Valley Brook Tea

Valley Brook is a WONDERFUL tea house in DC— the only sitdown teahouse for proper gongfu cha service in the city. Yun Han is an absolute *wealth* of knowledge on Fujian rock tea, taking time to answer all of my curiosities (and a few misconceptions, lol)

Atmosphere is quite comfortable to bring a date or even by yourself to read a book or whatnot. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys looseleaf tea!

His teas are extremely high grade & authentic, which is usually impossible to come by in America, much less from the tea producer themselves in a brick & mortar location.

Helpful staff, great tea, and free WiFi! Not sure it can get much better than this..

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pastries

Went there this summer and did not have a welcoming experience. The young female employee was very judgmental and condescending. She is Chinese and I am Chinese as well. I asked if they had milk tea options and she said “no, we only serve AUTHENTIC Chinese tea.” with a despiteful eye, as if my question offended their prestigious tea place. I chose from a few iced tea options. (Why serving iced tea if you only serve the authentic Chinese tea?) Because I wasn’t familiar with their iced tea, my tea was bitter and I asked if I could add cream or sugar to it. Authentic Chinese tea is never iced. Again, she repeated with despise “we don’t have cream because we only serve AUTHENTIC Chinese tea”, then she reluctantly took my cup and another employee added a syrup for me. I don’t know if she only does this to Chinese customers or if she looks down on American customers asking for options as well. I will not go back for their “prestige authentic tea”.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1

Lovely tea shop near Dupont Circle--the tea selection is fantastic, including both traditional hot teas as well as a few iced tea options. The tea team was very friendly and accommodating, and the interior atmosphere is elegant with pops of color from the lovely window art. Will definitely return when I have a leisurely afternoon in this area to enjoy tea with friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The customer service is great and the staff is helpful. The only issue I have is I bought some loose tea leaf from here recently, and the jasmine green tea tastes very bland. Not worth the money, maybe need to buy a different flavor.

Atmosphere: 3

Service: 5

I’ve been meaning to stop by this lovely independent tea shop for a while now, and it was well-worth taking a trip to Dupont! The oolong they serve is grown on the family plantation and shipped directly over from southeast China, so it’s wonderfully fresh and flavorful.

When you order tea, they brew it for you and pour it so that you don’t have a tea bag giving your brew an uneven, bitter taste. Expect to wait a bit for them to finish (it’s worth it!). I tried their Huang Guan Yin, and it was wonderfully fragrant and smooth…like a more jasmine-y Tie Guan Yin. My sister (not a huge tea fan) tried on of their chilled fruit teas and wound up loving it. The (admittedly pretty small) interior was pretty full, so we enjoyed our tea on one of the three outdoor balcony tables.

We also happened to stop by just as they were taking down their Sunday morning tea service; I’m definitely going to keep an eye on their instagram and try to catch it sometime!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent tea service for people that love gong fu style tea. Miles away from home I was comforted by the beautiful setup. Great quality tea with many options. I couldn’t be happier

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Ridiculously special.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great little tea shop!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very authentic tea shop, great pastries. Everything at a reasonable price with good and fast service. Clean store and admire the attention to design

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Always love going to Valley Brook Tea—great tea and snacks, cool ambiance, beautiful decorations. The owners are always so helpful with their tea recommendations, and they have tea tasting sessions too on Sundays!

A fantastic tea cafe with a wide selection of delicious hot and cold teas! The atmosphere is perfect and the owners are just the nicest.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A lovely little spot to do school work or relax, I got a large berry tea and it was very good!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had some wonderful tea with snacks. I love their chilled tea. Very refreshing. I also really liked their taro pastry. They also sell tea and nice tea ware.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A lovely tea shop with a welcoming atmosphere and both hot/cold options. We came on a hot summer day and it was the perfect way to refresh and cool off.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5