Quality loose-leaf tea, made affordable
Premium teas at honest prices, plus our own chai and herbal blends, from a Somerville tea family since 2006.
Creamy Madagascar vanilla notes dance with tingling Malabar Coast spices, and a lively ginger finish is accentuated by candy-sweet cardamom. No wonder it is one of our best-selling teas.
History & Heritage
In India, chai simply means tea. Spiced tea has long roots in South Asian traditions, and masala chai, meaning "spiced tea," became an everyday drink in the early 20th century. At that time, the Indian Tea Association promoted tea drinking across India through tea stalls, demonstrations and vendors at railway stations. Street vendors, known as chaiwalas, often brewed the tea with milk, sugar and spices, creating the beloved style found on street corners throughout India today.
Interesting Facts
Ingredients: black tea, dried miniature daisy, calendula petals, chopped and powdered ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and natural flavors.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
Smooth, creamy and warmly spiced. Wonderful as a latte with steamed milk, and delicious with snickerdoodles, banana bread, or pancakes.
Brewing tips (general guideline): turn your bag of chai upside down a few times first, since powdered spices can settle. Use 1 heaping teaspoon per 8 oz of freshly boiled water (212°F), steep 4–5 minutes, then add warm milk and sweetener to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Vanilla Chai is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Chai collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.
This Spiced Chai is a blend of seven classic spices and a flavorful black tea. It brews a full-bodied, warm cup with just the right amount of spiciness.
History & Heritage
In India, chai simply means tea. Spiced tea has long roots in South Asian traditions, and masala chai, meaning "spiced tea," became an everyday drink in the early 20th century. At that time, the Indian Tea Association promoted tea drinking across India through tea stalls, demonstrations and vendors at railway stations. Street vendors, known as chaiwalas, often brewed the tea with milk, sugar and spices, creating the beloved style found on street corners throughout India today.
Interesting Facts
Ingredients: cinnamon, ginger, black tea, green cardamom pods, allspice, cloves and black pepper.
It is excellent both hot and iced.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
Warming and aromatic with a peppery kick. Serve it hot with milk and honey, or chill it for an iced chai. Pair it with pakoras, oatmeal cookies, or apple pie.
Brewing tips (general guideline): turn your bag of chai upside down a few times first, since powdered spices can settle. Use 1 heaping teaspoon per 8 oz of freshly boiled water (212°F), steep 4–5 minutes, then add warm milk and sweetener to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Spiced Chai is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Chai collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.
Featured Green Teas
Watch a pearl unfurl in your cup and you'll see why this tea is so loved. Jasmine Dragon Pearls are smooth, with a delicate, pleasing flavor and a heavenly jasmine character.
History & Heritage
Jasmine tea has a long history in China, and the city of Fuzhou in Fujian is especially famous for it, with scenting traditions recorded as far back as the Southern Song dynasty. The craft relies on timing. Jasmine blossoms are gathered during the day while still closed, then layered with the tea in the evening as the flowers open and release their fragrance. After resting together, the spent flowers are removed and the tea is dried, and the process is often repeated several times for a deeper scent.
Interesting Facts
The pearls are made from the top two leaves and the bud of new-season growth in late March and early April, and then hand-rolled.
When infused, the two leaves and the bud come back to life, and you may see a little "hairy down" on the bud, a sign of superb quality and careful handling.
The extraordinary flavor comes from the time of plucking, the manufacture and the fresh spring jasmine blooms.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
Silky and floral, with a clean green tea base under sweet jasmine perfume. Enjoy it with dim sum, steamed fish, almond cookies or fresh lychees, or simply on its own as a calming afternoon cup. A glass teapot is the best way to watch the pearls open.
Brewing tips (general guideline): use about 6–8 pearls (about 2–3 g) per 8 oz of water at 175–185°F, steeped 2–3 minutes. The pearls can be infused several times. Adjust to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Jasmine Dragon Pearls is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Green Tea collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.
Fresh, bright and quietly sweet, this Sencha is a classic steamed green tea from Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture. It brews a cup that is slightly sweet and vegetal, mildly astringent, with reasonable depth.
