“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” —THICH NHAT HANH, The Miracle of Mindfulness Everyone I know is experiencing a mounting level of concern around covid-19. We do our best to stay focused on things we […]
Tea time, nitro-style Cool, creamy, full bodied, refreshing, sugar and calorie free, and with zero to high caffeine. That’s right, it’s Nitro-Tea-Time, and we are excited to be launching our newest menu additions…Pineapple Coconut Baozhong Oolong, Cardamom-Rose Wild Crafted Black, Golden Turmeric Ginger, Pan-fired Bancha Green and more. Swing by Fillmore Street or Yerba Buena […]
Visit our tea lounge at Yerba Buena Gardens (before 10 am) or our 411 Valencia St. or 1910 Fillmore St. tea houses (before 8 am) and when you ask for the “Mindfulness Tea” we’ll serve up a complimentary cup of the house-selected tea or herbal. What’s the catch? Our only request is that you power down your digital distractions and settle in for 60 minutes of a quiet, tea drinking meditation. Learn more…
Tea Leaves The size of every tea leaf matters. Leaves that are consistent in size, shape, and color mean that the cup of tea will be complex and consistent. The leaves will steep evenly, delivering a brew that has a unique aroma, body, taste and aftertaste. And it’s much more work to grow and select […]
Every morning at Samovar the day begins with water. We boil water in our three-gallon, hand hammered copper pots and begin the first pot of the day of our masala chai. At 6 AM every single day, 363 days a year (we skip Christmas and Thanksgiving), the aroma of freshly blended cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, black […]
To get you excited about the upcoming tea talk on Thursday, my friend Adam Gazzaley wrote this blog post touching on some of the topics we’ll be discussing.
Every day we are bombarded by distractions. It can feel like our attention is being pulled in a million different directions at once. How can we enjoy the benefits of modern technology while maintaining focus, productivity and well-being? Luckily, we’ve got neuroscientists on our side to help us understand how our brains work and identify tools […]
Let’s face it, we’re all ridiculously busy, and getting busier all the time. The simple truth is we can’t add more hours to the day, so the only way to achieve our goals is to get further with the time we have. After years doing leadership development in corporate high-tech, and then coaching many talented professionals in my executive coaching practice, I’ve honed a set of productivity rituals to ensure that I not only deliver on my commitments, but that I make time to be open to inspiration, creativity, and “big ideas”.
Come to Samovar to drink tea while you mix and mingle with kindred spirits drawn together to celebrate a shared passion for living the intuitive side of life. Whether your soul searching brings you to Burning Man or keeps you close to home this August, join our three modern-day mystics at Samovar’s hidden gem in Hayes […]
San Francisco Magazine captured the spirit of our Mission location in a recent article. “Fast, cheap, delicious, beautiful, potent.” That’s how Jesse Jacobs sums up the attributes of a proper cup of tea. More specifically, it’s the cups of tea he began selling at his third location of Samovar in early June. Unlike its older siblings, which […]
It’s 1960 at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado. A man steps up to the bar and orders an iced tea with lemonade. Nearby, a woman recognizes him as he walks away and says to the bartender, “I’ll have that Palmer drink,” inadvertently launching the iced tea phenomenon known as The Arnold Palmer.
Read on to learn more about our take on this classic drink and how to make it at home.
Learn how to cold-brew your tea for a refreshing, end-of-summer treat. Lindsey shares the know-how for this cool and easy brewing method.
Paolo Lucchesi shared the inside scoop on our new location on 411 Valencia St. in the Mission District.
Check out Adam Weintraub’s feature article in the San Francisco Business Times about the launch of our new Samovar location in the Mission District on 411 Valencia Street.
When the weather gets hot, Jasmine Green Tea Lemonade chills the palette and calms the mind. It’s one of the best-sellers at our Tea Lounges, but for years we’ve held the recipe as a closely-guarded secret. Take a look as we lay bare our coveted Iced Tea recipe.
Maybe what we need is to spend time nourishing ourselves so that we can truly give to others? Wouldn’t you love feeling completely unrushed, and totally present?
You might not spend time consciously visualizing your future, but I bet you have a pretty clear idea of where you’re going; if you’re like most Samovarians, you’ve got ambitious goals to complete before 2013 is done. So let me ask, on a scale of 1 to 10 how close are you to living your ideal life?
