Capital Teas

The new management here is terrible. Yesterday, I purchased a few tins of tea. The manager, Dinesh, took a long time to even ring up the sale. After nearly twenty minutes, I had my tea and was on my way. Today, I attempted to return a tin of tea that was dramatically overpriced. I shouldn’t have bought it to begin with, but Dinesh wasn’t even able to tell me the price and I figured it was probably reasonably priced. Wrong.
Anyway, at first, Dinesh told me I could return it for store credit. After asking for cash back, I finally settled on store credit. Dinesh then disappeared to talk with his boss, James, on the phone for a few minutes, and came back and told me that even store credit was not feasible.
Maybe I’ll come back when the management at this store changes. But for now, I’ll find somewhere else to go. This level of terrible customer is pretty rare. It’s a shame that a once really great store no longer cares about customer service.

I only wish this place had more seats. I love stopping in here to browse and sniff all the different kinds of teas. The selection is large and there are lots of varieties. The staff are friendly and helpful but not pushy. I have no complaints!

Really like this place for a cup of tea before checking out a movie, dining or shopping in the Mosaic.
They have an exception selection of green, black and organic teas from all over.
You can also buy tea sets, brewers and all sorts of accessories.

I was in the Mosaic District and was craving iced tea. I’d never tried the tea from Capital Teas, so I thought I’d give it a go. Boy was I disappointed! The guy who facilitated my experience seemed checked out. He could not remember my order. It happens… no big deal. He couldn’t remember if he rung me up or not. Okay. When he told me the drink was over $ 6, I was stunned! He was not phased whatsoever. I’d asked for iced tea, but he gave me hot tea. I reminded him of that and he said that since it was a cold drink, he’d have to add more loose tea and steep longer. If if was going to be really good, then that’s fine. Then, he seemed to not know how to proceed forward. He dumped part of my drink in the trash, so he could fill up the cup with ice. At my favorite spot, Caffe Amouri in Vienna, VA, they use a shaker with ice to chill and aerate the drink, which helps to bring out and the flavor. My drink tasted like barely flavored water. My experience from beginning to end was not pleasant. Such a shame because the loose tea smelled divine. I will stick with what I know!

A few disappointing points:
1. I have a drink reward card that I had slowly been working my way through (only 5 punches) but had ordered Bubble Tea for each, which amounts to about $ 45 paid toward my free beverage. I won’t complain that they are expensive, since I firmly believe that you pay for quality (gluten free, vegan, non-​gmo pearls; supposedly high-​quality teas), but at least offer the Bubble Tea (reward drink) at a discount or make it clear that the free beverage does not include BT. Needless to say I was very disappointed when I found out.
2. The woman working there the last two times I stopped in seemed like she could not have cared less about what she was doing. Such a stark contrast to the other shops at Mosaic District. I mean, I know it’s a franchise but at least act like you buy into it.
3. The BT Mango flavor I got last time was underwhelming. Mediocre at best.
Sorry, Capital Teas. I won’t be back.

For the most part, I super love Capital Teas, but like their loyalty program, I have a few caveats. In general, Capital Teas is a super legitimate, local chain that does tea very well, obviously. The salespeople know what they are talking about, but I do expect that when I go into a store that specializes in something.
I love how this location typically allows customers to sample a couple teas (and of course unlimited smelling samples of all the teas in jars). I have no doubt in my mind that the teas are of the highest quality. Some are just so super expensive! It makes sense that they have discounts for bulk purchases and a solid loyalty program. However, I tried it out by purchasing the necessary number of teas to go, and came back for my «free tea.» I requested a bubble tea as I had been looking forward to it all day, and I am told flat out that bubble tea may not be used as my promotional free tea. I even asked if I could pay a difference or whatever, and still no budging or accommodations. I really just wanted a bubble tea, but ended up trying a hot tea that I wasn’t crazy about because a couple other ones I was interested in were also not available. All in all, a pretty disappointing experience that lacked in customer service. Bummer
I’m not giving up on the place, but I’ll be managing my expectations when I walk in the door. Luckily, there are a couple other locations that are awesome and have offered me a great experience.

