The Pros: Massive Variety: Truly a "one-stop shop" for tea enthusiasts. Low Pressure: The staff greeted me and then stayed hands-off until I had questions. The Price: Easily some of the best values in the city. The Con: Sealed Packaging: Everything is pre-sealed in 1lb plastic bags. Because of the sealing, you can't smell the tea before buying. I'd love to see them implement scent jars in the future to help with the selection process. Neutral Observations In-House Packaging: All the tea is packaged identically in 1lb bags, which suggests they likely process and bag everything in-house. Labeling: I didn't notice any specific organic labels on the packaging, though I didn't explicitly ask. If this is a deal breaker, you may want to ask. Review If you're looking for a genuine loose leaf tea source -- your search ends here. I stumbled upon this place after endless online searching (blogs, search engines, etc) and it was well worth the effort! Just a heads-up on navigation: G-Maps is slightly off. If you rely solely on that, you'll be a few doors down. Look for the Volvo mechanics and the shop is located just on the other side. The exterior is unassuming, no windows, just a sandwich board on the sidewalk and a door. Looking inside it's a bit of a mysterious vibe, you'll see a stairway to the left and a hallway ahead. Go for it. Ignore the single pane glass, bank-teller-style window to your right (which directs you to the main door) and just head in. Also, keep an eye on the clock because, per the phone tree, they close for lunch from 12:30 to 1:00. I arrived right after 1pm and was able to park right in front. There was also plenty of other parking spot around at that time. IDK why, but before walking in, my imagination had prepared me for an old-world San Francisco opium den. I was thinking there was going to be this lingering aromatic smoke, plush floor pillows, people lounging, sipping tea, and the soft, ambient melodies of an upscale spa. I had also pictured rows of heavy, whiskey-style wooden barrels overflowing with loose leaf tea, topped with clear lids and metal scoops. The reality is much more utilitarian. This is not a den or a spa. It's clean, straightforward, and focused entirely on their product. The selection is robust and incredibly diverse. While they claim "wholesale to the public", I can't verify the industry margins, but I can tell you the prices are very good for the quality you receive. The employee greeted me and then stayed hands-off while I browsed, which I appreciated. When I did ask specifics, they had basic foundational knowledge. Honestly with the diversity and sheer quantity of products offered, it would take forever to earn a Tea Master badge. No harm no foul. The only real bummer here is that everything is pre-sealed in 1lb plastic bags, so there is no way to smell the product. I'd really appreciate scent jars in front of the bags. Since they seem to be doing the packaging in-house anyway, it makes me wonder why they haven't set aside a small amount of each batch for scent jars. It wouldn't require a change in their supply chain, just a few ounces and a glass jar to help customers navigate that massive variety. That aside, I absolutely loved this place. I've been searching for a spot like this for a long time. I'm just glad I finally found it. If you're at all interested in loose leaf tea, I'd suggest giving these folks an honest try. read more

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I needed dried lavender for simple syrup and ice cream and found this place online. Prices are very affordable and they have so many options! I'm not able to post all my photos but this is some of what they offer! Will definitely come back. read more

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I did not even know this place existed! I've been buying my botanical herbs online, and it's very much a pretty penny with shipping fees, and for the herbs in general. This shop is small but definitely mighty in the range of options that are there. The prices are good, and the workers were so helpful. It's looks like it is family owned and they've been here for yeeeears. Will 100% be back. read more

San Francisco Herb - Botanical herbs - Grocery Near Me - San Francisco, California

SF Herb is the best if you just marginally cook a lot. A huge selection with great prices.

Great herbs, seasonings, salts botanicals. Best prices on bulk herbs. Great for chefs and other professional producers of bath salts, oils,etc. read more

This is hands-down, my favorite place to get spices, teas, and other similar goods. The quality is excellent and the staff have very good recommendations. $15 for a pound of loose leaf Assam tea? Brilliant. This is absolutely a gem! Pro-tip: Some of the spices come in quantities that are difficult to use (like Bay Leaves!), so I will often split them with friends. read more

They have an excellent selection of teas to choose from! With covid restrictions, they let one person in at a time. The line goes out the door. You let the cashier know what teas you want and they'll get them and ring it up for you. I also got a green tea recommendation b/c there were many to choose from and I am not a tea connoisseur. If there's no line and you know what you want, it'll be easy breezy in n out. But if there's a line, there's really no telling how long it might take. read more

