PHOTO BY NAOMI HENRY

There are many places in the greater San Fernando Valley where you can buy teas,no argument there. Here are a few local, artisan standouts we’re sipping now.

CALIFORNIA TEA HOUSE

California Tea House’s story started with Ani Bailey’s wedding. The day she and Will tied the knot, they gave guests blooming teas as wedding favors. As the couple’s love had bloomed, so, too, would the teas, as well as the idea for a business venture.

In 2009, Ani Bailey was selling her teas at local farmers’ markets. This helped the business in two ways: getting the word out and supporting them as the California Tea House website was developed.

Soon, Bailey started making custom in-house tea blends. As the tea company’s popularity grew, more and more customers asked for tea recommendations. In response, the couple formulated a short and fun online quizlet that asks your preferences and recommends a tea blend based on your answers.

The selections don’t stop at the quiz results, far from it. Their website offers seven organic varieties of tea: Black, white, green—you name it, they’ve probably got it. Each variety has its own subset of teas, blends like White Monkey Paw and White Peony. The Darjeeling tea is organic and fair-trade.

One of their herbal tea offerings is the Fruity Dream, a beautiful blend filled with dried fruits and florals. It’s vitamin-rich, caffeine-free and sweet, with a colorful flavor burst that’s sure to make you smile.

• The Tarzana-based company’s teas are available online at CaliforniaTeaHouse.com.

KITEFIN TEAS & SUNDRIES

In October 2022, Alisha Kloc started selling her teas in local farmers’ markets under the Kitefin Tea & Sundries company name. The name refers to kitefin sharks, which are “cute and whimsical,” according to the tea company’s website.

Kloc has blended teas for years, and each of her “fun, funky and functional” loose-leaf blends (50 and counting) shows this expertise. Kloc is usually working on two to three blends at any given time, she says.

If you’re looking for a “novel-tea,” Butterfly Magic loose-leaf tea is a great choice. It’s a lovely drink that changes color when you add lemon juice. To get you through winter, check out her chai tea, which is chock-full of warming spices. She also sells tea infusers with charms to steep your tea.

Each flavor is available in caffeinated and non-caffeinated varieties in her online store, and you can taste Kitefin Tea & Sundries’ offerings by visiting the markets where she sells.

• The teas are available online at KitefinTeas.com and at the Woodland Hills Farmers’ Market, along with others in the Los Angeles area. She’s also pursuing “several other promising opportunities for other places,” she says.

SILK & JADE

SILK & JADE first opened its doors as a boutique in Los Angeles in 2016, later expanding its services to include a tea room that allows guests to experience traditional tea ceremonies and more.

The owners, couple Joe Chou and Nina Burke, are extremely passionate about their work, ensuring that their teas are the highest quality. They single-source each of their five oolong teas from different regions of Taiwan, which offer different flavor profiles based on minute variations like climate and soil composition, and oxidation levels.

These leaves are selected by Joe’s mother Lily–a tea master who lives in Taiwan–and are approved by Nina. Joe Chou himself is also a tea master, well-versed in the teas and what makes their flavors unique.

One such tea is their Amber Oolong. A rich and flavorful tea with notes of honey, fruit and clove, it can steep hot in minutes or if you prefer a cold brew tea, hours. It gets its unique sweetness from a leafhopper that feasts on the juices of the tea leaf before it’s harvested, releasing enzymes that give it its award-winning flavor. The company’s silky Formosa matcha is also a standout.

In addition to teas, they offer a range of teaware and jade pieces.

• The teas are available online at SilkandJade.com and at the Montrose Harvest Market and Eagle Rock Farmers’ Market. Exciting news: A brick-and- mortar location in Eagle Rock is under construction and expected to open this year.

TALKING TEA TERMINOLOGY

Tea has a lot of healthful attributes, way more than just tasting good and helping with hydration. The nonprofit Tea Association of the USA provides the inside scoop on tea, offering these definitions on its website.

Antioxidant: It helps prevent or delay oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen and/or reactive nitrogen species. Oxidative damage to the body, cells and tissues may contribute to diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Phytochemicals: Naturally occurring plant compounds. Many phytochemicals are thought to play a role in decreasing the risk of cancer and heart disease and may boost the immune system. Some phytochemicals—such as tea flavonoids—are also antioxidants.

Flavonoids: A class of polyphenolic phytochemicals that are effective antioxidants. Tea flavonoids and related bio-active compounds may play important roles in various areas of health and may operate through several different mechanisms still being explored.

Flavonols: A group of flavonoids found in tea and many fruits and vegetables that are antioxidants and may contribute to some of the potential health benefits in these plant foods. These include rutin, quercetin and kaempferol.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG): The principal catechin in green and black teas. EGCG is a strong antioxidant and reduces the formation of lung, esophageal and skin tumors in animal models of human cancer.

Theanine: An amino acid that has psychoactive properties. It may reduce mental and physical stress, and may produce feelings of relaxation by increasing levels of gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine and alpha-wave activity. Source: Tea Association of the USA (Tea Facts 2021).