Capital Teas was one of the many vendors at the Unilocal Fire and Ice Ball. Being tea lovers, my husband and I stopped by their table where we got to sample a couple of their teas. The two ladies manning the table were very friendly. We were given a Spring/​Summer 2015 tea menu plus a coupon to save 10%. I also signed up to receive emails from them.
Later, when we got home, we looked at the tea menu. All those great teas gave us the incentive to finally visit the Mosaic District. Before going, I circled some teas listed in the menu that interested me and had my husband do the same.
Once we got to the shop, we were warmly greeted. I pulled out the menu and asked about some of the teas. Much to my surprise, some of them were out of stock. The clerk admitted that they probably got ahead of themselves by giving out the spring/​summer menu as not all of the teas were in yet. That was a bit of a disappointment.
I had my eye on vanilla bean — nope. out of stock. Tisano cacao — you guessed it. out of stock. My husband was hoping to try gyokuru — yup. Out of stock. We had hoped to leave with 2 different teas for each.
One of the teas I wanted, French lavender Early Grey was in stock, as was one that my husband wanted, Genmaicha. So, that’s what we got.
I asked what was the minimum amount that we could purchase. She said 4 ozs. Gee — -Teavana’s minimum amount is 2 ozs. While I was concerned about having to buy that much tea, especially if it was a tea I never had, I took a gamble.
The tea is put into tins. One good thing — if you return with the tin when buying more tea, you get a $ 2 discount. Also, since we got a total of 8 ozs., we got a free cup of freshly brewed tea. What nice touches!
When she went to scoop the French lavender Early Grey tea into a tin, the air was redolent with this wonderful smell. I asked if I was smelling the tea. She said «yes».
For our free cup of tea, my husband chose chocolate mint. She started brewing it while we went to pay. I pulled out the 10% coupon and she asked us «Were you at the Fire and Ice Ball»? We said «yes» and she said that she was there. I wondered about that but… we went to so many vendors, we certainly couldn’t remember who was at each table.
With the coupon, our purchase came to $ 39 + plus change.
When our cup of tea was ready, we were pleased to see that there were plenty of places to sit plus sweetener was available. We enjoyed that cup of mint chocolate tea as the flavoring was excellent!
We have been long-​time Teavana customers so we couldn’t help but compare both places. We like the following things about Capitol Teas — there is no hard sell here. It was nice to be able to browse the tea making products without someone pouncing on us pushing for a sale. We also liked that there is a place to sit and drink your tea.
What we didn’t like — There is no pricing listed in their tea menu. Teavana does list their prices per ounce. I wish that Capitol Teas did the same. As I mentioned previously, I also wish that the minimum purchase was less than 4 ozs. Also, it was not good that so many of their teas were out of stock. However, it’s hard to say if that was due to not properly ordering them or if their supplier had run out.
Later in the evening, we tried the teas that we bought. As for the French lavender Earl Grey — all I can say is «wow!» This is a unique and delicious tea. The lavender comes through clearly and sweetened with sugar, it is thoroughly enjoyable. Earl Grey tea by itself is rather strong due to the bergamot in it. However, the lavender mutes it very nicely.
My husband had had Teavana’s version of Genmaicha and thought that Capitol Teas version was much more flavorful. Genmaicha has toasted rice in it which adds a unique flavoring to green tea.
We will return here to try more teas. I’m hoping that they do straighten out their inventory issues and not have so many teas out of stock.
Also, you are able to order their teas online — which will be helpful in the winter LOL!

Last Night I was able to try out a few of the teas. The store only tea is great. I am going to have to make my way up to the store to buy some. The women at the booth was friendly and kind.
I can not wait to try put all the services offered in store.

