Teance

Great customer service by the young lady from Knoxville. Relaxing experience. Great tea

The place is very zen-​like and quiet. Great to just sit, sip, and contemplate. I believe they have tables upstairs if you want to do some work while sit and sippin’. Definitely will be back when I’m in the area.

Teance is a very nice experience if you are an avid tea fan, though you will notice the premium you will pay for such service.
The place has cool jazz playing in the background as you can purchase and sample teas. I wanted to have a sit down with my sister, who was visiting from out-​of-​state.
Without reservations or any kind of wait, we sat at the «bar» counter (first floor), proceeded to order a premium pot of tea and sip away. Along the way, we tried the mochi and chocolates, too. The staff is very knowledgeable and but not your chatty bartender types. I suppose they are trying to be less obtrusive of your experience.
I found the experience to be quite pleasant and perfect for chatting over a couple of hours. My sister and I had a great time and found the tea selection to be of great variety and quality. So, we would come back again.
For some of my other girlfriends, they find this place a little posh. Maybe so. I pretty much rocked my inside-​a-​library voice the whole time. Also, there was upstairs seating (you order downstairs), and other patrons brought their reading and computer work. It was a welcome sit down on a gorgeous Super Bowl 50 afternoon with perfect weather.
Question: can someone build that cement table and indoor koi water pond feature for me? K, thanks!

Teance is a wonderfully relaxing place to enjoy fantastic teas. The staff there will help you learn to appreciate the delicate and complex flavors of a variety of teas. There is a delightful crowd of regulars who often enjoy a chat at the bar. Or you can always get lost in a book and a pot of tea upstairs, away from the worries of the day.
This is a one-​of-​a-​kind place.

What a fascinating and meditative way to enjoy tea! I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the staff. They felt very at peace and their process of presenting the teas to you, brewing it at the booth for you, and answering any questions you have. I really enjoyed the off-​menu tea they suggested. It was earthy and delicious, not like a tea I might brew at home. I will absolutely return again!

Great tea, great ambience, great customer service. What more can you ask for? I came in randomly one day and one of the workers was extremely accommodating. But before that, the tea shop itself is so zen and elegant. There is a koi pond in the middle of the room with volcanic looking rock surrounding it. Tea lines the wall on both sides and there’s seating towards the back of the room and upstairs with wifi and tea service.
Customer service was superb. The female worker (Diane) helped me by explaining all sorts of tea, how to brew them, and she gave me plenty of samples of the tea and their vegan gelato.
Now, the vegan gelato was awesome– slightly nutty from the buckwheat and so creamy and icy from the rice milk. Very rich and decadent without feeling guilty for eating something so sweet.

I just felt extremely relaxed and the female worker wasn’t pushy at all. It was a nice, quiet experience and I cannot wait to go back.
Diane also told me that they either make their sweets or have it brought to them and they have tea services too. That is something I cannot wait to experience.
Update: 15 November 2015
I went back to Teance and I sat down for two hours at their tea bar on the ground floor. Diane recommended me the Phoenix Honey Oolong tea: has honey and peachy (?) undertones and it soothes a sore throat if needed. No sugar or actual honey needed! This time, I decided to partake in the mochi cake and a chocolate hazelnut truffle. The truffle was refrigerated so it was bit too hard and too expensive at 3 dollars. The mochi cake on the other hand was topped with coconut shavings and the texture was soft, buttery, and very smooth. It definitely grew on me– it was an acquired taste in my opinion because when I first bit into it, I wasn’t sure if I liked it at all.
Now here’s the amazing thing– ordering a pot of tea at the bar or for upstairs only costs $ 7 and there’s practically an unlimited amount of free hot water refills. Of course, after about 8 – 10 steeps, the tea does lose its potency but unless you buy the loose tea leaves for home use, this beats a lot of other tea shops which costs $ 4-​$ 5 for one drink.
Now I definitely found a new addiction!
FYI: There’s also FREE wifi. I guess I’ll be going there on the weekends to do projects XD

Far from campus and a bit pricey but they have the best tea I have had in the Bay Area and the ambiance is nice. If they were closer to campus, I’d come at least once or twice a week. Peaceful, serene, and refreshing.
Great experience, will be back.

