Leaf & Kettle

As a regular to this Establishment I was very sad to see it close. This was hands down the best tea store I’ve ever been to. Sad to see it go. Lighting a candle [°]

Stopped by today and was helped by a really nice lady who informed us that the store is closing :(Everything in the store is currently 60% off. One lb loose tea is about $ 33.

I’ve bought tea here for a few years. I find the selection great and the workers knowledgeable. You can get a brewed pot or iced drinks made on the spot. It’s a quaint little store with all kinds of tea brewing accessories. I signed up for their email and get certificates for discounts.

THIS is the place to get a legit, infinitely Instagrammable matcha latte. The vibe here is serene (great for catching up with friends or studying) and the wall of teas is pretty damn impressive. The owner and staffers here are also super nice. But their matcha in particular — whether to-​go, in a canister to make at home, or the whole sit-​down production — is a cuppa pure emerald heaven.

Such a quaint place!
Perfect for client meetings or just quiet tea with friends.
The staff knows a lot about different kinds of teas.
There is merchandise available which I believe is priced well.
All in all a good place to have in the midst of a thousand coffee places.

Much better then Teavana who single
Handedly ruined Starbucks tea experienced for everyone. This place has tea that made
Me want to drink it all in a day. The tea she made me was delicious and the Tea bar was so rad. This place me happy to have a new spot to go too.

I’m slowly getting through with my SD reviews [although I only had 5 – 6 from this trip]
So I had gone hiking at Torrey Pines and needed something to drink. Something. Anything. Like I was on I NEED TO DRINK SO MUCH TO MAKE MYSELF NOT THIRSTY. dot_ham’s missus looked at Unilocal and found Leaf & Kettle, and so we decided to come here!
leaf & Kettle is a place where you can get tea leaves to brew at home. Another thing they do is make you tea with their leaves [which SAVED me]. They have hot or cold, regular or large sized drinks. And I was THIRSTY. LARGE ICED DRINK FOR ME PLEASE! I didn’t look at the menu because I was really thirsty– I looked at a sign inside.
Ripe mango for me please! They asked whether to add agave or honey, and I said honey for flavoring. I don’t know if they let it sit enough, but the essence/​herbality was there. It tasted more like a black tea than an (oolong) tea, because the taste I got in my mouth tasted more like that. Although, if I do recall they taste the same.
My friends got a variety of tea, none that have added sugar so that you CAN taste the tea leaves. They are not terrible, better than Teavana (who sold their soul to Starbucks). Their higher quality tea is good, and if you want to personalize it, ask them! They’ll be happy to do it for you.
Oh yeah large iced drinks cost $ 4.50
Located in a fancy Del Mar Heights Shopping center, first floor, next to the yogurt place.

Service here was awesome.
The woman working was SO HELPFUL and explained everything from how to get the most from your tea by steeping multiple times, to storage, to creating the perfect latte.
She told us exactly how much to use for desired strength etc.
It may have been SLIGHTLY more expensive than buying online, BUT You can’t beat the service. They totally went out it of their way. You can tell she LOVES what she does. I feel awful that I can’t Renner her name… Brunette with glasses. Thanks for an awesome lesson in Tea!!!

This place is basically like teavanna but less commercialized and with different teas. I enjoy ordering a teapot to share with a friend, or getting their drinks. Although I haven’t bought their tea yet, the ones I’ve tried (peach and chocolate??) have been really really good despite the high price. If you’re looking to splurge on tea this is the place to go.
Also the workers are really friendly and fun to talk to. They do an excellent job preparing your tea in front of you and put a lot of passion into what they do. Super awesome :)

This is the fresh, tea ingredient, fruit induced, mixture creation house in the local del mar heights district of cougar watching and botox enhanced trophie wife bonanza marathon watching locations.
Don’t forget to use passport card when you roll into this choice tea spot to get something special infused into your tea creation.
This is the place to go if you want to sit and watch your tea made by a real genuine tea perfectionist. Sometimes we will just go there to stare and watch the creations and watch them flip the hour glasses, when they turn around you can try and flip the hour glasses and really test them to see if they really know how to make the tea or not, once in a while you will get someone like we did this time, who knew it wasn’t right and still was able to perfect the brew.
This time they had a specialty tea menu set, the Island Smoking Trees Breeze and Mango Strawberry Silk Road really hit the spot. The «Island» was silky smooth and went down real easy like a 2 for $ 5 red light special you can find in the SF district on a hot summer’s night after a hot night out on the bar, that tender love. The «Mango» really let loose, and had the strawberries on lock, it’s real easy to choke and gag if you aren’t too careful since there are a mouthful of strawberries in this jawn. This is the go to punch for the current special and they really mix well together to create a true experience worth having, I would recommend it for anyone to use to cool off during the hot blazing saddle days of old.
We, in particular like to drop a few of the good ol adrenochrome into the tea to get a little kick, since these drinks are mostly for the kids and the cougars sobering up from the previous nights prowl. Once the kick really sets in, you can really sit back and have a swell time staggering out, preparing you for your next adventure.
If you really need that tea fix and want that smooth as silk buttery concoction to let loose in your groin, give this place a whirl and swish it around til it’s quittin’ time. You won’t be disappointed, and with the passport card you really can’t go wrong with elixir’s like these to get you to the next level of your day.

