Being the environmentally-conscious town that it is, Eugene is home to plenty of really special, local teahouses. In order to navigate our town’s web of tea, the Emerald has put together a guide to the best of tea houses around.
Townshend’s Teahouse (41 W Broadway and the EMU)
This is arguably one of the most popular teahouses in town. It’s no coincidence that Townshend rhymes with godsend because this teahouse is one with over 100 flavors of loose leaf teas and eight flavors of Brew Dr. Kombucha on tap. They also have bubble tea, yerba mate and pastries to snack on. If you need an off-campus place to study, Townshend’s has plenty of cozy seating so you can do your homework comfortably while you sip your tea. They also have a changing display of art on the walls as well as fun tea accessories (like a steeper shaped like a walrus).
Oolong Bar (1607 E 19th Ave.)
One of the new tea houses in town, Oolong Bar is the place for creative, unique crafted tea. Its menu is full of eclectic drinks, including Macacocoa (steamed hot chocolate, maca, and organic cocoa) and Golden Milk (a tumeric milk latte with spices and honey). Like Townshend’s, Oolong Bar also has kombucha; unlike Townshend’s, however, Oolong has a kombucha happy hour from 4-6 p.m. where customers can save on flights and pints. They also serve iced and hot coffee from local roaster Equiano. If you need a place to relax when the spring sun comes out, Oolong Bar also has patio seating so you can grab a cone from Prince Pückler’s and some tea while you de-stress.
J-Tea (2778 Friendly St.)
While Oolong Bar is a good place for drinking unique tea concoctions, J-Tea is for tasting and learning about oolong, puer, green, white, herbal and black teas. They regularly hold tasting classes to compare the age and flavors of different teas. J-Tea also has a tea taste consultation page on its website where customers can fill out a form to notify J-Tea about their taste preferences and better serve them when they visit the store. The J-Tea building used to be a residential bungalow; now, it’s a beautiful space composed of a canopy, porch, walls of tea and the tea bar itself.
The Rabbit Hole (240 E 17th Ave.)
If you need some quality pearl milk tea, then the Rabbit Hole is the perfect teahouse for you. They have everything you could want from a bubble tea place: fruity iced teas, yakult drinks, milk tea lattes, creamas and hot ginger teas. The great thing about Rabbit Hole is that you can customize your drink anyway you like. If you don’t like it so sweet you can have half-sugar or no sugar at all. They also have delicious toppings like pearls, egg pudding, coffee jelly, lychee jelly and red beans. And if you want to have a pot of tea for yourself they also have 10 different loose leaf teas. With its couches, tables and quiet atmosphere, The Rabbit Hole is a great place to study. If you need a distraction from your studies, they also have a pile of board games in the corner.
Other teahouses in the Eugene area to try: DIY Tea, Milky Way, Tea Lady Teas & Everyone’s Cuppa, Bohemia Cafe & Apothecary