If you've seen this spot on social media, just know that it's 100% worth the hype! We stopped by on…read morea weekday afternoon, and it was one of our favorite stops in Chinatown. We came in and enjoyed a complimentary tea tasting along with groups of tourists that appeared to be on a tour. Luckily, no dues paid to enjoy the same experience as a walk-in customer! The tea tasting was offered bar-style, and the woman behind the counter was an exceptional host! She poured several tastings including Green, Blue, and Oolong teas and I learned so much about the tea varietals, their benefits, and even how to properly prepare loose leaf tea. I bought my own loose leaf tea set up to take home and a quarter pound of Cocoa Oolong tea, which I got to sample before buying! Excellent and educational experience.

Amazing experience at Vital Tea Leaf! Chris, the man behind the counter was incredibly…read moreknowledgeable about every single tea they had! He let us try practically any tea they had available from Lychee green to duck shit tea (not actual poop) :D I learned that I should be rinsing all tea for 20ish seconds to get the bitter out! And steep for 45ish seconds ONLY We ended up loving their blue people oolong and its subtle sweetness! We walked out with 2 quarter pound bags of it AND another quarter bag of genmai cha (roasted rice tea). I thought these would be the perfect gifts for people who already have everything!

- Menu: tons of options, drinks/baked goods/soft serve -…read moreDrink adjustability: can adjust any drink - Seating: open food hall style seating in Japan Center Mall - Crowd: pretty empty at 10a on a Monday - Parking: parking garage, metered - Water is scarce in the Mall, but restrooms are widely available (albeit old) My Bay Area friend swore Maruwu Seicha is THE place to go for quality matcha. Turns out she was right. I had a matcha latte half sweet, and it was delicious- high quality matcha, not too strong or sweet. We did wait about 10min for our order, service is kind but busy. This is a stand nestled in the middle of the Japan Center Mall, so recommend grabbing a sip here and wandering around. Just heads up that many stores don't allow outside drink.

Wow this place is good. I stopped by during the first weekend of the Cherry Blossom festival and…read morethe line was long as usual. Surprisingly, I only waited about 10mins to order and another 5-10mins to get my drink. I ordered a Hojicha Latte + Snow Top for myself and Hokkaido Milk Soft Serve for my hubby and baby to share. The Hojicha Latte was delicious, I finished it all in one sitting (which is rare for me). The soft serve was creamy and delicious. Worth the hype IMO,, I'll be stopping by every time we go to Japantown from now on.

Another great visit to this spot…read more These were good High tea _Decaf earl gray Roast beef Sandos Egg & turkey Chicken salad & roast beef Sausage rolls

Let me start with the good things first…read more - The staff was very nice and made sure we were well-served. - We were a group of 8 people, and they were accommodating to our special dietary restrictions. - The food was good, and the teas were delicious. Things we didn't like: -It's a little old place, so we saw spiders lingering behind our chairs. -The food quantity is comparatively less.

Stopped by Kiss of Matcha on Broadway the other day. Honestly wasn't expecting much but it…read moresurprised me. Ordered the double matcha latte. It actually tastes like matcha, not just sweet milk. Strong but smooth, not bitter. You can tell they're using good quality powder. Service was fast and pretty easygoing. No wait when I went. If you're picky about matcha, this place does it right. I'll come back next time I'm in the area.

This is a really good matcha spot, I love matcha and this place doesn't have the grainy matcha feel…read morethat a lot of other places have when pre batched. The color, magnificent honestly, the dango is good to try for the first time, but I wouldn't get again. As for the lattes, the mango one is pretty good, super mangoey and sweet, so just remember to stir it pretty well before sipping. Strawberry was pretty good, also pretty sweet. The earl grey was my fave, easy to control the sugar level and very fragrant. The earl grey and matcha does not over power each other which I really liked. The soft serve, is suuuper good. It's like a thick matcha icecream, and it's sweet but not too sweet. I would visit this place again if I'm in SF! Service is a bit slow but that's understandable because they're always busy.

