White Crane Tea Company

This place has been closed for two years, Unilocal should disable the review button.

I miss David’s beautiful little store very much. The store is now closed, but the incredible selection of Japanese tea is still available from their Web site, including teas available nowhere else in the USA. Highly recommended for tea snobs and tea enjoyers, and as gifts.

This place is CLOSED! This is the best place for tea in San Francisco. David, the owner, chooses the tea for us, lets us sample it, and tells us how to steep it. The first time we were there he told us which tea pot to get for maximum flavor (a handmade clay teapot so that the teapot wouldn’t interfere with the tea, like a stainless steel steeper does). I found out we can eat the tea leaves both before and after steeping. The tea is fine; the taste is superb.
If you go with the priciest, it’s about $ 20/​month. We buy the best quality at $ 68 per pack. My boyfriend is a big guy and I am very petite, and it lasts for 3 months, at 3 – 4 steeps per pot, drinking it almost daily. The tea is cheaper than a good bottle of wine, so it’s well worth it because of the benefits.
There is nothing like this tea. It clears your mind and helps you focus. Antioxidants, calcium, good for your gums, the works. We don’t spend on vitamins– we buy tea instead.
David’s store will close after May 2009, but he told us he’d still have an online site. He might to tea tastings at select locations. I hope so, because he truly has a niche. He wraps up your purchase beautifully, and adds a personal touch by writing something in Japanese calligraphy. You’re gonna love it. Great gift for a tea lover & for your lover.
Five stars for first rate service & generosity of information.
Five stars for flavor and high quality.
Five stars for excellent presentation.
Enjoy!

The best Jappanese green tea I can anywhere near San Francisco and the most knowledgeable staff.
Some of the teas are pricy but they are worth every penny!

I have been a long-​time customer of White Crane Tea Company (ever since it was called Shifuku) and for good reason. In all of my worldly travel, never have I come across Japanese green teas of such consistently great taste. I HIGHLY recommend his sencha, both Uji and Shizuoka, as well as his matcha (of which include various grades of usucha and koicha). I speak so highly of them since I’ve had them ALL!
Additionally, David is a wealth of knowledge, from his Chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony) knowhow, to a wide variety of arts and approaches to a better, richer life. He is a definite reason to return.
If there need be anything said about this tiny shop is that within it lie limitless possibilities to tea and life. It is a MUST when going to San Francisco and Japantown!

Potent. Fresh. Matcha!
Japanese Espresso!
I think this might be the only spot in J-​Town where they sell fresh matcha powder (they keep the matcha in the fridge.) The one you find in the grocery store are not fresh, not tasty…

«Good things come in small packages,» they say. That maxim certainly holds true with the White Crane Tea Company. Although the store itself is physically small, it carries some excellent high-​end green teas from Japan. My first time there, David, the owner, took the time to generally educate me about teas and taught me how to distinguish higher quality teas from lower quality teas. That day, I ended up spending something like $ 75 for a large package of green tea imported from Kyoto. (I also spent another $ 35 or so on another package of tea from Shizuoka.) David wrapped the tea in special paper and then, with a brush and ink, inscribed the entire package with some beautiful Japanese calligraphic writing. Admittedly, at first, I was a bit skeptical of the $ 75 tea. I feared that I was being duped. How good can green tea be? It was delicious. In fact, it was the best green tea I’ve ever had. It had an aromatic bouquet and a smooth finish. There was no funky aftertaste at all. I’ve since left San Francisco, but I still think about the White Crane Tea Company.

Over 100 years ago, my family sailed to the United States from a tiny prefecture nestled behind the venerable Mt. Fuji. Shizuoka not only happens to be the «sister state» of California, but is one of the finest tea growing areas in the world. The hills of Shizuoka are covered with neatly groomed dome-​shape tea «bushes». Much like being led through a tasting by a wine afficionado, I remember local shop owners helping me distinguish between the green of lesser teas and the deep blue green tea leaves of Shizuoka. Shizuoka tea is coveted in Japan. Tea is to Shizuoka as, well, sex is to a nymphomaniac. But Shizuoka tea is almost impossible to find outside of Japan. Over the years, I have visited tea shop after tea shop in search of my ancestral tea. Nada. Until I visited the tiny but enchanting White Crane Tea Company in Japantown. Not only do they carry high quality Shizuoka tea, but have a wonderful selection of green teas from other Japanese tea-​growing prefectures. Just stepping in the shop is an experience. David has created a lot of atmosphere in a small space. He is tea savant, gracious host and guide to his aromatic world. When he found out that my tea purchase was a gift for my mother, he wrapped the tea for presentation as only a true artist can. Muah!

Whoever said size doesn’t matter was 100% right!
This tiny tea shop in japan town has the best Japanese green teas available to suit a variety of budgets.
I met David, the owner a few years ago while buying a gift for a friend in his shop, we have remained good friends ever since. He is as good as they come, and it turns out David is a renaissance man or sorts and is an amazing healer among other things. I had a chronic Olympic sized knot in my shoulder he fixed on the spot! He might open his schedule for a healing session if he likes you. He also has his own amazing calligraphy & artwork on display. Lots of great tea wares and many thoughtful and unique gift items around the store.
A great little business, with great products, run by a great person. It’s well worth a visit to Japan town.

It’s kindof difficult to find a place that specializes in selling good tea. It’s even more difficult to find a place that specializes in selling good Japanese tea. You have your fantastic Chinese tea shops like Red Blossom Tea Co. and Imperial Tea Court, but what about Japanese green teas? Many places sell a lone and aptly named «Sencha», but there are hundreds of kinds of Sencha! Well David has it covered, he always has the newest shipments, latest crops, and will gladly conduct a tasting for you. He’s very welcoming and his shop is incredibly warm and even more cozy.
He gave me a little bit of an accupressure session after I sampled some Kokyu Sencha, a Karigane Sencha (the exact name slips my mind), and a remarkable Genmai Cha. The teas are top notch, I must say. He also carries some lovely pieces of teaware.
I love White Crane :) It’s wonderful being able to go into a shop to buy the exact tea I’m looking for instead of being restricted to the internet.

White Crane Tea Co. is a tiny, unassuming place stashed into one end of the Japantown mall. It is owned and staffed by a single guy, David, who imports a wide variety of high quality Japanese green tea. He is a very gentle guy who also has training in healing and massage (qi gong, shiatsu), and will probably be willing to help you with your breathing or perform some acupressure on you if he deems it necessary! I am told the storefront is not going to be around for much longer and will soon become a purely online venture, so take advantage of it while you still can.