Oolong tea can be dangerous. Lilies explode in full bloom… Autumn leaves fall in the woods… Tree-ripened peach juice drips down your chin… The aromas and flavors weave together in beguiling combination. An experience with oolong lingers in your memory like a lover’s kiss.
When I’m traveling and I tell people what I do, they often roll their eyes and say, “A tea lounge? Only in San Francisco!” Now we have three Tea Lounges plus an online shop, but the truth is, Samovar almost never happened — even in San Francisco. Of the banks that made time to meet, […]
Things do not change; we change. — Henry David Thoreau To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. — Winston Churchhill Knock, knock, knock. “One minute!” A woman’s voice replies from inside the single-story suburban home. The door opens. “Hello?” “Hello, ma’am,” I say. “Have you ever considered what would happen […]
The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. –Thomas Edison Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half-dead. In a steakhouse, you see […]
At Samovar Tea Lounge, our tea and food menu draws from tea cultures around the world, from Morocco, to Japan, to China, to India. One of our most popular dishes is the English Tea Service, inspired by the traditional “afternoon tea.” The 19th-century Duchess of Bedford is credited with inventing afternoon tea. At the time, […]
Fear is sticky, like glue. The initial emotion of fear may only last a few minutes, but if we let it linger, it can get stuck in our system for days, months, or even a lifetime. The sensation of fear is effective if it protects us from real threats. The fight-or-flight reaction has helped humans […]
As I sip some Golden Phoenix Oolong this morning, I’m musing over a quality, hand-finished keychain curated by my friends at Huckberry. There’s a real boom going on these days in handcrafted goods. I’m not just talking about funky, craftsy things you find on Etsy. I’m talking about incredibly beautiful, well-made, durable, traditionally crafted goods.
Fireside Chat and Book Signing with Darya Pino Rose Tuesday, August 20 8-10 p.m. at Samovar Tea Lounge Yerba Buena Gardens location Click here to RSVP (maximum 50 guests)
Let’s face it: we’re physical beings in physical bodies. When we exercise we feel good, and have more energy and enthusiasm for life. Our minds can focus better, and our bodies fight off sickness more effectively. Yet most of our modern day working lives are spent in a chair, behind a wheel, or in front […]
One of the challenges meditation is how to deal with your mind wandering all over the place while you’re sitting there. One way to ease into the concept is to do a moving meditation.
Our organic Hibiscus Bliss isn’t a replacement for a multivitamin, but this caffeine-free blend contains natural vitamin C, which promotes a healthy immune system, skin, eyes, and heart. The “C” in Hibiscus Bliss comes from two herbs: hibiscus and rosehips. Hibiscus is a bright red tropical flower which may also help lower blood pressure. Rosehips, […]
The word “inspire” comes from the Latin word meaning “to breathe.” I agree with the ancient Romans; to breathe with intention is to be filled with life and inspiration. There’s this perception that meditation is only for really spiritual people. That it’s woo-woo or granola-y. But the benefits of meditation are hard science; studies have […]
Here’s a beautiful poem written by Gwen Weiss, a customer at the Tea Lounges. She said, “I was delivering tempeh to the Castro location today and decided to stop in my deliveries and have a cup of tea and get a snack…such a great decision. I ended up drinking Maiden’s Ecstasy [pu-erh] and a poem came […]
I think it’s fair to say that the number one survival skill in the professional world is sales. You can have the best product in the world, but if no one buys it, it doesn’t matter. At Samovar we focus on sales by actually NOT focusing on sales. All day long we’re bombarded again […]
Her name is Tie Kuan Yin. It means the Iron Goddess of Mercy, but to us she’s the Goddess of Tea. According to Chinese legend, Kuan Yin’s temple was located in the Fujian province of China. At one point the temple became very dilapidated. A poor farmer took notice, and whenever he had a chance […]
“Every day brings a clear choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” –Joan Borysenko Everyone you meet today has something they’re stressed about. Probably multiple things. It’s just part of life. But you can only do so much to address your stresses, and then you have the choice to let them go, or to […]
At Samovar Tea Lounge, we get a lot of customers coming in asking us how they can kick the coffee habit. We never hear people asking how they can get off tea though. Why is this? I have nothing against coffee, and enjoy the occasional well-brewed cup of Joe just as much as the next […]
White teas are processed so gently that you can still see the fuzzy hairs on the tea buds. To make white tea, the baby tea buds and tender young leaves of the tea plant are picked, then dried in the sun. After one to three days, they’re baked briefly to halt the oxidation process. […]