I came here at the recommendation of a friend along with a few other people and we got a pot of…read moreturmeric chai to share so we could sit inside and chit chat. They have quite the selection of teas which are pretty fragrant and the menu is helpfully organized based on the level of caffeine in the teas. I thought the tea was decent. I learned that The Center is a space where events and classes are often held, and that there's actually people who live here (presumably upstairs). When I went on a Sunday afternoon, there were quite a few people there to talk or work on their laptops. I admit this place is a bit too "woowoo" for me, but I'm sure for some other people this would be a good fit for their desired atmosphere.

A lovely third space! The inside is a lot bigger than I was expecting, since the entrance is a…read morelittle hidden down an alleyway. This space feels super homey compared to other cafes as everyone mainly sits on the floor and you also take your shoes off inside. There's a huge selection of teas, and you can get free refills on the pots for as long as you want ($12)! I came on a Sunday afternoon and it got SUPER packed while I was there and pretty loud. I'd recommend coming earlier if you want to snag a table. I saw a lot of people catching up or doing work as well!

This place is absolutely amazing! The food and teas are so delicious and the ambiance was so…read moreadorable. The teacups are all so cute! The staff are also so sweet and knowledgable about the foods and tea selection. We went for our anniversary and they brought us a special tea(: will definitely be coming back and would 100% recommend!!!

This place is awesome! Wasn't sure what to expect, just wanted to grab some tea in a relaxing…read moresetting on a cold sf day. Came Saturday afternoon and it was pretty empty and super cozy. It's just a coffee/tea room with super chill vibGreat tea, super nice staff, cool vibey music and just got to enjoy tea in a comfy setting. This place is honestly one of the best "coffee shops" in town and I can't believe it's my first time coming. I was apprehensive at first because I thought I had to go through the church to go in, but the entrance is on the side through a wooden gate that's open and leads into a cute side area with a fountain. Along with tea they have chocolate drinks and I think coffee too. So happy to have a relaxing place to grab a beverage that's in a setting that doesn't feel like a sterile Apple Store. Love it!!

THE BEST PLACE TO GET RICE BALLS IN THE BAY…read more Hot. Fresh. Fragrant. Delicious. I wish I could get these on the streets. I usually get the mushroom one. The lines can be long, but it's worth it. Dango is also delicious here!

kissako tea is a small japanese snacks stand located on the bottom floor of the east mall in sf's…read morejapantown. there's always a short line, but it moves quickly. the daily selection of mochi is on display at the counter, and there's a decent selection of onigiri on their menu that's freshly made to order. each onigiri is made with a good amount with piping hot rice, so it was a treat to eat them right away. I ordered the fruit mochi, and although it was very pretty & the texture of the mochi itself was perfect, the fruit flavor tasted really artificial. in the future, I'd stick to only ordering from the mochi with bean filling. as for the onigiris, the mentaiko was by far my favorite!! there was a generous amount of mentaiko, and it was so savory. the beef sukiyaki onigiri was delicious too, but I wish there was more filling because the rice-to-meat ratio was off. the spicy furikake spam musubi was fine. it was good, but it didn't stand out as much as the first two

One of my favorite boba spots! I've been loyal to Urban Tea Ritual since 2019 and back when they…read morehad their first location in SF. I fell in love with their creative, artisanal drinks right away. The store itself was clean and welcoming. My favorites are the Crème Brûlée Milk Tea and Matcha Toffee. They're both signature drinks and the matcha and toffee balance each other so well. The toffee does get stuck in your teeth, but it adds a nice crunch to your drink. I recommend getting their drinks in either oat or macadamia milk! Their honey boba was fresh with the perfect texture. I don't recommend driving here unless you're okay with parking a few blocks away. I prefer this location over San Jose because their drinks are more consistent. Nowadays, you can order through the self-serve kiosk. Their seasonal drinks are definitely worth trying! There was a Pandan Strawberry Corn milk drink that was pretty refreshing :)

