What is mirin, why should you care, and what do we do about it?

Living in 2008, we sometimes get caught up in all our obligations and to-do lists., forgetting about thelittle things in life. At Samovar, we intentionally try to slow you down.

Since the Buddhist monk Kakushin brought back the original soy sauce from China in 1254, soy sauce has become virtually ubiquitous world wide.

Tara, one of our esteemed leaders from the Yerba Buena location recently inspiredus with her book recommendation The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz:

For those of you who may not have had the chance to visit us in person, to experience what life is like in the tea lounge, you might not really understand our mission.

Gabri Malinverno, now an esteemed Chiropractor with a flourishing business in Italy, was once one of our esteemed managers. He writes to us with fond memories for tea...

At Samovar, we treat the business of the tea experience, our work, as our art. And, we're really proud of the art we are making for this world.

Tea Lounge Groove is the perfect accompaniment to your tea drinking experience.

This time, I will try to take a closer look at the specifics of culture and life in India.

From the Faraway state of Uttar Pradesh, all the way to Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, this is Ambassador Teresa reporting from afar...

Since every journey has its beginning, this one starts in the cozy shelter of Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, and ends on the streets of India.

If you are wondering what it is like to visit either of our locations, or, if you have visited us and you're nostalgic, click on the youtube videos below and get a dose of Samovar. Enjoy!

Jill, a regular customer of ours recently inquired how we, a "socially responsible company" could be so inensitive as to purchase the entire existing lot of Mi Xiang oolong tea--and that

One of the funniest ironies about technology and improvement is that as we make giant technological leaps ever day, and get ever more “connected,” we are at the same time we are also getting mo

Business is not about profit, money, software, HR, taxes, credit lines, technology, training, payroll, or anything else. Nope. Business is actually just stories of people and their lives.

Paul T. writes: "To my knowledge, no one ever founded a spiritual practice based on the preparation of a Starbucks Americano.

The bottom line is profit, or not. What happens when the only goal is about financial profit?

Thanks to amazing support from our customers, vendors, and employees, Samovar Tea Lounge hasgrown from a little tea spot in the Castro, to becoming a huge presence in the tea industry, with our new

Sometimes customers complain that the service at Samovar is slow. That’s intentional. We are about tasting the experience of life, through a cup of tea.

Julian, one of our most esteemed tea gurus talks tea, and dating and how to best blend the two. Read on...

Dennis is a regular at Samovar.

A lot of customers have been asking about Pu-erh tea, so, I thought I would provide a bit of insight into this really magical brew...

Business can really make a difference for the greater good. Look at how Samovar makes people feel: good, healthy, and happy. That's our purpose.

This entry is from Paul T., one of our esteemed Samovar family members. You might see him at Yerba Buena Gardens, sipping Maiden's Ecstacy, or writing, or doing a tea tasting. Paul was home in Michigan this Thanksgiving, and had a very special tea service with his mother. Read on...

Being a tea company, we are also an environmental company. After all, our very business is 100% reliant on the ability for this earth to deliver, season after season, bountiful crops of camellia sinensis (tea!). Fertile soil, clean rain, cool, damp fog, and warm sun must all contribute for us to have tea here in San Francisco.

We are often asked how we came up with our menu, both for tea and food. The answer is really very simple:

We have been getting a lot of requests by customers to have a "customer review" section of our website, where you can submit your likes and dislikes about our teas. We've just set this up, so, please send us your comments and we will be happy to post them!

Question: Why isn't your Tofu Curry Spicier, like a traditional Indian curry?

Answer: Because we want all of our teas to really complement the food, and never be dominated by overly intense  flavors, we opted for a less-than-normal spice level with the curry.