Puripan Tea Garden

What this is closed already? Screw. Maybe one of the few places that I’d actually buy stuff at in Santana Row. They had a really good diverse selection of Matcha I’d not see anywhere else besides specialty Japanese stores. Super friendly helpful girls working the place that made some excellent recommendations. Dern it. RIP

Closed, but they haven’t had the courtesy to update their web site to let you know this — still shows this as their location. Calling them just gets you to a voicemail box. I’m really peeved that they haven’t updated their web site and I wasted my time this afternoon to go there. Grrr! (yes, I should’ve checked Unilocal first…)

A great tea shop with unique Korean varieties. I wish they had places to sit down and enjoy the tea but it’s ok, I’ll just get 5 bags of loose leaf heaven to go :)

I’m always afraid of going into a tea shop when I’m the only customer. I don’t like being stalked around in the store and feel pressure to buy something.
This store is awesome. The girl working behind the counter is very friendly and gives you no pressure at all. She greets you when you come in and goes on to do her own thing (but not consistently watching you).
When I asked about a particular type of tea, she offered to let me try the tea and see if I like it first before I purchase! What other tea shop does that? Especially you’re just buying small quantity like 2 oz! The prices here are great, in comparison to the two tea shops at ValleyFair.
The only reason this is not a 5-​star is that some of the tea is not the top quality. they give you whole leaf but some come with stem as well.
I’ll definitely go back to buy more, maybe in bulk next time!

Oh Puripan, how I love you. Discovered this place when I was first checking out Santana Row and have been going back every since.
I love the friendly service here and the fact that they allow you to sample teas. I’m usually the type that needs to actually taste the tea to know if I’ll like it or not and I’m pretty particular about my tea. Nice good quality loose leaf tea as well as a good selection of tea in a jar.
The aloe vera tea in a jar is really good though get it while lasts because it sells out quickly and you’ll have to wait awhile before they get more in. I also love the honey bush tea, the peach, jasmine pearl, and chamomile teas. Love the travel tea mug they sell as well that that has a little compartment for loose leaf tea. Pretty reasonable prices as well. Check it out!

I made quite a few stops over the holiday season so I could report back to all of my Unilocal followers — this tea place was one that I definitely wanted to check out since I saw so many good reviews already on Unilocal and it was the best decision I could have made!
The tea here is very good! I’m a big Green Tea drinker — it’s healthy and I love it among other reasons — Jasmine Green was the best out of the Green Tea Selection they offered and believe me I tried ALL of them!
I also tried the Lotus Leaf which although it wasn’t green tea it did taste pretty good! I plan to go back and try more in the coming weeks so I will keep all of you updated! Soo glad they are open until 9PM!
Very nice employees who are very knowledgeable tea enthusiasts and what a cute little store! The store is small but very clean and decorated very nice — I would love to get the name of the designer they used.
If you are a tea lover at heart and looking for something unique to do then I highly recommend this place! It will definitely be an experience you won’t forget!
Thanks for readying Another Sara D’s Approved Review!

Got the Groupon and was excited to check this place out. I love tea and drink several cups a day — Yay!
The store is cute but very small. The selection is great. BUT you can’t actually try the tea. Yes, you can smell the majority of them but that isn’t quite the same as a small sample cup. Would have been nice…
The girls behind the counter were nice and helpful. Got the Golden Assam tea and it’s delish. $ 12 for 2 oz.

I definitely get most of my tea at Puripan Tea Garden. The girls that work in this shop are all sweet and nice! They like to recommend me different teas and sample out a lot of teas for me even if I end up not buying it during that visit. The packaging they use for their teas is a resealable bags so you don’t need to buy tins to store your tea in.
The teas at Puripan are reasonably priced and there are a lot of really good finds! I love getting the Jeju green tea and the buckwheat grain tea. Both teas are good stand alone, but if you blend it, the tea taste similar to genmai-​cha. I definitely recommend going there and talking to the girls that work there. They’re very knowledgeable and will work with you in finding a tea that you would like.

Thank you Groupon for introducing me to Puripan Tea Garden at Santana Row. After receiving a great deal that would get me $ 20 worth of tea products for only $ 10, I was so excited.
After reading tons of reviews on Unilocal about the ‘Tea in a Jar’ — I decided to order 4 jars: Aloe Vera, Pomegranate, Papaya & Ginger. The Aloe Vera & Pomegranate are delicious!!!
The best part of this whole thing is that I did a phone order — and Ellen was so awesome! She completed my order within a few minutes and I received my shipment yesterday!!! YAY!!!
Cheers!