My first time at L&K. The layout is very open with a single bar to order teas. There was a minimalistic/​wooden theme throughout the place which added to the ambiance. I came in around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon and there were only 2 other customers when I entered. Upon leaving at 3pm, there were 12 customers in here and the bar stools were all used up.
Pros: The staff were both friendly and talkative. They were knowledgable on teas and helped me decide which pot I was going with. A pot costs roughly $ 6.00 and will supply 3 – 4 medium sized cups of tea. I was able to walk up and worked with the staff to settle on a tea I would like. I eventually order my herbal blend (Island Tradewinds Fruit blend) and its recommendations were well deserved.
They have both caffeinated and non-​caffeinated teas.
Potential Improvements: When they presented the dry tea blends to me, they did not use the lid and waft it to me. I am used to this technique from Teavana and I feel that the wafting technique is more hygienic compared to putting your nose near it. So maybe they can try and modify their way of presentation on the blends.
Also there are 3 tables here but only one outlet, so doing work here is only feasible if you are situated near the table closest to the wall. Outlets are a big deal for me and I will be sure to get here earlier so I can snag that table.

I can only imagine the blow back I’m going to receive from this, but here goes…
The simple answer is the place is «OK». They certainly have a large choice of loose tea leaves. My favorite happens to be a mango flavored tea and they had two for me to choose from. I chose the the black mango tea and they prepare it right in front of you. It’s brewed fresh and served iced cold.
I’m not sure what else I can say because it is tea. However, I will expand a bit… the tea leaves were taken from an unlabeled metal container but it tasted very familiar to Shangri La brand mango iced tea and similar to Paradise brand iced tea. While it was brewed right in front of me, I would say this was the weakest mango iced tea I have ever had. I asked about how they decide how much of the tea leaves to put in and the server led me to believe this was some proprietary information. It’s tea people! Also seems odd because if you want me to buy the loose tea leaves but won’t tell me how much of it to use… very odd.
Okay, here’s where I expect to get blasted but… For a great mango iced tea, hands down go to Panera Bread. Yes, I said Panera Bread. First off, it is fresh brewed and they are using tea leaves as well. It’s NOT instant. I know this because one of the owners was kind enough to give me a bag so I could order it myself. Or, take a short walk up from this place to Starbucks and they have incredible fresh iced tea. Lastly, and if you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it, but McDonald’s makes incredible FRESH brewed black iced tea. Again, just a short walk from here.
Or let’s talk price. It was $ 4.50 for what they called a «large». Their large is about half the size of the largest size at Starbucks and about a dollar more. It’s about two-​thirds the size of the large at Panera Bread and twice as much. And for the same price of $ 4.50, I can get four large iced teas at McDonalds and still have some change.
I’ve been drinking iced tea for more than 30 years and when I say I drink it, that’s probably an understatement. I have it everyday without fail. I have a iced tea brewer in my home and office and I try it everywhere I go to experience the different flavors but I know what I like. I don’t put any sugar or anything in my tea.
I’ve read many of the other reviews and clearly this place is more about appearance than quality. I see where people rave about all the little gifts you can buy inside but honestly, it’s more of a swanky, trendy place to have over priced tea. I can get my loose tea online but there are many other places in San Diego that also sell loose tea but might not have the appearance of this place. For those looking for another place, I strongly recommend trying T Deli in Hillcrest. It’s not nearly as pretentious yet they have several flavors of loose tea and they make very good tea at a reasonable price.

I’ve must have walked by this tea store 100 times before actually going in for the first time. I love loose leaf tea, but always felt like this was a place for people that knew exactly what they wanted before walking in.
I received a gift card as a present, and went in for the first time this weekend. I loved it! They let me try a sample, discussed what I liked and didn’t like, and let me sniff the tea to my hearts content. Mike helped me and discussed tea with me, which was really fun — he knew a lot about tea. Though it was a little pricy, the quality was amazing.
I’ll definitely go back!