I know this was a highly rated boba place and my sister even spoke good things of it, and I had…read morehigh hopes for it... but in the end it fell short. The line was long, waited about 10 minutes for the ordering system, because it's by machine now. Then waited another 15 minutes for the drinks. There were a bunch of teeny boppers in front of me ordering drinks (6-8ish), so it took a bit. I ordered a house milk tea with 25% sugar. Honestly it just tasted like ash. No creamy tasting like other boba places. Not sure what their house cream was but it wasn't creamy or rich in flavor. Big disappointment. My husband got the crème brulee milk tea and that tasted even worst. It just tasted like bitter burnt pudding. Some sweetness once you get pass the pudding. Not sure who made the drinks but it was not good. The boba however was nice and soft. Not sure if it's the day or the rush of hella orders, but I normally judge a boba place by their basic milk tea and that day it was not good. And maybe that's not what to order? Not sure. But willing to try again on another time.

Came here for the Neko Oji-san collaboration, as that's how I learned about the cafe (I love the…read morecomedy short form manga online, check it out!). Parking nearby is horrendous, super busy even on the weekdays before the rush hour so I can't imagine weekends when people are out or other high traffic times. Get ready to make some rounds and pay for parking and be careful since there's very specific signage and times. The cafe itself is cute and cozy. Front area is a gift shop with lots of cat themed gifts and goodies like keychains, stickers, and such, and also some items from local and small artists too, which is neat. The cafe also has community events like movie showings ("The Cat Returns" was one of them which is a great choice) and cat yoga. If you're local, you can also get a time stamp if you are a frequent visitor. Definitely follow their socials for more information. There's reservations online and you can also do walk ins if it's not super busy. You can book for a 55 minute visit or a 30 minute visit. PRO-TIP: There's a discount for students, so if you want to be surrounded by some feline friends while you study or relax, great place to do so. You can hang your coat on the rack and there's a mini shelf area for your shoes. So you gotta walk in with socks! With each visit you can either get a hot cup of tea or a cold can or box drink from their fridge (sparking water, juices, etc.). Very refreshing and you can enjoy it in the cat area too. Sanitize your hands before and after visiting. There's lots of cats hiding around, sleeping, walking around, and some are super friendly and will go into your lap. There's toys you can play with the cats with and there's a wall of adoptable cats. Lots of seats or you can opt to sit on the floor with the cats too. There's relaxing lo-fi music throughout too. Pretty cool that they rescued 2 cats from Qatar and neat that we got to see them. As with all cats, some can be a bit spicy but it's usually just a warning teeth rub. I own cats so there's nothing new. I'm horribly allergic to the cat that specifically lives in my house, but I didn't get an allergy here, meaning that the cats are clean and well taken for. My favorite was a large sleepy orange boy, Ron (permanent non-adoptable resident) that was hanging out next to me the entire time.

The cats here are so cute!! Theres so many of them and they do not feel stressed at all. We stopped…read moreby a Friday afternoon and opted for the 30min session which I don't remember seeing available as an available option if reserving online. We didn't have any trouble walking in though and we were the only ones inside for most of the time. You get to choose a beverage of your choice from the fridge. They're mostly sparkling waters. We took off our socks and found a table to sit at. Some of the cats came up to greet us when we were sitting. There are also toys available for you to use to play with them. Many of the cats were napping or lounging around but don't mind if you come up to sit next to them and give them pets. There were all types of cats and some of them are actually available for adoption if you happen to fall in love with one!

What a lovely place to browse! So many gorgeous ceramics and the employees really know their stuff…read more They gave us some samples of cold brewed barley tea (SO GOOD) and then my partner talked tea with them for a while before deciding on a sencha purchase. They knew how to answer her specific questions and make a good recommendation!

Came here to shop for matcha accessories and the staff were so nice and helpful! They were amazing…read moreat explaining different products in the store. They have a great selection of matcha bowls and other drink ware, perfect for gifts or for yourself. Will be my go-to store for tea and tea accessories.