Hina's Tea - Customer Testimonials

Some comments we received from our customers
Hi there, I was in the Sacramento area this past weekend visiting friends. We went by the desert shop across the street and happen to look up and see your shop. What a treat! The store is wonderfully tranquil and inviting, shows nicely and is a comfortable place to visit. I purchased a wonderful fruit tea (Paradiso Peach) and I am in love! It is absolutely the BEST fruit tea I have ever tasted! I wish that I had purchased more than the 4 oz pouch. I did visit your website this morning with the intention of discovering other teas I might try, but to also order more of the Paradiso Peach. I did not find the Paradiso Peach on your website. Can you please tell me how I can get more (greater quantity) of this fabulous tea!? Thank you! M. Foster 09/05/2007
Hi Hina, I was visiting my sister in Sacramento month or so ago. We went to Rick's Dessert Diner one evening and happened to stumble across Hina's afterwards. I purchased Peach Lift and Earl Grey Lavender. Both are delicious, with such a wonderful flavor! I'll definitely return to Hina's. Keep up the work! Brendon, San Jose 05/10/2007
Hi there, I came into your store for the first time on Saturday, the 24th of February. I was walking by on my way to work at an art gallery down the street and I saw a man leaving your store looking quite satisfied. I looked up to see where he was coming from, and there you were, where there had been no tea shop just weeks before. Upon entry, I felt welcomed into somewhere with heart. it's a tea shop. how wonderful. You showed me around your bags of tea, and I picked out superior gunpowder. You liked the jewelry I was wearing, and I was flattered. I left the store feeling like I had made quite the good decision, and couldn't wait to try my newly aquired herbal infusion. Well after work i took the train, and your tea kept me in tranquility the entire way. Good fortune followed me for the first time in a long while, as I made new friends and rebuilt bridges with older onesover the weekend. Upon returning home, I have found myself more motivated and inspired to do create artwork. I feel that not only your tea, but your shining attitude have had a lot to do with this. I know that a business is there to provide a service and respond to demand, and generate income, but your establishment goes beyond that for some reason. You aren't just selling tea, and I think you know that. The care you put into what you are doing makes a big difference in the lives of those you come in contact with. You are doing a good thing by introducing people to the wonders of what mother nature has to offer us through the tea plant, but you are doing a great thing by tending to their spirits and health while they are in your presence. I want to thank you, so if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to make a wire-wrapped crystal hanging to add to the atmosphere of your store. Just some quartz and tourmaline and maybe some blue fluorite and aquamarine. Let me know if you have any objection to this, or I'll simply make it and bring it to you. I hope all is well with you, and wish you the best in your wonderful work. Take care. Flip, 02/26/2007
It is difficult for me to overstate my fondness for K Street's newest installment, or my affection for its infinitely charming owner. I confess that Hina herself rather fascinates me, and I would support her establishment even if she pedaled the appalling and shoddy kitsch one finds at a roadside Stuckey's. She is unapologetically sniffish about the quality of her product, and politely insists that it be consumed respectfully and knowledgably. Hina will not feed truffles to swine. I know this firsthand: when I confessed my partiality for southern sweet tea, she furrowed her brow and looked at me with an incomprehension and frowning curiosity that I will not soon forget. I may as well have told a nun that God was dead. For all her elevation, though, Hina is not insufferable, pretentious, or condescending in the least. She learned about tea in order to share that knowledge with her customers, not to lord it over us like an insecure pedant. Her willingness to share is fortunate, because you will need Hina's expertise to negotiate her enormous and (so she says) continuously evolving inventory. They have over 250 different kinds of tea, and all are, it would seem, of the highest quality: most are single origin or estate teas, and all the fruity infusions are flavored with certified organic produce. Some might grumble about the prices, but a pot of organic or estate tea actually costs more at Temple than it does at Hina's. In addition, complementary sampling is allowed and even encouraged. Each day features a new "mystery tea," an endearing if silly gimmick brewed up (sorry) by Hina's husband, an amiable and delightfully ironic German fellow. Be advised, though: trying a new tea under Hina's watchful gaze isn't like snatching up a pizza roll from the sample tray at Costco. She is as interested in educating her customers as she is in gratifying them; she will not only unpack all the flavors you are tasting, but also explain what makes them so good together. Every part of this establishment reflects Hina's enthusiasm and expertise. The design elements embody vibrancy and calm, dynamism and repose, in much the same way Hina herself does (talk to her for five seconds, and you'll see exactly what I mean). The dcor is sleek and sparse, but soft and inviting: think cb2 meets the Deathstar. Birch veneer, glass, and the metallic sheen of Hina's merchandise accent white counters, tables, and chairs. It all rests atop a grouted stone floor that is so smartly done that it actually made me angry that I hadn't---and never would have---thought of it. This probably reads as much like an assessment of a person as it does a review of an establishment. But my guess is that this is how Hina would want it: the business is such a natural extension of her personality that it's difficult to talk about the one without also mentioning the other. My experience with both was unequivocally positive. John W., 02/25/2007
Hi Hina, Thank you so much for all the work you’ve done to stock your shelves with your wonderful teas. I am especially appreciative of my new bag of Chai Spices. I drink your Keyhung tea with Chai Spices every morning at work. I make a small pot. Some of my co-workers like to visit me and get a cup, too. Precilla Y. 05/26/2006
Hello! My parents loved visiting your store. They want to come back the next time they visit us. I love using the press - it works great. Thanks for a lovely time on Saturday! Kathy F. 05/05/2006
Hina, Your teas made quite an impression at the luncheon that I had for 9 ladies today - 6 coffee only drinkers. By the end of the luncheon and two pitchers full of iced Wild Strawberry, at least four pots of Royal Bengel Tiger and one of Belgian Chocolate - were enjoyed. And only one cup of coffee was consumed. Everyone raved about your teas and I think a couple of them will visit you this week to do some Christmas and personal shopping. They love the little pots and were surprised how easy it was to make the tea. A couple plan to purchase a pot for work. This time I managed to hang on to my pots and tea!!! I'm so glad that I found Hina's tea. Sue S. 12/05/2005
Check out some customer testimonials on the Tea Map web-site.
Champagne Tasting November 2004 (Our belly-dancing event) We truly enjoyed your champagne tasting in November very much. Getting to know all those French champagnes was quite an experience. We also enjoyed the belly-dancing show with Azar a lot, a true professional. I hope you will invite us for your next event and we are looking forward seeing you again in your shop. Linda M. Auburn, CA.
Dear Hina, I've enjoyed the tea tasting-you get a chance to try teas from all over the world before you buy. The fruit teas are fantastic iced in the summer. My favorites are the white teas which I never new existed. I enjoy the mild flavors and the antioxidant benefits you get from them. I also enjoy the different teapots, cups and unusual items you have in the shop. I have purchased some for birthday and Christmas gifts, all were a big hit. Linda F.
Hina, Thank you so very much for a most informative and truly hospitable day in your wonderful tea shop. I wish you much success in your unique endeavor to enlighten us tea dummies. Looking forward to your next gala. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and precious time with me. Healthfully yours, J. Murphy