I’ve shopped in here several times for tea and gifts for friends over the last year. My experience has always been pleasant and I think their tea selection is great.
Fast forward to today when I suggested my partners and I enjoy some tea while having our meeting at Capital Teas. The tea was good, the banana bread was good, the store was FREAKING COLD. There is basically one table you can sit at with three people that just happens to be by the door. Per «store policy» they are required to leave the door open even though it is 32 degrees outside. Several requests to close it so we wouldn’t all freeze to death were met with the same «store policy» quote. Some gentleman, who must be running the show, finally allowed it be closed. Needless to say, it was opened up again about 15 minutes later.
I read several of the other reviews before posting my own, and am finding that we were not the only people informed of this ridiculous store policy. It is apparent that they would prefer you buy your tea and not linger, as the comfort of their customers is not important.
Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be meeting anyone for tea at this establishment again. It saddens me to say that, because I like supporting local businesses. Good luck Capital Tea– I don’t see you lasting long with that kind of attitude towards your customers.

O SWEET BABY JESUS.
This establishment is SO ATROCIOUS, I truly don’t know where to even begin. And let me tell you, I thought I had seen it all, but nope. ‘Twas not to be.
Bullet Points:
1. Terrible return policy
2. Atrocious customer service and a SNARKY manager
3. Grossly overpriced tea
4. Frigid temperature inside the store
1. Terrible RETURN POLICY
I bought 4oz tin of loose leaf tea and a large cup of same tea to sample it. Immediately upon tasting the tea (still hovering around the cashier counter, right after swiping my CC), I had a second thought, so within 40 seconds of the purchase, I asked for a refund.
Then the manager snarkily points to a tiny, ant-​sized printed sign that says «No returns accepted, only store credit/​exchange is allowed (or something like that)». The sign is so small. It’s smaller than ANTS for fu#k sakes. To add to insult, staff never informed me of such policies before the sale was made (I also never got my receipt — how the fu#k do I return/​exchange my goods without a receipt???) .
BTW, do they really expect me to read every, tiny, little signs that are in the store? This is the ultimate slap in the face to a consumer who tries to support local establishments. See, nice guys do finish dead last so next time any of you need to buy some tea, hit up the Amazon Prime, you can get most of the tea delivered to your door step for roughly 60−70% less. Don’t be a nice guy, be a smart guy.
Then the manager dare says «Our system can’t process returns, it doesn’t have that functionality». REALLY?! Do you really expect ANYONE to believe that?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! ROFL, I literally almost rolled on the floor (not laughing but in disgust).
It’s so clear. They lie to their customers.
2. Terrible CUSTOMER SERVICE
Yo Sarah the manager, don’t be a TW@T.
I have never met a snarkier manager in my life ever. She never once tried to understand the customer’s point of view. She flat out said ‘No, you can’t return the tea’ then proceeded to pretty much flat out ignore her customer. I asked her to make an exception since I literally bought the tea 40 seconds ago but NOPE, she just muttered few things under her breath (HOW RUDE), then kept repeating over and over «Our policy is written here, please refer to this, I can’t help you».
YO! ACT NO FOOL! Customer service, #DOYOUEVEN!?!
Seriously, that condescending attitude was something out of a well scripted play. AVOID AT ALL COST.
3. Grossly OVERPRICED tea
Another Unilocaler said it best: «Why does a small cup of tea cost $ 9?»
Cheapest 4oz of tea is $ 18. EIGHTEEN HARD-​EARNED DOLLARS IN A TIME OF FISCAL AUSTERITY AND FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY.
IS THIS FOR REAL?!
Amazon prime. Save money and also get free streaming video; seriously, I don’t expect video streaming from a tea joint (neither should you), but I do expect to be able to sit and enjoy my tea for a while… which totally isn’t possible at this sham of an establishment. because.
4. FRIGID temperature inside the store
Yo, it’s freaking 20 degrees outside, why is the door left OPEN!?? This is completely unacceptable. They basically want you to get in, throw your money, then GTFO. Neighborhood tea/​coffee shops also serve as a space for patrons to spend their quality time by people watching, playing iPhone games, writing Unilocal reviews, doing homework on their MacBooks, Facebooking, and etc. This place has NO consideration whatsoever for their patrons.
The management decision to leave the door open is so horrendous, they should pay their sales staff extra incentives with all the heating bill they’d be saving. Constantly the sales associates are shivering with their arms crossed (because management doesn’t let them wear coat unless they’re standing out to pass sample tea). But hey dummies, if the door is open 24×7, the temperature inside the store will eventually match the outside temperature, so why not extend same gesture of kindness to sales associates inside the store? This decision to keep the door open 24×7 is SO BAFFLING and SO CONFOUNDING, I just threw my hands up in the air and waved it like I just didn’t care.
I mean, this has to be some sort of labor law violation? How can you expect these sales associates to work like a normal human being in 20 degree weather?! INHUMANE.
All in all, this is a really, really shameful establishment. They don’t get the concept of customer service and they don’t give a damn about their customers — but hey, they sure love their customers’ money.
It has been a while since I’ve gotten this riled up, but this place really resuscitated that haterade-​chuggin’ Unilocaler inside me.
This place s (tea)nks.