My co-​worker mentioned this place to me a while back and I had intended to go but I only recently got around to it. My bf and I went in and we were greeted right away. The lady helping us (Jessica, she rocks!!) was very sweet and very knowledgeable and yet not pushy. As we grabbed a bag I was interested in, she asked «would you like to try some??» I was like“ummm heck yeah!!” So we tried a couple of loose teas but then we saw the fermented ones we became intrigued. We picked the ones we liked and she happily brewed us some. The whole time we were there she was brewing us up tea and giving us an education on tea as well. I never knew there was so much to know about different types of tea!
My experience was amazing and I will be sure to return, in fact I can’t wait to go and see Jessica and try some more tea. Also, my top picks (I bought them for my bf) the fermented Citron and the fermented Ginger. Well actually I preferred the Aloe Vera over the Ginger but my bf liked the Ginger and I wanted to do something nice for him. Go check it out, and I am sure all of the employees there are awesome, but Jessica won me over. Tell her I said hi, and I will be back ASAP!

Puripan my new fav Korean tea house. Well not exactly, my first and only Korean tea store that is now a fav until further notice.
I heard about this place from good ol’ Unilocal and decided when we were having a stroll down Santana Row to check it out.
When we walked in, the 2 girls working there were very welcoming and introduced us to the store by explaining what kind of tea (Korean), where and how it was made and that we can taste whatever we wanted. They were extremely knowledgeable about teas and when I asked for non-​caffeinated they chose the Rose and Blueberry herbal teas for me to smell and try. SOLD!
They introduced us to the tea in a jar which they served to us alone and mixed with my Rose and Blueberry selection. SOLD! I bought the Aloe Vera tea that has a grape flavor to it, not so much an aloe vera taste although I don’t really know how that tastes. Apparently these are pretty popular and some people waited for 3 months to get it when they were waiting for a shipment from Korea.
I also needed a tea pot to brew my new tea and was definitely not in the bargain shopping mood, and found this cute baby blue teapot ($ 30). SOLD! Wow they are good! All in all, I spent $ 64 for the pot, 3 bags of tea (bought Oolong too) and the Aloe Vera tea in a jar.
I will definitely come back again for their quality of tea and great selection until someone ( Unilocal) tells me of a place just as good and cheaper and not in Timbuktu!

I went to Puripan Tea Garden in Santana Row, SJ because I bought a Groupon for $ 10 & got $ 20 worth of stuff.
Their product of tea is pretty tasty and I think reasonable, but it sure can add up.
I got:
Ginger Tea In A Jar on sale for $ 7.99, I think the regular price is higher now.
Jade Chocolate Genmai — roasted brown rice, green & jasmine tea in milk chocolate. I thought it was crunchy and sweet. I liked it ok. $ 5.99. Heard prices are going up.
Jade Chocolate Orient espresso — oak roasted, espresso & cardamon — just ok, not enough espresso flavor for me, $ 5.99. Heard prices are going up.
My total $ 19.97, I couldn’t get the .03c back, but it was ok cuz I only spent $ 10.
The SF store has closed, so if you want Puripan Tea you need to come here.

According to the staff, this is the only location of this Korean tea gem in the United States! Right in Santana Row… Kamsahamneda!
Be prepared to spend, people, big bucks – more than you were planning on! Not only do they have varieties of tea you’ve never heard of… they have all the tea accessories you never knew you needed, like to-​go glass tea mugs with drop-​down infusers.
I stumbled upon Puripan (quite literally), because I parked right out in front. (All I drink is tea… so Gaia, or my meter maid friends from my past life [as a meter maid – it’s the only way to explain my great parking karma], must have been guiding me on this one… and ended up with seven bags of tea to take home – a whopping $ 90.00).
The staff are incredibly friendly, and knowledgeable. It’s like they did mind melds with some ancient canasta-​playing British women’s circle, you know, whose husbands had all been stationed throughout «The Empire» during its glory days; so they had nothing to do but sample teas all day long.
Their Earl Gray Supreme doesn’t quite match Ahmad loose leaf, though – don’t know why it’s getting all the raves. And I have yet to try the other varieties I’ve purchased… check back; I may have to amend this as I taste more of my purchases!

