When a shop becomes a chain, it loses its charm and the perceived quality drops. Despite that, Tea Shop has been spreading across the city over the years and today has around ten shops in Barcelona that keep up the quality of their teas and their exclusive blends. The most famous and most successful is the Gracia blend, named after the Gràcia neighbourhood, made of white tea, vanilla, flowers and assorted fruits.

Tea Shop Barcelona

As well as being very attentive, the staff are very well trained and can explain where each blend comes from and its health benefits. At least the young man who served us at the Tea Shop near the cathedral could 🙂, which is where we ended up after stopping at the one on Carrer Montcada, where they’d run out of the very tea they were offering to taste at the door.

Because at the door, as a sign of hospitality (though it’s really more of a marketing tool), they always offer you a tea to taste, and we tried the Rooibos Safari, which is spectacular and is made of tea, coconut and chocolate.

The lovely thing about the Tea Shop in El Born is that it keeps part of the structure of what was possibly a 17th-century medieval palace. And for tea lovers, they run tea-tasting workshops in the basement.