Prelims: Pretty good décor, lots of teaware, a wall of tea, and pretty decent service from people that seem to know their tea. The worker seemed to know his stuff, as he made the tea and heated to the cups and pitcher (which not a lot of places know actually could impact the flavor). I had no idea that they were in the area, so pretty stoked to find this place.
Tea was a bit hot for an oolong — had to wait a bit before even sipping and oolong should probably be around 175 – 180 F. The flavor was excellent; nutty, buttery, and smooth, an excellent way to end our night of feasting and overindulengece on Indian food. Yes, I sound like a snob — but when you work in a tea shop and have drank well over 100 – 200 different teas, some imported directly from China and Japan (and smuggled too), you can kind of tell when tea is trash (Bigelow, I’m looking at you) and when tea is melt-​your-​mind good. The oolong fell on the more good end than not and I would definitely consider coming out here again if I’m in the area.
But it did cost $ 7 for a pot of tea. Really? I mean, I should just but the damn loose-​leaf and make it myself at ¼ of the price. I’m paying the extra dollars to just sit there? Sheesh.
TL;DR Snotty self-​proclaimed tea afficionado proclaims tea as pretty good b/​c of a nice oolong.

I came with my fiancé, Drew L., after a Unilocal Elite event in the area. We were so stuffed that we wanted to cleanse our palates and our digestive systems with some tea. Drew L. is a tea aficionado and can probably name at least a hundred types of teas since he used to work at a tea shop in San Diego. Finding this cute little shop tucked in Del Mar was exciting for the both of us.
Sadly, I wanted to sample the tea at the front of the store but they were out! So, we continued to walk into the store to see what it was all about.
The store reminds me of Teavana (the chain tea store at malls) because everything looks so pretty. However, the items were a little pricier than Teavana. I’m sure Teavana buys their stuff in large quantities to get the price breaks on their pots. Leaf & Kettle is a local small business that puts love and care into their products. They pack their own teas!
We really enjoyed the service and the beautiful store. We decided to get a pot of tea for two for $ 7.00 +tax and selected a pu-​erh per suggestion of the guy who worked there.
The tea was delicious and we definitely would come back!

Over 200 teas for your tasting pleasure. A tea bar is available for enjoyment of your pot or flight of teas.
Staff is very well verses in types of teas and the teas are steeped in the appropriate type of vessel for the particular style you are enjoying.

Wow, this place is awesome! We have definitely needed a fine tea place in the north county coastal area, thank goodness for leaf & kettle. First off, the location is quite cozy and quaint with an odd level of warmth. For some reason, right when you walk in, you feel comfortable and the staff is super friendly/​sweet. If you’re a noob to tea, this place may be overwhelming but take your time and smell the teas before you jump into a selection.
The abundance of choices at L&K is fantastic and there is pretty much something for everyone. The concept is very similar to DavidsTea. Tons of loose leaf options or you can just have a tea brewed and take it with you. Try the peach green tea with a touch of honey, it is FANTASTIC!
Pros–
Teas
Freshness
Service
Friendliness
Location
Selection
Aroma
Prices
Cons–
Needs better seating
Ambiance
Outdoor seating
Needs a reward program

Fantastic quality tea and service!
It’s sort of intimidating staring at their wall of teas and their extensive tea list, but fear not! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable about all their offerings.
I settled on their Kukicha Jade green tea which was phenomenal. Brewed at the optimum temperature, the tea retained all the delicate nuances in aroma and taste. Tea snobs rejoice!
I will definitely be back to try some more teas and maybe even pick some up to brew at home. Definitely going to check out their tea flight next time I stop by.

The staff here is extremely friendly and knowledgeable about teas. I really enjoy coming here and having a cup of iced or hot tea and just sitting and hanging out with friends (although seating here is pretty limited). I do wish they would serve tea by the pot however. It is a little on the expensive side since they charge per cup. I really wish there were more tea cafes in SD like this though!

What an adorable spot. It’s a high end loose tea shop, but also a tea bar of sorts. You can order a single cup or pot brewed perfectly for you and relax at the bar or at the few tables inside.
It’s really pleasant. The Bf and I weren’t hungry and didn’t feel like cocktails before our movie at Cinepolis so we stopped in just to window shop. We realized they were serving tea too and decided to get a pot to share. We went with the straight up Mint (No caffeine) and sat in one of the comfy two tops in back.
We watched them created our order with care. They seep the tea with a commitment to time and temp everything perfectly: Your tea is ready for drinking when it comes to your table.
They serve your selection in clear pots and glasses, so you can really admire the color and scents! For two of us we both got a few cups of tea out of the generous pot and out total was around 8 dollars.
I’ll be stopping in here more often, and doing a ton of Christmas shopping for the tea lovers in my life here too. They’ve got all you’d need for the perfect gift and lost of loose leaf options for your morning brew (Or tea time!)
**No food that I noticed, tea only.