This place is a little treasure in the neighborhood. I've been here twice now, and am impressed at the selection they have and their prices. I wanted to make my own chai blend, and SF Herb had everything I needed. Items are packaged in a volume that you will appreciate if you use a lot of it. Or if you're running a restaurant, or have a big family. I also especially liked their tea blends. Much cheaper than anything I've seen anywhere else. They also have a small selection of essential oils. Spice and herb blends, dried ginger, and cardamom 3 different ways (pods, seeds, and ground). I mean, wow. They even have a small selection of spice bottles if you want bottles to put them in. The cashier was also very friendly and helpful answering questions that I had. I like visiting this place, and will look forward to the next time I visit. read more

So far, so good! I ordered over $100 worth of spices from these guys yesterday morning at 6 a.m. Today at just after noon, my box of spices was delivered. Now, they ARE in SF, and I AM in Santa Rosa, CA, a mere forty miles north, but that's still impressive! They get ON an order! I will have to follow up with this review once I've had a chance to taste the various herbs and spices I've gotten from them, ***Update *** Actually, I apparently never finished this review originally and just found it in my "drafts", so I thought I should finish it. All I need to add is that yes, their spices are very fresh, extremely well priced and last a long time. I've been using them for a few years now (the SAME ONES I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT YEARS AGO!) and they are still fresh! I keep them tightly wrapped in their original bags, in the boxes they were sent in (photos added) and open them only to grab a little here and there and they just last and last. And I like FRESH herbs! I go to The Spice Shop in Santa Rosa to get things I don't have and don't buy crappy herbs and spices, not even pepper, so I know flavor and smell will go away quickly if things aren't fresh or stored correctly. These spices were the best investment I've made! Highly recommended, San Francisco Herb Company!!! read more

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Great place to get herbs and tea leaves in bulk. Good essential oils selection too. Great prices!

good stuff; good prices... bulk goods mostly packed in bags weighing 1 lb or sometimes less. Goods are dried and often to be fairly fresh.

I'm always amazed at the freshness and quality of teas at SF Herb Company. Their product value and the level of quality are unsurpassed. The customer service is also great. Consistently friendly and helpful staff round out the whole company. If you're looking for something in particular, give them a call and they'll be more than happy to help. Check them out! read more

Very large selection of common and hard to find spices and teas in bulk packaging. Love that this business exists.

They have a large selection of stuff and good price. It has nice ambiance. I don't visit SF because it's too loud for me honestly and the shop was nice and quiet. read more

Tons of herbs, loose leaf teas, and essential oils. Small store and somewhat difficult to find because a tree partially covers it, but I found it thanks to the storefront photos posted on Yelp. If you can't find what you're looking for here, you can check out Rainbow Grocery nearby. read more

SF Herb Company is such a gem and another place I've added to my list of places to visit whenever I'm in SF. I stopped by for the first time on Wednesday, May 8th and purchased the following: lychee black tea - 10.80 (16 oz) china black tea - 4.95 (16 oz) mandarin green tea - 7.43 (16 oz) rooibos red herbal tea - 8.50 (16 oz) lavender buds - 7.10 (8 oz) rose petals - 9 (16 oz?) The black and green teas were used in Mother's Day gifts (the kids at church filled Celebrate It™ Occasions™ Tin Favor Boxes from Michaels and topped them off with ribbons of various colors). It only took about one, 16 oz. bag to fill 30 favor boxes to the very top. The lychee black tea has a semi-pronounced lychee scent, but the flavor imparted in the actual tea is very mild. The mandarin green tea leaves have a beautiful, deep green color and a pleasant, light citrus scent. My dad has been searching for plain rooibos for a while, but most supermarket brands seem to sell red tea with a lot of different flavors added in, usually vanilla. I was so, so thankful that SFHC carries a plain variety; my dad has really enjoyed it. The lavender buds and rose petals were total impulse buys, but I figure I can use both items for either aromatherapy-type gifts or in baked goods (macarons?). Metered street parking was pretty easy since I got there right when it opened at 9 AM. It's a pretty tiny shop, but they've got a pretty great variety of herbs, spices and teas at the best prices I've seen for the quantity given. I didn't get the name of the cashier, but he offered assistance if I had any questions and we talked a little about bitcoin of all things. I look forward to coming back! read more