History & Heritage
Sencha is the everyday tea of Japan, and its modern form dates to 1738. That year, Nagatani Soen, a tea farmer in Ujitawara near Kyoto, developed a method of steaming fresh leaves and then rolling and drying them in stages, producing a tea with a vivid green color and fresh aroma. Steaming, rather than the pan-firing used in China, became the hallmark of Japanese green tea. Today Sencha is grown across Japan, and Kagoshima, on the southern island of Kyushu, is one of the country's largest tea-producing prefectures. Steamed Sencha was later sold in Edo, today's Tokyo, by the tea merchant Yamamoto Kahei, which helped make it a national favorite.
Interesting Facts
Kagoshima is Japan's second-largest tea-producing prefecture, with a long growing season.
Japan's tea production is among the most efficient in the world, and it exports only a small share of what it grows.
Steaming stops the leaves from oxidizing and locks in their green color and fresh flavor.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
A quality, well-rounded green tea to enjoy throughout the day, with a clean vegetal sweetness and a gentle finish. It also makes a very refreshing iced tea. Pair it with sushi, rice dishes, grilled fish, or lightly sweet treats like mochi.
Brewing tips (general guideline): use 1 heaping teaspoon (about 2–3 g) per 8 oz of water at 160–175°F, steeped 1–2 minutes. Do not over-brew. Adjust to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Sencha is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Green Tea collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.
Toasty, nutty and comforting, Genmaicha is a specialty Japanese green tea blended with fire-toasted brown rice. Our Genmaicha uses a high-grade Sencha and Gyokuro green tea base.
History & Heritage
Genmaicha is often described as the tea of thrifty households. A widely told account says Japanese families added toasted rice to their tea to stretch it further when tea was expensive, and the combination became a beloved tea in its own right in the early 20th century. A popular folk legend tells a different story: a servant named Genmai accidentally dropped rice into his master's tea and gave the drink its name. The legend is charming but undocumented.
Interesting Facts
During firing, some rice grains pop like popcorn, which is why Genmaicha is nicknamed "popcorn tea."
The Gyokuro in our blend adds complexity and umami, a Japanese term for savory taste.
Our Genmaicha comes from Shizuoka Prefecture.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
The fresh, vegetal character of the green tea comes through in the cup, tempered by the warm, bakey character of the rice. There is a natural sweetness and an almost chewy character to the finish. It is a natural partner for Japanese meals: try it with miso soup, onigiri, tempura, or ramen. It is also a wonderful introduction to Japanese tea for anyone who prefers a warm, savory cup to a grassy one, and it makes a mellow after-dinner tea.
Brewing tips (general guideline): use 1 heaping teaspoon (about 3 g) per 8 oz of water at 175–185°F, steeped 2–3 minutes. Adjust to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Genmaicha is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Green Tea collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.
Our Story
Our story began in 2006, when Wen and his cousin opened Tea Zone, a small tea shop in Somerville’s Porter Square. In 2007 the Boston Globe and the Somerville Journal wrote about it. Today Beantown Tea & Spices carries on the same mission: quality tea, made affordable.
Tea Gifts & Sets
Gift boxes and sampler sets for every tea lover, at prices that feel good.
This is a classic Masala Chai: full-bodied tea that enhances South Indian masala spices. The finish has cardamom notes peeking out from lively ginger.
History & Heritage
In India, chai simply means tea. Spiced tea has long roots in South Asian traditions, and masala chai, meaning "spiced tea," became an everyday drink in the early 20th century. At that time, the Indian Tea Association promoted tea drinking across India through tea stalls, demonstrations and vendors at railway stations. Street vendors, known as chaiwalas, often brewed the tea with milk, sugar and spices, creating the beloved style found on street corners throughout India today.
Interesting Facts
Traditionally this chai would be brewed using milk instead of water. You can create the same effect by brewing your tea the usual way and adding warm milk.
Ingredients: black tea, chopped and powdered ginger, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon, chopped cloves and chopped black pepper.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
Bold, warm and spicy, superb with milk and sugar. Pair it with samosas, biscuits, carrot cake, or buttered toast.
Brewing tips (general guideline): turn your bag of chai upside down a few times first, since powdered spices can settle. Use 1 heaping teaspoon per 8 oz of freshly boiled water (212°F), steep 4–5 minutes, then add warm milk and sweetener to taste.
Like every tea at Beantown Tea & Spices, Masala Chai is a quality loose-leaf tea offered at an affordable price, with sample and larger sizes so you can find your favorite. Explore more in our Chai collection, or pair it with our tea accessories.