxidation, it produces a rich amber liquor with layered aromas.

The teas for this tasting are crafted by Mr. Lin, whose curiosity and commitment to natural farming shape his distinctive style. Each tea is naturally oxidized and traditionally roasted, with subtle processing variations that reveal different aromas and textures.

During her visit to Taiwan this February, Chih Hui participated in a memorable blind tasting of six Red Oolong profiles with the farmer’s daughter. Guided only by aroma and flavor, she compared each tea to a profile card—and after several careful revisions, she ultimately matched all six teas correctly.

Chih Hui will share this experience with you using the teas she hand-carried back from Taiwan, along with stories about the tea-growing family and how she met them. (And for those who are not local, we will soon be offering these teas as a set for purchase!)

Featured Organic Red Oolong Teas:

Classic – Tea of the Valleys | Caramel, floral notes, delicate aroma, rich base (Medium body) 🍬

Fruity Fragrance – Tea Beneath the Orchard | Tropical fruit, citrus peel, vanilla fudge (Medium body) 🍊

Fruity Citrus – Tea by Wild Stream | Passion fruit, berry wine, fresh herbal notes, GABA like (Light body) 🍷

Honey Fragrance – Tea Fermented by Fireworks | Peach, toffee, orange blossom honey (Full body) (Limited edition bug-bitten tea) 🐝

Charcoal Roasted – Tea by the Campfire | Roasted cocoa, smoked licorice, dried longan (Full body) 🔥

Competition Grade - Second Place | A symphony of floral bouquet (Light Body) 💐

More info & registration: https://www.teance.com/morning-flow-red-oolong-melody-comparative-tasting.html

03/12/2026

Yup, thanks to a couple weeks of warm weather we're starting to pull out the green teas & unroasted oolongs! Last week we got ~fancy~ and brewed our Gyokuro & Buckwheat together for a nice improv Genmaicha. Hope you're out there drinking tea to your heart's content as well 🌱🤍

03/11/2026

Spring has sprung at the tea shop with an abundance of gatherings & events :) From classes and workshops to mahjong night and tea tastings we hope to see you local tea friends there.

📚 Taiwan Tea Core Courses
Fri & Sat dates in March & April

🍰 Cafe Goblin Pop-up High Tea
Sat. 3/14 @ 1-3pm

🖌 Calligraphy & Tea
Sun. 3/15, 4/5, 4/19 @ 10:30am-12pm

🀄 Mahjong Night & Tea
Sun. 3/15 @ 5-7:30pm

🍵 Slow Down with Tea - Discovering Global Tea Rituals & the Five Senses of Tasting with Alex Ng
Fri. 3/20 @ 5:30-7:30pm

🌸 Bloom Together: A Community Spring Market with Local Taiwanese American Makers

Sat. 3/21 @12-3pm
(no registration required)

💌 Letter Writing & Tea
Sun. 3/22, 4/12, 4/26 @ 3-5pm
(no registration required)

🌅 Morning Flow Tea Tasting - Luye Red Oolong
Sun. 3/29 @ 10:30am-12:30pm

🌿 Morning Flow Tea Tasting - Indigenous Taiwan Tea
Sun. 4/12 @ 10:30am-12:30pm

More info & registration is in our bio link!

03/09/2026

2026.03.20 Friday 5:30-7:30 ~ SLOW DOWN WITH TEA - DISCOVERING GLOBAL TEA RITUALS AND THE FIVE SENSES OF TASTING

A special workshop with Alex Ng 吳思偉, an instructor from the Tea and Beverage Research Station in Taiwan, before he returns to Asia on March 22.
25 seatings!

During this hands-on workshop, you will:

Discover how different cultures developed tea rituals that celebrate slow and mindful tea drinking
Learn the cultural stories and traditions behind tea around the world
Participate in a guided tea cupping session
Practice using your five senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound—to experience tea more deeply

Bio of Alex Ng 吳思偉
-Lecturer of National Chung Hsing University
-Instructor of Tea and Beverage Research Station in Taiwan
-Visiting scholar of UC Davis

Come slow down, awaken your five senses, and rediscover the art of enjoying tea.

See more details in the bio or visit our website

03/09/2026

In Search of Authentic Loose Leaf Teas for the EverMoreSF Spot 🍃🍵

Tasting teas that bring depth, tradition, and calm to their coming space in Richmond, SF.

Exploring teas to curate a menu rooted in quality, ritual, and flavor.

We enjoyed our tea time together 🥰

03/04/2026

Taiwan Tea Core Courses, an educational course series led by Aqua Chen, is back with dates in March and April! Friday classes start this week on 3/6, and Saturday classes start on 3/21. 🌿

Aqua is a certified Taiwanese tea specialist and design professor with 20+ years of teaching experience. She is also a certified instructor at the Tea Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture in Taiwan, and she is offering this series with the intention of connecting people with Taiwan's tea-producing regions, tea masters, and traditional culture through experiential, hands-on learning.

This spring, Aqua is offering the Taiwan Tea Core Course series on Fridays from 11am-2pm and Saturdays from 1-4pm. Each series entails six courses of three hours each. Each course can be taken on its own, or you can sign up for all six courses which can contribute to tea certification through Taiwan's Tea and Beverage Research Station (TBRS). Because this is a newly-taught series, Aqua is offering each course at a discounted price of $80. 🌻

Examples of what the classes will include: tea tasting with observation and comparison, lecture on tea regions and tea cultivars in Taiwan, exploring the flavor wheel, and tea brewing techniques. 💦

Check out our bio link for more information and registration!