If you cook, bake or drink tea, this shop is a place you have to check out. Why are you paying $3-4 for a tiny 3 oz jar of cream of tartar at Safeway when you can get a pound for under $7 here? Come here and shop smart Hint: 16 oz= 1 lb read more

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We have ordered from this company for over a year now and they ship well to Tennessee and charge very fair prices compared to their competitors. While in San Francisco, we decided to stop by, and we were not disappointed. Shelves upon shelves upon shelves of a variety of herbal medicines and spices greeted us, and the smiling and helpful staff that work there made it even better! Do yourself a favor and schedule a visit if your calendar takes you anywhere near the shop! read more

Came to check out tea selection for making my own Boba milk tea, and I was not disappointed! They had a lot of great priced bags of teas of different flavors. Plus dried fruits and herbs at a great price. Definitely coming back for more teas. read more

Came here a couple weeks ago and not disappointed. They have so much and the prices are so reasonable. I'll be coming back. Wish they had a selection of essential oils like they do herbs lol read more

I am truly surprised that this marvelous store isn't more well known. It is such a gem and remarkably inexpensive. Case in point: 1.3 oz of chili flakes at Safeway -- $8.49. ONE POUND of chili flakes at San Francisco Herb Co -- $4.95. There is such a great variety and the freshness and quality are outstanding. Additionally, the people who work there are knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and just plain fun to speak with. Make this a regular stop. I now buy large quantities and put together gift packages for friends. LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

Vaccines are critical to overall public health, and have lead to longer lifespans, cheaper medical costs, and lower infant mortality. Oh - wait - is this not the right place to get into a debate about vaccines? Yea, I didn't think so either. I just wanted to pick up my spices from a shop I always recommend to friends. I didn't want to get into a debate with an anti-vaxxer. Or be told the government is increasing cancer rates. Considering my mom just died of cancer, I found this especially cold. The cashier at SF Herb Co brought everything up unprompted. He had just been reading Youtube comments on the computer at the register, so clearly he knew quite a lot of high-quality information. I felt personally attacked when really, all I wanted to do was buy some spices. Quite a shame. read more

So happy to have found this company. Essential oils and herbs and tea, etc! And great service!

This is a great little spice shop! You can find spices and teas mostly here. We came in looking specifically for vanilla beans, and found vacuum-sealed packs of 2 up at the counter. The Tahiti variety was 7 dollars for 2 beans and the Mexican variety was 13 dollars for 2, which is better than most grocery stores. While we didn't buy the Mexican beans, they looked really good and moist with some of the oils leaking out. What's funny is that the website didn't have these beans listed, but instead had quarter-pound options available for 130 or 230 dollars. A bit more in quantity than I'm looking for! We were also able to find buckwheat hulls here in 8 ounce packages. Sadly they didn't have larger quantities available so we ended up buying 30 bags of buckwheat, 15 pounds total. If you look on the website you'll also see that there's bulk discount pricing when you buy 25 units or more, bringing the cost per pound of buckwheat far lower than Amazon or Ebay. We ended up making a number of buckwheat pillows with the hulls we bought from SF Herb Company, and they've been holding up great! Finally, we browsed through and selected a few different teas we wanted to try. They have mostly loose tea, so be prepared to buy it a bag at a time! SF Herb company is a staple of SF and something I'm happy to have discovered. They have stuff that can be harder to find or far more expensive elsewhere, making it a valuable visit to stop in and look around. read more

I love going here for large amounts of herbs and spices. It's my staple location for a pound of peppermint leaves that I use in my cat litter deodorizer. If you need large amounts, this is the place to go. They also have a great selection of pot pourri ingredients and oil diffuser supplies. They also have large quantities of spice mixes, like cajun, mexican, etc. The cayenne powder comes in a range of heats as well. They have premixed tea mixtures. There's also a good choice of essential oils. They have some rares, but not a large selection in this area. I've had to go to Rainbow and a new age store for some really rare herbs and oils, but for large amounts and excellent prices, check here first just in case they have it! read more

Such an incredible SF hidden gem, they are open only between 10am and 4pm , M-F and the place is fairly small but stock up pretty well. The man that works there is super sweet, I was looking for the green Stevia lefts and he allowed he to have a sample before I bought it. AE accepted. read more

San Francisco Herb - Spices! - Grocery Near Me - San Francisco, California

I loved going into this store for the first time today! Clean, friendly young man at register and so much to choose from! Cant wait to go back for more herbs. read more

Lots to choose from!! Staff is knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I come from the north bay every couple of months.