Very pleasant experience. I am leaning away from bars and happy hours, and getting into the whole tea experience. There are so many varieties, aromas, flavors, brewing styles, low caffeine, herbal, high caffeine, ect. I can’t remember what I ordered, but it was so cool to receive my own personal tea pot. Nice touch. Very calming and just a cool experience. Wish there were more of these places.
If you purchase teas here, it is on the pricey side if you ask me. I am not that deep into loose tea to spend that sort of money. But in the tea shop — I like the overall experience.

Good tea, just expensive. The tea smells so good and the ones I have gotten have been great. Make sure to have time to smell all the lovely teas in the clear plastic containers on the side wall! Also, friendly and knowledgeable staff.
What I got:
1 cup of prepared ‘Calming tea’
1 cup of prepared almond black tea
What I thought:
Good, but just so damn expensive to buy the tea leaves (I think it’s over $ 30! Check prices inside store).
The décor is simple and a bit cold. The vibe I get in here is like a mall store, not a coffee shop. There is very few seating here.
Grabbing a cup to drink inside is I think 3 to 4 dollars, so price is reasonable.

I love tea and Capital Teas has one of the best selections around. Plus the staff is very knowledgeable so even if you don’t know a spot about tea if you just tell them what type of flavors like they are good about suggesting something.
They have a few tables and chairs so you can sit and enjoy your tea (brewed to order). In additional to purchasing loose leaf tea — cups of tea are available either hot or iced and they also have bubble tea. I like that the atmosphere is bright and relaxing. I could totally see myself stopping in with a book or magazine to just decompress with a nice drink.
I’ve been coming here every other week for trivia and am gradually working my way through the wall of teas. The game is very relaxed (unlike some of the über competitive games I play at various sports bars on other nights) and its just a nice way to end the work day with a good hot cuppa and a little opportunity to have a fun nerd out.
They offer a small selection of cookies and other sweets, but don’t seem to mind if you bring in takeout from elsewhere in the area to have with your tea while you play the game.

Why does a small cup of tea cost $ 9? Isn’t it just water and leaves?

**Review for Almond Bubble Tea only**
I love bubble tea and wanted to try Capital Teas version. Their teas do come with milk and agave if you choose, but I neglected to request that. This tea tasted slightly almond like with a hint of fruit. It was good, but not what I was expecting.
Their teas smell and taste amazing though. I’ll be back to try the bubble tea again and to buy some loose leaf.

