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What’s in your tea leaves for the next year? Hopefully some cozy, warm beverages!

Tea has six major categories: white, green, yellow, oolong, black and pu-erh. From that, thousands of variations exist, but all come from the tea plant, Camellia sinesis.

From traditional Chinese and French teas to your grandma’s Southern sun tea, you’ll find it all represented here in Kansas City. Come on this tour through local loose-leaf tea shops, which will help you find your flavor, discover your vibe and sip away your stress.

Shang Tea

Located on the first floor of Crown Center, Shang Tea is a great place to start for those beginning to explore the tea scene. Shang, the owner, is an amazing resource who is dedicated to his craft.

Originally from China, Shang opened up his shop in 2005 and moved to his Crown Center location in 2007. Shang Tea specializes in varieties of white teas, which contain the least amount of caffeine among the major categories. They’re also high in antioxidants.

Shang sources his tea leaves from China, and knows where they all come from. For example, his Aged Wu-Long tea, with its subtle sweetness, is a blend of Fujian Da Bai and Da Hao white tea leaves that were harvested in 2012 and aged for 18 months.

Another popular flavor this holiday season is Shang’s Honeysuckle White Tea. It has a very slight floral scent that tastes very lightly of fruit. It’s smooth, without any bitterness.

Shang Tea is also a great source to begin building your brewing equipment. They have starter gift packs for new tea drinkers that contain different teaware, such as cups and pots. You’ll notice that some of the tea cups are smaller, and there’s a reason: they cool the tea faster for you to drink.

Finally, Shang Tea sells absolutely wonderful mooncakes, made from his family’s recipe, with an elegant laced design on top. For the holidays, Shang has added ginger to it.

• Where: Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd. #106, Kansas City, Missouri

Anna Marie’s Teas

Walking into Anna Marie’s Teas, in historic downtown Liberty, is like walking into your grandmother’s quaint and cozy home.

Owned by Brenda Hedrick, Anna Marie’s Teas also sells an assortment of tea gifts, such as infusers for loose-leaf brewing — allowing you to get the whole leaf and exert greater control over your brew. While most casual tea drinkers are used to the bagged variety, those may not be of the highest quality and may contain “dust” from the manufacturing process.

There are plenty of blends to recommend, but their Cherry Green is a stand-out that has a slight fruity taste that doesn’t overpower the drink. Green tea has more caffeine than white tea but less than oolong, and can have an earthy taste. And for the Southerners among us, Anna Maria’s also carries an iced tea sampler.

The store has monthly events held at the owner’s historic home. The next one, an Epiphany Celebration Tea Time, is on Jan. 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 and come with more tea than you can possibly drink.

• Where: 9 W. Franklin St., Liberty, Missouri

Dragonfly Teazone

Loose-leaf tea fans will be happy to know that Dragonfly Teazone has four different locations across the Kansas City metro. What began as a kiosk in City Market in 2005 has expanded to serve the whole city.

Their list of teas is expansive, and includes herbal teas and tisanes, which are made by steeping herbs, roots, fruits, or flowers instead of a tea plant’s leaves. Herbal teas are recommended for their soothing qualities and stress reduction because they are caffeine-free and often aromatic. Common ingredients include lavender, chamomile and ginger.

Dragonfly also sells an assortment of smoothies, specialty drinks and bubble tea. Bubble tea comes from Taiwan and mixes tea, milk, fruit and fruit juices, and then tapioca pearls or jellies that add more flavor and texture.

• Where: Multiple locations in Kansas City and Overland Park

SereniTea Boutique

SereniTea Boutique in Lee’s Summit shares space with The Paperback Bakery.

Angela Byer opened the shop last year, and she uses two sources for her tea. Local favorite Hugo Tea is well known in Kansas City — they sell direct to consumers and through shops like SereniTea, and they’re passionate about where their tea comes from, down to the specific region and farm.

In addition to tea, SereniTea also features locally made products such as honey. If you want to unwind, sit in their book nook and enjoy the aroma of brewed tea and freshly made bakery treats. They often host events such as book clubs or cookies with Santa. Check their Facebook page to stay up to date.

• Where: 500 SW 3rd St. A, Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Socially Tea KC

Lauren Farmer opened Socially Tea KC in Olathe in 2021. After college at the University of Minnesota, she made the great choice of turning her passion for tea into this business, where you’ll find a relaxing atmosphere complete with couches and a lending library.

Farmer also sells assorted teaware, and it’s a great place to learn about brewing. Each tea requires specific water temperature and steeping time to get the best cup. Socially Tea has a chart on its website.

One of their bestsellers is the Oolong Spiced Chai. Oolong is right in the middle of the oxidation chart of teas — not as sharp as black and not as subtle as a white. Chai often refers to Indian spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, to name a few.

For newcomers, Socially Tea offers tea flights so that you can taste an assortment, or enjoy a preselected sampler pack. With over 100 tea varieties to choose from, you’re sure to find your blend.

• Where: 10586 S. Ridgeview Road, Olathe, Kansas

Tea Market & Gift Bar

Tea Market was founded in 2002 by Stacie Robertson, and co-owner Jess Azar joined in 2024. The shop has an entire wall filled with more than 100 tea tins, containing just about every blend you could imagine — which can be intimidating. That’s where Robertson’s experience as a master blender comes in, like a wine sommelier but for tea, complete with rigorous training and experience.

