Capital Teas

I’ll be honest, I am incredibly salty about Steep closing right around the corner. And Capital Teas is a sore excuse for a replacement. The higher prices, clinical vibe and chatty staff aside, the actual tea selection is pretty limited. But what really gets me is that there are only TWO size options for purchase in store, the smallest size being 4oz. I could not get over this — still can’t — and confirmed with the sales rep multiple times that purchasing 2oz of a few teas to try is not an option. I still don’t know if I believe this, since I just checked and there are 2oz options on their website (still pricier than David’s Tea, so if I was to go the online route I would use them). Instead, she pushed the pre-​selected «sample packs» on me, which start at $ 39.99 for three 2oz tea samples you can’t even pick out yourself (to compare, David’s Tea samplers with three ~1.5oz samples run around $ 20!!) Like I said, very salty about the whole situation. I was hoping Capital Teas could be my new Steep, but unless they change their entire game I do not plan on returning.

I felt compelled to write a review because my experience here was so terrible. I loved Steep and when they closed I thought I’d give this place a try. The prices seem VERY high to me. I just wanted to run in and get some tea and the young lady helping me kept trying to get me to smell other teas. She suggested a tea and I really feel like I got bamboozled because it was way more than I wanted to spend. It is my fault for not asking, but she pushed me toward the tea I purchased and I didn’t realize what was happening. Walk the couple blocks to Steep. The «convenience» that someone suggested is not worth it at all.

This was my first time shopping at Capital Teas. I was initially impressed by the helpful staff, but that quickly turned to an annoyance. The person helping me kept trying to push the largest sized pre-​packaged tins of tea, only to finally give me the smaller one. Then at the register I realized they had bulk tea of which I could have gotten a smaller amount (really only wanted 2 oz.), but by the time I realized that it was too late because my order was being rung up. The staff never told me that the bulk tea was an option, therefore I ended up buying more tea than I wanted. The only reason I didn’t give it 1 star is because the tea is good quality. I will stick with buying at Premium Steap tea right around the corner.

I bought tea here a couple of weeks ago, and it was an awful experience. The guy that was helping me was so pushy, he was always trying to get me to buy stuff, and I felt like I could never relax or else I was going to be ripped off. He never out right lied to me, but he misled me on multiple fronts.
Since I had never been to this store before and have never seriously gotten into teas, I knew I wanted to start with something simple. He had me smell a couple teas, and took five tins out, making the assumption for me that I was going to buy all five large tins. I was not. Even though I told him I wasn’t interested in buying 5, he told me FOUR times that I really ought to do it for the discount. When I asked him how much they would all cost, he made an estimate and said «70 or 80.» I, not knowing how much tea costs, thought he was talking about 70 or 80 for the whole lot. I told him that that was way outside my price range, and so I just wanted to try one small tin. Only once I got to the register did I realize how much it cost — 55 dollars! Unbelievably expensive and so misleading for him to wave at all five and give me the pricing for only one of them. I didn’t want to make a commotion, so I just swallowed it and decided not to complain, and just not come back. While I was checking out, he made an offhanded comment about a tea that they were brewing. He again misled me, making it seem like he was just going to give me a free taste of it, said it in the same manner as the tea he let me taste before entering the shop, but he swindled me into paying for that cup as well! Overall, such an awful experience. The person selling to me successfully tricked me into buying a tin of tea, but I will never go back here and will tell others to stay away as well.

The experience of tea should be a joyful one… this was more like being held hostage by girl scouts – «buy a d — - cookie or else!» Lol.
Anytime I see a new tea place, my instinct is to run in and check it out. Today, I wish I would have just said, oh look at the pretty teapots and kept walking.
From the moment you walk in the door THEY’RE ON YOU! It’s OK to welcome me in but let me sniff around a bit on my own and then approach me about the tea that I keep coming back to.
This guy asked me a million times in one breath, «so which size can I get for you today?»… NONE SIR!!! LOL like, are you not hearing the words coming out of my mouth. YES! The tea is nice but the prices are extreme — you’re pretty much paying for the tin. This is especially true for first time tea drinkers who just want to get their feet wet.
Anyway… I ended up getting pestered into a 6 dollar cup… yeah they got me lol I’ll stick with tealeaf at the terminal, where the tea is good, reasonably-​priced, and where the staff treats you like family. Even free tea on your bday.
Just feel this place is missing out on opportunity when it comes to lower priced items to get people in the door to later upsale. but who am I #carryon