Ordered the green gojiberry and island mango bubble teas. The island mango was a little watery, it should have had more flavor. The green gojiberry was better but still a bit watery. Also got a couple of macaroons, orange lavender (good) and honey ginger (meh). There wasn’t a lot of cake to the macaroons. Wouldn’t get bubble tea here again. It’s a nice cute place though. Service was good, maybe the teas are very good…

This is a clean and pretty CT location with all of the space, tables/​chairs, and airy atmosphere. The prices, however, are rather high for the loose teas. I also wish more of the teas were out on the floor instead of against the wall.
I have tried the taro bubble tea — it was a little lukewarm and watery for my taste, and I actually did not like the use of honey as the sweetener. It was nice to be asked how sweet I wanted it, though, and therefore, it wasn’t cloyingly sweet.
I also tasted the cherry blossom tea as a free sample, and it was very bland and had no flavor. I have gotten another free sample, and it was not pleasing on the palate either.
Bottom line: I will still like to return and try some more free samples before I invest monetarily in any teas here. While the teas in the jars smell good, I have yet to try any that are worth purchasing.

Stopped in to check out the cherry blossom and presidential teas this rotation; I assume inventory is roughly the same across all locations. They were kind enough to mention the current $ 10 discount when you buy two 8 oz purchases in the same trip, as well as the $ 2 discount for bringing back a CT tin (presumably applicable to either size). Name, email, phone member registry for the loyalty program.
In the cage match against its sister location in Bethesda Row, I fully expected CT Mosaic to blow them out of the water. After all, they have about quadruple the space here, which means there’s actually some table seating inside, and they offer a bubble tea menu. Parking in street/​garages here is slightly less of a hassle in comparison.
And yet. Staff members were nice and had decent recommendations as I browsed the jar wall, but it’s a credit to the exceptional service I’ve experienced at the B’da Row location that I’ll be gravitating towards other tea shops when in VA. I need to come back at least once more when they’re not out of tapioca pearls so I can try the taro boba.

OMG I was so excited to see that Capital Teas opened in the Mosaic District. Frankly, I get excited anytime something new opens at the Mosaic but I was particularly excited to see this tea shop. Finally, I don’t have to schlep out to Dupont Circle for this tea shop!
This location of Capital Teas is very cozy and inviting on the inside. Plenty of seating and a place to come and linger over a cup of tea. Their tea is displayed all over the shop, and includes many samples for you smell and some to try. Think of Teavanna but more upscale. You want to enjoy the aroma first before you taste. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about their teas. They were also very patient as I sniffed probably all of their teas before deciding which one I wanted to order. Very good customer service in my book. I ordered a blueberry green tea which was delicious.
Disclaimer: They did not have any prepared teas besides a chai tea latte. All their teas are loose leaf teas and take a few minutes to steep and prepare. So I would not recommend stopping here for tea if you are in a rush.
Apparently they now serve bubble tea!!! What? I think I will have to make a return trip soon.

Man, I feel like there is this whole secret underbelly of tea shops in Northern Virginia that I’m just now learning about! Capital Teas is a fantastic addition to Mosaic, which is already one of my favorite shopping havens in all the land. The space is warm and accomodating, filled with a few tables and chairs, lots of tea-​related paraphernalia, and snifting jars of every type of tea imaginable!
The girl behind the register was crazy friendly (complimenting me on my hair, hehe), and was quick to offer my boyfriend and I cups of the two teas they were sampling that day. One sniff of the O, Christmas Tea and I was sold — green tea with orange, almond, and a whole slew of other amazing flavors? It’s heaven in a cup, and while I may have told her that the canister would be a gift, I think we all know what really happened. I mean, I’m enjoying a steaming mug of the joyous stuff right now so…
Capital Teas also started serving BUBBLE TEA, which I got to try out this past weekend. Squee! I’m guessing they can make it out of any tea that they serve? Someone else picked it up for me, so I didn’t actually order it myself. But when I asked for «regular black milk tea» I ended up with a very complex-​tasting earl grey, hence my assumption. Of course, I might be totally wrong there, so apologies in advance if I am.
Either way, I love that they’re being so wonderful in accommodating all of my various tea obsessions! Unfortuately, the bubbles themselves were only okay. It doesn’t seem like they sweeten their tapioca balls, which is definitely essential for tasty boba — even if they don’t want to sweeten the milk tea itself to preserve the flavor of the tea, which I totally get, the bubbles need to be a little bit sweet. Just store them in a mixture of honey and water and you’ll be golden, Capital Teas!