One of the most tranquil places to slowly sip tea, appreciate the fine grace of traditional Asian tea service, and just be. A nice sanctuary in the midst of the busy 4^th St shopping district.
Last time I was there, the very bright and attentive tea server took a bit long to get to my table to take my order. I was frustrated but didn’t say anything when he finally arrived. The first thing out of his mouth was, «I’m so sorry I took me so long. You’re tea is on me.» What conscientious service! Talk about paying attention to detail. He was really paying attention to the situation and my needs. And took action on that.
Thanks, Teance! I love you guys!

Its been a couple of year since I have last been to Teance. They had updated their menus, but the selection was still more or less the same.
I would still encourage sticking towards their Chinese green teas, (specifically the Cloud and Mist, but I wouldn’t suggest bothering with the higher grade one, as it is about the same for ½ the price). Their Dragonwell was very sub-​par.
I had a couple pet peeves though. After doing a flight of teas (I love this idea, but I think they need to lower the price a little), I ordered a pot of their second flush Darjeeling. When I smelled the leaves they smelled amazing! My issue was that when they served it to me they served it in a red clay yixing pot. These pots are traditionally used for pu-​erhs, oolongs, and some chinese black (or red depending on how you call them) pots.
In a subtle black tea liked a darjeeling all I could taste was the clay and the previous teas that had been brewed in the pot (clay is very porous). It seems silly/​stupid to say, but it ruined the tea, and when you spend 50+ dollars on a tea tasting… the standards go up.
Another pet peeve of mine was the discounted tea. DO NOT BUY THE ANJI BAI CHAI FROM 2014. I can not stress how disgusting this tea is, and should be thrown away. This tea has expired and completely oxidized and the best use for it would be in a compost bin. If you don’t believe me, ask to smell/​look at a sample before you buy. Anji Bai Cha is a green tea and should be almost a bright rich lime green color (google it if you don’t believe me), and theirs is the color of bark or a brown paper bag. Shame on Teance for trying to sell tea that should be thrown in the trash.

Alas, ruined by Cal students. The tea and service is still lovely. But now the once empty upstairs had stupid laptops galore. Go (AWAY) Bears!

Place was awesome. We were greeted by a women named Elise. She was very energetic, very warm and extremely beautiful. She had us try three samples and they were all great. She was very informative and made us feel very valued. We went inside and looked around and didn’t buy anything because we were walking and already had our hands full but I will return here. Thanks so much Elise!

I’ve been here before and bought tea from here before (they’ve changed the packaging since, but the quality is still there), and ended up wanting to stop by with Mr. Piano on a lark after grabbing cinnamon buns from Cinnaholic.
The tea is really lovely – perhaps my favorite oolong is from Teance, their Single Grove Phoenix Honey Fragrance – and the décor is really nice. My feelings on the place itself go back and forth, because if I’m in the mood for it, it’s a really cool environment, otherwise it can be a little… I don’t think stuffy is the right word. Stiff? Serious? It’s not that the staff is unkind or snooty, because they’re quite nice, you just get an onerous feeling akin to that of entering a large library when you walk in. A library of teas, manned by impeccably dressed librarians. It’s easy to feel a little out of place when you’re of the sartorially challenged engineering type, at any rate.
I think Mr. Piano was also discombobulated by the partially ceremonial aspect of Teance’s presentation, and we were also a little bummed that they didn’t have tea flights available at the time (check ahead if you can). Even so, we tried several teas and ended up finishing off some cinnamon buns there, which the staff was kind enough to be friendly about. I was actually worried they might be put off by it, but the tea got us hungry and I didn’t see the purchasable snacks they had had when I had visited a couple of years ago (and which probably would have complemented the tea better than cinnamon buns), so we chanced it, and it worked out. Not that I’d recommend it – like I said, it’s a bit of a library-​like atmosphere.
I’ll definitely be back again, if nothing else for the teas, but most likely for a tea flight in the future :) In the meantime, I’ve restocked on a few teas that I can brew from home, which is nice.

