A tea tasting at Vital Tea Leaf in San Francisco

 It was a tea tasting and show at Vital Tea Leaf!  The tea tasting was really entertaining!  The man leading the tasting was full of information and had a lot of interesting stories to tell.  We sampled about eight teas and each one had a unique flavor profile.  The focus is on teas from China and we tried oolongs.  The taste and also the appearance of the tea was unique.  We left for lunch after 45 minutes, but I got the sense that we could have stayed as look as we wanted and he would have kept pouring and talking.  

We left with four types of tea.  I took home a "duck shit oolong" and "blue people mountain oolong with ginseng".  The names of the teas and the lore are as interesting as sampling them.

It was a fun experience, especially with a group.  The counter can accommodate around fifteen people.  This reminded me of shopping decades ago, when the shopkeeper would talk with you and have you sample wares to find out what you liked best.  Most ice cream shops and also See's Candy still does this, but few other places.

There are several locations for Vital Tea Leaf in Chinatown - all on Grant Avenue.  I'm not sure which address we visited.