I love that there is a great tea house for tea lovers in Philadelphia! Coffee aficionados have so many cafes and coffee houses, but if you’re looking for tea, where do you turn? Capital Teas! Based in Northern Virginia, Capital teas has 2 Philly locations (that I know of): Rittenhouse and Ardmore. This Rittenhouse location is spacious and offers dozens upon dozens of loose-​leaf teas, tea-​wares, cookies/​biscuits, and honeys. They brew hot and cold teas as well as bubble teas. The staff are super friendly and outgoing. They know plenty about teas. When this location opened they had tables so customers could sit and enjoy their teas, but those are now gone (please bring the tables back!). The prices are reasonable and comparable to other looseleaf teas from other companies.

Holy sh! t. Met the pushiest salesperson ever here.
We walked by last night and got lured in with a free sample. My fiancé browsed some of the teas and found one she liked and wanted to purchase it. Immediately without even asking, the salesperson grabbed the largest tin. We asked what the price was on it and instead of telling us the price she kept going on and on about how much money we would save buying the large tin. She could not even give us the prices of the smaller tin. She kept going on about savings and that she would have to check the computer.
The potential sale went sour real fast. Wasn’t sure if she was a bad salesperson or a complete idiot. She had difficulty giving us answers to our questions. She kept saying that she would have to check the computer. OK??? Why are u still standing here??? Go check the computer!!!
When she finally gave us a price, it was more than what was stated on the confusing chart. BYE
They had a nice selection of teas. Need new employees

The service representative we spoke to was very nice, and helpful, he also knew his stuff. Just be aware, they will offer you a sample to get you inside and then sell their teas with aromatic testing (lots of great smells!). Real tea is not cheap, and Capital Tea sells expensive, very high quality, teas. Be sure to ask about prices or look at the little blackboard first.

Yes, it’s overpriced. Yes, the staff tries really hard to sell you stuff. It’s the convenient location that helps it, and the friendly staff honestly didn’t bother me, but that’s because I had the time and willingness to listen to them, hence the relatively high ranking compared to most others here.
I ordered a cup and the staff had a problem which ended up in my having to wait a little longer, but I had the time so I didn’t mind, and the friendly atmosphere even kept me there to drink the tea instead of leaving once I got the cup as I’d originally planned. After a few minutes of sitting there sipping my cup, one of the staff, Alonzo, walked up to me and gave me a bar of tea-​infused chocolate for my time. Much appreciated, and will definitely drop by again some time!

As with most other customers, I was lured into the store with free samples but encountered deceptive and rude staff. After about 5 minutes of sales pitches ($ 30 for the big tin and $ 15 for small tin, they said) I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase a really smooth jasmine green. At the register, no price was stated and I assumed the tea would be $ 15 since that was the only price ever mentioned. No mention of any sliding scale… nothing about a price other than the $ 15/​tin mentioned earlier. I thought nothing of it.
I go on my merry way and then two blocks away I checked my receipt to discover that I was charged $ 99.95! Thinking it was a mistake so I went back to the store to clarify. Their response? OBVIOUSLY this was a quality tea that wouldn’t be $ 15. I barely got an apology from anyone after they just deceitfully upsold me. The manager even pointed out the tiny finely-​printed price listed on the wall. «Didn’t you see the price?» he said, further emphasizing that this situation about my failure as a consumer. Returns are impossible for food items, but they CAN exchange it for a cheaper product. So I ended up buying another jasmine tin for about $ 30. Walking away after paying twice the amount I thought I should have for a lesser quality tea than I thought I was getting is not a great customer experience. The sketchy tactics and unapologetic attitude of the staff were not okay.
Nothing to ruin a beautiful day like a trip to the tea shop!

I can’t stand going in this store. The salespeople are WAY too aggressive. Whether you want to browse their bulk tea or simply walk in and order a cup of hot tea to go, prepare to get pestered relentlessly. I went in this store today (for what will be the last time), and one of the employees actually began harassing my boyfriend for not wanting to try one of their samples. Unbelievable!