02/27/2026

We'll be celebrating the new year (again) this Saturday evening from 5:30-7:30pm! Not only will you get to enjoy teas of your choice, but we'll be debuting a couple new teas from Chih Hui's recent travels. 🎆

If you read our newsletter a couple weeks ago, we talked about Chih Hui's travels to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to visit farmers of the BaoShan tribe who have been making tea from the indigenous tea plants, rather than the tea plants that have been imported from places such as China or India. Chih Hui also visited farmers in Luye, Taitung who make red oolong ❣️

On Saturday, Chih Hui will briefly share about her recent travels and visits with the tea farmers. We'll get to taste a red/black tea made from the indigenous tea plants, as well as the red oolong from Luye.

We will also have a calligraphy station to write chunlian (spring couplets) for the new year, and we'll be serving nian gao (sweet rice cake). Come by and let's continue to celebrate the coming of Fire Horse! 🐴🍊

Link in bio ~

02/24/2026

01/31/2026

an evening of brewing tea and sharing poetry. As we head into 2026 and approach the Lunar New Year, what are we feeling called to express? Let’s reflect and share over tea.

SIP, gather positive thoughts and standing strong against negative, chaotic vibes.

There are photos from past events. We sipped while we listened book sharing, astrological conversation or life sharing!!

01/30/2026

Hi community 👋🏽

We at Teance unwaveringly support Friday's general strike and the abolition of ICE. We also have been in ongoing conversation about how to actively stand in solidarity with community members who are continuing to be actively harmed by ICE, and how to support the call for Friday's strike. There aren't easy answers, and none of this violence is new. This is our current update:

We are not able to stop our operations on Friday. We, however, firmly support the call for the strike & abolishing ICE. Many on-the-ground orgs & humans in Minneapolis & Minnesota, as well as the Bay Area and SO many places on Turtle Island are doing incredible work to support people, families, & businesses being impacted, whether raising money for rent and basic needs or getting legal support. Check out the links below for orgs & lists you can check out, and please amplify or donate to, if you haven't already and if possible.

Teance is a tea shop and a community space, so our offer for this Friday is holding space for y'all to drop in, take a breath, and join us for a cup of tea on the house. Let's remember that we have spaces where we can be nourished and where we can nourish one another. Come for some calm and sanctuary, or come to connect with others - we'd love to see you either way.

Thank you for reading. Let's melt ICE with our tea 🔥🔥🔥

https://www.bayresistance.org/

https://eastbaysanctuary.org/

https://www.standwithminnesota.com/

Mutual Aid Links to Support Right Now
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oojjkKhaPzoeYqnIcNulm3Oqec4g9GuWOzSGfqtmSJg/htmlview

01/22/2026

One of our newest matcha is Gabaron, available in a 40g tin. This matcha undergoes a processing that elevates its levels of GABA, which is known for supporting relaxation and stress. 😴

Gabaron matcha has similarities in processing to our GABA-processed oolong, Honey Jia Long.

In our latest tasting, we found that Gabaron offers gentle cacao, roasted notes. Less bright and grassy than some other matcha, we recommend Gabaron for drinking on its own (versus as a latte) and for a more mellow experience both energetically and tastewise. 🍃

Gabaron matcha's blend of uplifting and relaxing also gives it the potential for being a supportive tea during the upcoming Yang Fire Horse year, where we may find ourselves working a continuous balance between rest and activity.

Let us know if you give our Gabaron Matcha a try! We'd love to hear your feedback. 💭

01/21/2026

Let's get social, let's get witty, let's get reflective over poetry and tea at our next Saturday Night Tea Social on Jan. 31st 💫

It's that time between the Gregorian New Year & the Lunar New Year. We're still in the winter cold...but we're moving toward spring with each day getting slightly longer than the last. 🌥

This Saturday Night Tea Social we invite you to Poetry Sharing - Tea, Beginning, and the Journey Ahead. We'll share pots of tea together and share poems. If you would like to share a poem and have it printed, please submit to us ahead of time! Otherwise, feel free to come as you are. 💌

Sign up in our bio link~

01/14/2026

Letter Writing Club & Tea kicked off 2026's first community tea social at Teance last Sunday✨️ It's now being held in our snug & private back room that we've been starting to use for some gatherings & events.

The letter writing club is open to anyone! It meets every 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month from 3-5pm. Stationary is provided. Thank you for hosting! 🫶🏽

Check out our bio link for lots more happening at the tea shop this month and next 🌤

01/08/2026

Join us on Sunday, Jan. 25th for our next Mahjong Game Night & Tea Social from 5 to 7:30pm 🀄🫖

🌙 5pm Beginner Lesson by (12 person capacity) // Please arrive on time!

🌙 5:30-7:30pm: Open Mahjong play & Tea Service

We welcome all mahjong players from beginners to well-seasoned (pr***en and up). If you prefer to judt sit for tea and socialize, or watch others play, the tea bar will be available for you. Select teas from Teance's menu to brew and taste with other tea lovers! 💝

Let's get shuffling, let's get clacking. Registration is in our bio link 🔗

01/01/2026

2025 Recap 🎆