Finally a tea leaf place at reasonable prices. I was so excited that I told all my former co workers (we worked as tea tenders). My husband did work with us as well and we loved this place. Only 5 minutes away from my job. read more

This place is not customer orientated at all there are a lot better Spice companies in the bay area then this dinosaur that will bend a little & cater for one of their best customers. As a business owner, I find that they treat customers like they don't give a hoot about the sale when you cant bend for a good customer then you need to teach make them feel the reason why they are spending money in your business. read more

***This place is an amazing GEM!*** I can't believe it's been around all this time! Who knew?! San Francisco Herb Co. is now on my permanent "must shop" list for teas, herbs, spices, essential oils, and cooking. I mean, all this time I've been buying expensive teas in tea lounges, but now I can just buy in bulk! They've got so many rare finds too! Stevia leaves, calendula flower, you name it. You can build a hearty supply of spices and teas for a price that won't bust your wallet. **One caveat** It is easy to get wrapped up in everything this place has to offer, so just know that the DPT Parking Mafia is in full effect! I was so taken by the plethora of herbs and spices that my parking meter expired. Whaddya know...$50 parking ticket. Be careful! read more

I really wanted to like this place. The prices are alright, and interesting selection. I went in for the first time and the experience was not so good. A white man raising his voice to this women to speak English cause no one is going to understand her when he leaves? It was clear that he understood what she was saying, so why did it matter? Is it not your job to understand the many different names people call different spices? Why did you need to make it a issue of language fluency power dynamic? Then dude was very nice and chummy with this couple as they asked how many languages do you know? To which just English he replied. Whatever dude. That just made for a horrible experience. read more

You never realize how much you need something until... well you need it. Before today, I have never seen a whole juniper berry, let alone a juniper berry in a store. For some reason I decided to make my own spice rub instead of buying one from a store. The inner Asian always looks at expensive things and tells myself that I can make it for cheaper. I stumbled across an amazing spice rub recipe for my BBQ needs online and it called for coriander seeds and juniper berries. I searched near and far for these ingredients, well just Safeway and Trader Joes. I found a small spice container of coriander seeds but they were 6 bucks for a tiny container. I decided to hold off until I found my juniper berries. After some research, I ended up at the San Francisco Herb Company. Not only did they have juniper berries, but a whole pounds worth for 6 dollars. Some places sell them for 50 dollars a pound. I was amazed. For another 6 dollars I got a pound of coriander seeds, 10x the amount I would have gotten at Safeway for the same price. Since I was there, I picked up some turpinado sugar because... well why not? This place is a life saver and the owner is really nice. From now on, I will do all my spice shopping here. I ended up getting all my spices for around 15 bucks, which will make 50 times the amount of a 12 dollar spice rub packets found in the store. P.S. They have a bunch of tea too! read more

Need Frankincense and Myrrh for the holidays? You can get it by the sandbag here. Also (in some cases to my amusement): Rose Hips and Honey Bush (as delicious a combination as I think I've ever heard) Blessed Thistle Cockscomb Buckthorn Bark Sage Rubbed Mulling Spices Mugwort Chaparral Cedar Tips & Chips Lots of different pinecones . . . as well as a ton of herbs, spices, patchouli ingredients, all in bags as big as your head. And enough tea to re-enact that party they had in Boston a while back. Very inexpensive, too. read more