Puripan Tea Garden is an island of peace and tranquility in the high-​powered consumer mecca of Santana Row. While it shares the same general space as the fashion stores and hip restaurants that line this beautifully-​landscaped retail and residential complex in San Jose, Puripan stands out by, well, not standing out. It’s located on a lower-​rent, side street just off the main drag, a small but spotlessly clean display window with a handmade «we love tea» decoration hanging from the top. The interior seems roomier than you would have expected from the outside, thanks to clever design that leaves a lot of open space in the middle for customers to circulate. It’s all about Camellia sinensis here: organic, fairly-​traded, and unique tea varieties from Korea, China, Japan, India, and elsewhere. These line the walls, fill the glass sampling jars that greet you upon entering, and are prepared by the ultra-​accommodating staff for you to taste. The loose teas are beautifully packaged into small sealed pouches of several ounces each. They are meant to be savored, not swallowed hastily. They are for those special occasions, daily or otherwise, when you want to relax, to meditate, and to do something good for your body, mind, and soul.
The loose teas we tasted and those we eventually purchased were excellent: a simple but savory green from Hadong, Korea, more grassy than floral and relatively inexpensive; some sublime Silver Needle white tea from Fujian province hand-​picked in spring to preserve the delicate but full flavors; and a positively invigorating but also quite calming herbal blend of organic lemongrass, rosebuds, and schizandra berries finished with a hint of clove. These are tastes and aromas you will not easily forget.
Beyond the loose teas on display, there are other things to attract your interest. Sweetened Korean jar teas (very popular); celadon (artisinal ceramic) pots and cups that are as elegant as they are utilitarian; small snacks and incense and items for tea ceremonies formal or improvised. The staff know that many who come to browse are not tea experts and carefully introduce first-​time customers to the store and its contents. We do like tea but were happy to learn new things and try unfamiliar varieties. It was like being in a great wine shop where there are always new discoveries to be had.
The level of friendliness, politeness, and general good-​naturedness is very, very high here. The staff know how to «dial in» the amount of attention, and they will leave you alone if you so desire. We chose to communicate and came away with tea and a fantastic Korean tea cup with crackle glaze (
), which included a ceramic strainer insert, perfect for brewing multiple cups using a single portion of leaves. Maybe you are not a tea person. That’s OK. I love a good cup of coffee, too. Maybe you feel intimidated to enter a specialty store like this with prize-​winning teas and some very rare and limited-​quantity products that are priced accordingly. Don’t feel that way about Puripan. There is a little something here for everyone, I would say.
Even if you leave with nothing, you will go away with something nevertheless.
I cannot tell you exactly what that will be.
But it will be more than just the tea.

An Asian style tea shop that serves high-​quality teas. They have a vast selection and everything is natural. It was Santana Row, so everything was a bit overpriced.
I first tried their Korean canned tea made out of a marmalade. You mix it in hot water and stir, that’s it. I sampled the citron (too sweet lemony) and the pomegranate (not as good as I thought it would be — not sweet at all). Supposedly they are really popular, but I didn’t enjoy them that much. I also tried their blueberry tea which smelt amazing, but tasted really bad.
I opted for the $ 7.99 25 serving peach-​white tea which is their top seller. It’s a simple tea that has a hint of tea and jasmine. I’ve been drinking it daily. It’s really light and sweet, i’m just not sure it’s worth the price I paid. I think i’ll give this place one more shot and try something more unique, open to suggestions.

Unlike most of the stores and restaurants in Santana Row, Puripan is quite understated.
I have purchased their Masala Chai and Matcha, both of which are tasty.

I love this place! I had been on the waiting list for their Tea in a Jar (ginger and aloe vera) for a couple of months, and was almost losing hope. Then a friendly staff member called me to let me know they had a fresh shipment in!
I went in the next day and was able to pick up 3 orders of aloe vera and one ginger Tea in a Jar. The manager/​tea educator was the person helping me, and she was so sweet and very helpful!
They staff is so friendly and the aesthetics of the store is too cute! I will definitely be coming back for more tea!

We went to Puripan today and they had the full stock of Tea in a Jar — including the magnificent Aloe Vera tea. The associate and the folks that looked to be the owners were extremely helpful and very friendly.
The SJ Puripan store is also now selling Jade chocolates. We thoroughly enjoyed the oak roasted espresso chocolate with cardamom.

Very cute, very little tea shop located really close to Urban (across the streetish)
The saleslady wasn’t amazingly helpful but offered to prepare some tea tastings before I bought but since I was somewhat in a rush, I chose my tea and purchased.
Since I’m more of an aroma-​tea drinker, it was easy to pick out what I was looking for since I had an aroma in mind. My cousin Beverly bought me some Momo tea from a Japanese place in LA (forgot the brand) and was really tasty and lightly fragrant. It was a black peach tea and I’ve loved it. Anyway, so it’s all about the aroma for me. Not to say that taste isn’t important.
Puripan carries a white loose-​leaf tea infused with peach. The aroma is very similar to my cousin’s gift. It’s nice that this tea store provides samples of the tea to see/​smell/​taste like at Tea Time in downtown Palo Alto.
Unfortunately, this tea is a little too bitter for me. White tea generally is more bitter than black, but I thought that the sweet peach tones would come out more and balance it out. I remember this random tea seminar I had in China where the instructor taught us that you should always drink white tea when it’s super hot and sip it to get the correct flavors and escape the bitterness. Too bad I hate doing that. Oh well, my own fault for not trying it at the store first.
I’ll definitely be back to try some teas and maybe buy some of those cute tea cups and sets they have for sale (they’re rather pricey though…).

GREAT tea shop! The décor is beautiful — minimalist with a spa-​like quality to it. Very Zen-​like!
As soon as you walk in, the first thing you will notice is the tea bar — glass apothecary jars filled with tea samples (I believe everything they have along the walls is in those jars). They have a large array of Korean teas (some are Korean versions of Chinese staples), and a multitude of other tea varieties. They even have powdered matcha! The sales person was extremely helpful and knowledgable, able to provide me with an easy-​to-​understand explanation of the differences between two teas of the same type.
He also explained that everything is certified organic tea. I’m definitely coming back next time I visit Santana Row. :)
5 SHAKAS!