Asha Tea House is a soothing oasis among the bustling Market Street where you can grab a cup of globally-sourced, organic tea that ranges from traditional cups like oolongs and tisanes to more playful and indulgent options like a matcha affogato or pumpkin chai latte.

Initially a kickstarter, Boba Guys has morphed into a Taiwanese tea shop with multiple locations across San Francisco. The founders aspire to a bold claim: to serve the highest quality boba in the world. This means the regular roster of milk teas, plus premium loose leaf teas like muscat oolong, lychee green tea, and Hojicha. You choose the sweetness and amount of milk for each cup you order.

You might know Craftsmen and Wolves for its now iconic The Rebel Inside — a perfectly-cooked soft-boiled egg with runny yolk nestled inside a savory breakfast biscuit. But what you might not know is that the bakery also has a thoughtful tea selection to wash down its artful pastries. Choose from a lightly-sweetened matcha latte, oolong tea by Naivetea, and a market-inspired tisane made from fresh herbs in-season steeped in hot water.

Treat yourself to a British-style afternoon tea by visiting the Palace Hotel's ornate Garden Court, an inside courtyard with soaring ceilings first built in the Victorian Era then remodeled last year. Tea and snacks are available a la carte or as full tea service, starting at $68 to $75 with a glass of bubbly.

In the growing trend of gourmet tapioca milk tea in the city, Plentea consistently draws lines that snake out of the door. Unlike other boba shops, Plentea's drinks are served in glass bottles, which — when brought back — give you a 10 percent discount on your next purchase. The shop showcases a wide menu of boba using the tea of your choosing (oolong, green, and black) and various toppings like taro pudding, egg pudding, chia seeds, red bean, and aloe — a surprisingly delicious combination popular in Asia.

Red Blossom's high-quality tea is so popular among restaurants that you may have tried the brew without ever stepping foot into its Chinatown shop. Its brick and mortar, however, offers shelves and shelves of more leaves, sold by type of leaf, region, and year. Passionate sellers will talk to you about the tea's tasting notes that are so specific and subtle, it may remind you more of wine than tea.

Samovar has cafes across the city that offer a comfortable and calm place to sit back and enjoy one of the many teas on their menu. There are a variety of tea styles more accessible to a mainstream audience, with traditions sweeping from Indian Chai to Japanese matcha, from Chinese pu er to Ecuadorian cacao husks. Of note is the Japanese Gyuokuro, a thick and savory green tea, served green as grass.

Song Tea is a boutique shop that works with tea growers and artists to curate a rare selection of leaves and ceramics. You can stop by the tasting room in Japantown to try a sip and learn more about the deep growers' tradition of tea.

If you're walking through Chinatown, you're bound to stumble upon one of Vital Tea Leaf's three tea shops, ushering you to step inside and take a seat at the tea bar. Staff workers will enthusiastically present a free tasting and educate sippers about Chinese tea, which they source from China and Taiwan. Sales tactic? Perhaps. But still as fun as it is educational. Their Blue People Oolong offers a solid coffee alternative, using an added kick of sweet ginseng in the tea.