If you need large amounts of spices this is a great place to go. They have a great selection and some other useful things like containers and dried florals for cheap. And yes, you can get a pound of cumin for less than what it would cost you for a tiny jar at the grocery store, but seriously, what are you going to do with a pound of cumin? I have to say that the price is great for the quantity, but the quality isn't always the best. The stuff is dirt cheap, but it isn't the freshest and the color and flavor of most of what I've purchased here has been faded, including the teas. These people claiming to be tea connoisseurs don't know as much as they think they do. You get what you pay for. Yes it's more expensive at Rainbow but the quality there is consistently much higher, and there are many other places in the city (Imperial Tea Court, Lupicia, Samovar, etc.) to buy better quality bulk teas. If you're going to be making tons of cookies or pickles or gallons of curry, this is a great place to go, but if you care more about freshness you'd be better off elsewhere. read more

Signage helps but was a little confused about how to enter since you enter an outside door and walk about 10 paces in to turn right into another door and then you find yourself in spices and herbs heaven. Great prices for fresh spices! I'm making pho this weekend and this place is perfect. I spent about $10 on all the herbs and spices I need! Which is about the same price as I would get at Safeway but here I got about 5 times as much! Like the vibes and guy working this place. It's open and clean. They also have a wide tea selection and baking section. read more

This is definitely a SF Gem that I've been missing out on! Bulk spices, teas and dried goods for all sorts of things! I had gone in there with a project and came out with some amazing tea, all of the ingredients I needed for my project and some great ideas for more down the line. Since it's a small room...there aren't any large carts like a normal grocery store...instead you get the small handheld baskets to shop with and one of the customers had filled up 4 small baskets before I had left with my stash. I asked him who they were all for and he said he loves to send things away to his family in DC that "doesn't have all the great things that we have here in SF". The Earl Gray - bagged at one pound each...was only $8!! Loose amazing Earl Gray for only $8?! One lady was so pleased she had found some Decaf Tea that she went on and on about how great the deal was that she was getting. No super market or store in the city has the same bargains for quality spices and teas. I also walked away with some amazing Spiced Chia that is just wonderful. I've been drinking it all day to sooth my head cold and it seems to be working wonders. For those who LOVE spices, love anything whole sale priced and love a good bargain...this is a great little SF find tucked away very close to Rainbow Grocery. They aren't open 7 days a week...and getting there on a weekday will mean getting there before 4... but they are open on Saturdays! Additionally...if you buy 5 items of something than they give you 10% off those items! Can't wait to go back for my next SPICY adventure! read more

Wow! The SF Herb Company is one of the first places I went after I moved across the country to San Francisco a year ago, and it was the best decision I've made all year! I cook a lot of curries and drink a lot of tea, so I knew that I wanted the best quality as well as relatively cheap prices. This store is the best in both, and I was tempted to buy more than I came for (which I'm unique for in that this happens approximately 3% of the times I go shopping). While most stores will try to sway their customers into buying more than what they came for and sell their products, the owner refused to let me buy any teas or spices unless I could tell him the potential consequences of overdoing the tea/spice, and an acceptable reason for why I wanted the tea/spice. I literally had to hide across the store and google the benefits and potential drawbacks of a certain tea I wanted to buy before he'd let me pay him more money. This was so shocking and intriguing that one year later, I am paying my respects and professing my admiration with this long overdue Yelp review. read more

There is some legit apothecary action going on here. They have Milk Thistle Seed. I wiki'd it and yes, it's an actual plant. It's used to make "liver tonics," you know, in case you want a home-made solution for those darned liver inflammations. This place is a treasure trove of herbs and roots that would rival any 17th century Salem witch's stash of cauldron mix-ins. For the rest of us non-wiccans, they also sell a myriad of culinary spices and loose tea leaves by the pound. I drink tea in lieu of coffee because coffee gives me insomnia. I drink a lot of tea. A lot. This place let's me indulge my loose leaf habits (because honestly, that tea bag swill is just garbage), and I get to look all fancy in front of my coworkers as I fill my French-coffee-turned-tea-press with hot water at the water cooler. They all ask me what that amazing aroma is and I tell them about my custom mixture of jasmine green tea, vanilla, rooibos, and peppermint. Cue oohs and aahs. read more

LOVE this source! Need vanilla beans? How about less than $20 for more than 2-dozen fresh, soft beans! (Which beat those dried up beans in jars at the grocery store that are priced like $14 for just two.) They have a minimum purchase amount for online orders, but I have never found it an issue for me - I can always find something to order from SF Herb! read more