Tea Market offers seasonal blends such as White Christmas (a white tea) and Sencha Claus (a green tea that contains orange slices, vanilla and other ingredients). Or find a variation of black tea that gets you up and going.

Black tea has the highest amount of caffeine, and has a strong, dry taste, almost like roasted nuts. Black tea is ideally not bitter and people often add milk or creamer to it. Try this variety out as a London Fog, which begins as Earl Grey black tea with milk added. It can be served either hot or iced.

Tea Market also offers consultations, a membership to connect with other tea lovers and events. If you want to find your tea community, this is it.

• Where: 329 E. 55th St., Kansas City, Missouri

Emilie’s French Teas

Emilie’s French Teas, owned by Emilie Jackson, stands out with its dark wood shelves and a sign that reminds customers that quiet is a virtue.

Jackson brings a bit of her homeland to Kansas City in this space. French teas have their own distinct blends, flavors, and brewing traditions that are captured elegantly here.

Jackson is also a master blender, and is there to guide you to the perfect cup of tea based on your health goals, stress levels or even your mood. Bring a friend and sit at one of the several two-person tables, or just sit back and read a book.

Jackson is happy to answer all your tea questions, including any about Pu-erh, a unique tea that is fermented like cheese or yogurt. If you want something more low-key, their Take It Easy tisane combines lemongrass, lemon balm, verbena, chamomile and lavender. It promotes relaxation and sleep.

If you’re looking for even more relaxation, try Emilie’s Tea Sauna, which uses heat from charcoal filters embedded into the walls. The warmth of the room along with the right tea helps you steep away your stress.

They also host events, classes and afternoon teas. Check their website to find the right event for you.

• Where: 8131 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Missouri

2025 was a big year for Rooted, a non-profit housing organization in Dartmouth, N.S., that bought 10 buildings with close to 300 units of housing.

“And we’re not just acquiring the units, acquiring the buildings,” said Dylan Ward, Rooted’s director of real estate development. 

“We’re looking to continue to invest in that sense of community as well as just improve livability — HVAC systems, things that have been maybe forgotten about or are not prioritized over the decades that those buildings have been in existence.”

The cost of purchasing and repairing the buildings topped $36 million. Often, when for-profit housing providers acquire buildings, renovations spur tenant evictions and rents are exponentially higher on the other side. But Rooted is employing a different model.

It maintains existing tenants and keeps rents below market rates for at least 30 per cent of the units. That’s part of the deal the group struck with the provincial government to get low-cost loans and capital grants which helped make the acquisitions possible.

In three years, the province says it’s helped non-profit groups, including Rooted, buy and fix up 727 units of housing to preserve affordability.

Ward called it a “new era of investment in community housing and community development,” and one that Rooted has been making the best of. To date, it’s the largest beneficiary of provincial loans and grants for low-cost, non-profit housing.

The fiscal reality

But Ward said he’s cognizant the government’s help might not last forever, noting the province’s “fiscal reality,” which includes a $1.3-billion deficit.

Housing Minister John White recently told reporters that he’d like to maintain a “suite of programs to continue to make progress,” but that will hinge, partly, on budget deliberations.

Speaking specifically about the Community Housing Acquisition Fund, which was introduced as a pilot in 2024, White said it’s been “extremely successful,” and he’s hoping there will be money in the spring budget to keep it going beyond its March 2026 end date.

But, he added, “I can’t say what’s going to happen with it just yet.”

Ward said continued provincial support is the best-case scenario, but Rooted is working on contingency plans. He said partnerships with the private sector, and new federal housing programs — which he anticipates will come online in 2026 — could pick up some of the slack.

Additionally, Ward said Rooted’s “mixed model” of tenancy, wherein some people pay market rates to help subsidize lower-rent units, is helping to make non-profit housing more sustainable. He said he hopes the model will enable more new builds, such as the 18-unit building Rooted opened in the summer.

Eventually, he said he hopes the group won’t have to rely on government participation for every new project.

A shifting model

Stephan Richard said Rooted is not alone in planning for more independence from the government.

Richard is director of development for the Community Housing Transformation Centre, a national non-profit that administers grants on behalf of the Nova Scotia government as well as other jurisdictions. It’s in charge of the programs that enabled Rooted’s acquisitions and new build this year.

“The mindset is shifting so that organizations in Nova Scotia, but also across the country, will be more based on a social enterprise model,” Richard said. “So despite cyclical funding, that puts the non-profit sector in a much better position moving forward.”

Outpaced by for-profit sector

Cyclical funding is one challenge; Catherine Leviten-Reid said another challenge is that affordable housing is being lost at a faster pace than non-profits can preserve or build it.

Leviten-Reid, an associate professor of community economic development at Cape Breton University, said in recent years Nova Scotia has lost thousands of units of affordable housing annually. In comparison, she said the 727 units preserved through provincial programs is insufficient.

“These programs aren’t addressing the issue at scale,” she said.

“Considering how many Nova Scotians are really struggling with housing affordability and how much our rental housing stock is actually provided by the private, for-profit sector, they’re really not ambitious enough to address the problems faced by Nova Scotians.”

Richard agreed that halting the net loss of affordable housing is difficult, but he said he’s optimistic.

“The only way to do that is to empower non-profits and build the capacity so more non-profits can participate and protect those assets right across the province.”

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