This is a beautiful space with an impressive selection of teas. The attention and expertise of our server Will was inspiring. I’d highly recommend this place to anyone: it is the perfect way to learn about what the world of tea has to offer :)

I had such a lovely experience. One of the best customer service experiences I’ve had recently. I feel like I walked into a peaceful environment with water pouring into a small basin of water like a mini waterfall in the middle of a room. There was a lot of open light and a small little seating area further back. A lady asked me if I wanted to try a sample of their oolong tea & as a tea lover, it was hard to resist. I happily tried the tea and it was delicious. I was excited to pick up a bag of my own.
Truth be told, what brought me in was the sign saying «50% OFF». I’m a sucker for sales so I had to go in myself to see what they had. To my amazement, there was a large selection of teas on sale. Today was certainly my lucky day. I walked away with Assam black tea, which when I brought it home tasted just like what they would make at boba tea places. I definitely got lucky to have had such a wonderful experience and most definitely, to have walked away with a tea I enjoyed. Thanks, teance! I’ll be back again soon.

The tea alone deserves more than five stars– as soon as I walked in and took a seat, the server asked me if I was interested in hearing about their seasonal teas, which had just come in. They clearly have a strong connection to the quality, freshness, and seasonal varieties of the tea they offer, as well as a very proper way of preparing and presenting it.
Which is great, but honestly, after a few minutes in there, I felt really uncomfortable. The servers are extremely formal. The tea is prepared in front of you with an exacting attention to detail. These things are nice, but it didn’t feel like a place to kick back and relax. It felt a little high-​strung and pretentious. Hushed voices, everything very proper and reverential, and even the patrons were very focused on talking about the minute details of tea– one of them (a regular, he told me) was asking everyone what flavors they liked, «More woody? More nutty?» and talking up the $ 100+ teapots they offer. I think that to go to this place and enjoy it, you have to be prepared to just hone in on THIS TEA EXPERIENCE OMG WOW and leave your soul at the door.
All in all, the cup I had really was lovely, but due to the laughably stuffy ambiance, I can’t see myself ever going back.

I found this very quiet location in the midst of a busy day. The waterfall is lovely and the sound of running water is soothing. The tea is very good. I love the tiny tea pot that it’s served in. The upstairs offers seating for quiet moments.

I come to the bay area every week for work, and i absolutely love this place great atmosphere, great customer service and tea

My younger brother introduced me to this place. Although I am not an avid tea drinker, I loved the atmosphere of this place. It’s classy, the personnel know the full history behind the tea you’re drinking and steeping and presentation is both fun to watch and relaxing.
A great place to take your friends, family, or business clients.

A lovely afternoon lunch with me girl before I leave for Hong Kong and the venerable Café M. She want to pick up some tea and foolishly I thought we’d stop in Peet’s.
No. We enter Teance. Passed by here 1000 times and never end ventured in. A nice, a bit pretentious, little store with a pretty good assortment of whole-​leaf teas. Not quite like the little shops in Hong Kong, more like a wine shop. We tried a few tastings of floral teas, yet GF decided on Jasmine Silver Needle.
After a few recent trips to Hong Kong, we’ve stocked up on tea, but eventually, Teance will be a reliable stop.

I wouldn’t normally think of myself as a tea person but I do like this place. Its pricey but the teas I’ve had here are soooo good.
Rossi would probably call me fancy… pfffft maybe I am.
This place is kind of upscale looking and you might think its stuffy but it is not! Its very mellow and serene. I love the fountain and the mini koi pond. When i sit to enjoy a pot of tea i get mezmerized by their movements.
I tend to like the green teas and the oolongs. its a great tea experience.