Ah, gotta love commission driven workers… but at least they’re enthusiastic about their tea.
As long as you have a strong head and some common sense, I don’t see reason to complain.
Yes, the friendly sales woman tried to convince me that buying 16oz of tea to get the 10% off my purchase was well worth it.
No, I did not actually end up doing that after seeing how extravagant the prices are.
(honestly, no one is holding a gun to your head at the register)
I simply bought a 4oz tin of an uncommon tea that I very much enjoyed the smell of. I went home and brewed what was a very delightful, smooth cup of tea.
You won’t find me here buying English Breakfast, but to splurge on a rare organic tea for a tea enthusiast such as myself once?
I see no harm.
(Though, I dock a star for the staff still taking my time to upsell when I explained I was late to a hair appointment… Desperate much.)

I cant even begin to describe how horrible this place is. I walked in just wanting one cup of tea. They practically bullied me to try and buy a small tin for 53 dollars. I only drink tea occasionally so for me that was a bit outrageous. The girl that works there with the dreadlocks is so obnoxious, she should be let go. She yelled at me for not listening to her speech about how great the savings were for the 53 dollar tea purchase. I was with my mom at the time and I was appalled. I manage a salon across the street where we are always trying to help our guests save money with packages. If any one of my associates EVER talked to a guest the way she spoke to me about not buying one, she would immediately be let go. Dont waste your money or your time.

I agree with some of the other reviews here — talk about a hard sell. I was convinced to try a free tea sample and as a result of imbibing a thimble sized sample of tea was made to feel obligated to buy their cheapest tea package costing twenty dollars and all of the other accouterments which I am sure would have set me back another twenty or so. I felt so sorry for the clearly desperate and on commission salesperson that I ended up spending $ 4.00 on a mason jar of tea that was nothing special and perhaps coincidentally gave me a raging headache afterwards. I am sure there is a market for high-​end tea but the strong sell didn’t do it for me at all. Next time I am offered a free sample I will be sure to say no!

I love the reviews saying this place is expensive… it’s actually cheaper than buying from them online in some cases to come in the store. Only difference is that you have to get at least 4 oz but for what I bought that’s not a huge deal. Don’t give in to their attempts to make you get 8 oz though, because wow you get some miniscule percent off for getting two of those tins! That’s Teavana level BS.
HOWEVER do not get a cup of tea here, $ 6 for a fucking iced tea where all the ice melted almost immediately? Yeah your fancy machine is cool but… hell no.
Their teas are good though, but do your research because in some cases you can find similar blends elsewhere for less. In my case the cherry blossom tea was cheaper than the one I had wanted from Davids, and that’s why I went for it ($ 20 for a 4 oz tin vs almost $ 12 for 50g and no tin)

The teas are overpriced but decent. The staff are friendly and eager to help. For the most part, they aren’t very knowledgeable (they didn’t know where their tea is sourced). It was ok going once, but I don’t think I’ll return again. Too many options that are better.

I was walking along chestnut street when I came across staff shouting «free samples». Who am I to just pass that up and went it .
The Staff in the store were really trying there hardest to try and sell me tea. I found it really annoying because I want explore it myself instead of a car dealer salesman showing me the «new car» so to speak.
They have a pretty big variety, but the price really sets me back because it was very expensive tea. I am no expert, but its really overpriced in terms of Teavana and the such.
Now, I did buy one of their mason jar teas (the mason jars are reusable yay) for 4 dollars. The tea I got was the vanilla Rooibos. It tasted like it wanted to be sweet, but then it comes in with bitterness that is very annoying. This tea also dried my mouth up dramatically going for huge quantity’s of water after I was finished (it never happened with any other tea in other venues, but here)
I would think other venues in the area have FAR better quality for the price and at cheaper prices so I would recommend skipping this establishment.

Really overpriced tea, but many options and some innovative blends.
Not many patrons and too many staff. Not sure what that says about Capital Teas, but the staff were definitely helpful.
They boast about their tea maker, which supposedly accentuates the tea flavor and opens up the leaves and buds more.

4 oz of tea for $ 25+ dollars, this tea should be magic at that price. The selections are nice however the prices are absurd. I bought one large tea to go, so I could try the flavor before buying and that was $ 5. The brewed tea was weak and tasted like the tea was old and stale. When I asked the man helping why he wasn’t letting the tea steep for longer he told me «it doesn’t really matter». I wouldn’t go back there again and wish I could get my money bad for this weak unfavorful tea. Don’t waste your time or money here, if you want great tea go to STEAP right around the corner

Great tea selection and the folks there are super helpful. Any of the teas on the wall can be ordered at the tea bar. It’s my mission to try every tea on the wall. I guess that means I will be back!