In Tahoe’s chilly winter months, especially when snow has blanketed the ground, it makes sense to want to start out with a warm cup of something in your hands. But not everyone is a coffee drinker, nor wants a mug of hot mulled wine at eight in the morning. That’s where Tahoe tea shops come in…
Tahoe Teas served at Pep’s Place, Tahoe Vista
Located right across the street from Sandy Beach in Tahoe Vista, Pep’s Place is a friendly locals’ coffee shop which also serves wholesome breakfasts, made-to-order lunches, and snacks/pre-prepared items from its grab-n-go cooler.
For eight years now, owner Darin Pepin has carried a large selection of the Carnelian Bay-based organic loose leaf Tahoe Teas as well, both in 2.3-oz. pouches that you can take home and/or served hot in individual 12-oz. or 20-oz. cups that you can enjoy there.
Pepin says that the shop sells quite a bit of hot tea in the winter months. In its Tahoe Teas, they sell the most are the green tea, but the favorite herbal caffeine-free version is the Tahoe Bliss, a soothing combination of chamomile, rosehips, strawberry, lavender, and honey powder—all organic. My favorite is the Tahoe Local, which Pepin says, “Yes, that is maté-based, good if you need some pep in your step,” as well as the Tahoe Balance, a non- caffeinated herbal blend with lemon peel, calendula, green rooibos, and vanilla. But it all depends what kind of mood I’m in.
“Tahoe Red is the favorite in the summer because we use that blend as our iced tea,” Pepin says. Made of raspberry, rooibos, rose petals, raspberry leaf, and cocoa nibs, it tastes like a dessert. Pepin says both the cups of tea served at the counter and the pouches are equally as popular and equally great to take with you wherever you go on your Tahoe day.
Davidson’s Organic Teas served at Coffeebar, 10 locations from Reno to Sunnyvale
In 2017ish, the famous Coffeebar chain that started out in Truckee and grew to 10 locations between Reno and South Bay San Francisco found itself in an unfortunate situation—they ran out of their bestselling organic matcha. With the famous Davidson’s Organic Teas warehouse being 15 minutes away from their Reno location, Coffeebar Founder Greg Buchheister went over there to hopefully find a solution, and a partnership was born. Coffeebar soon began using the local supplier more often, along with creating custom blends with Davidson’s—like the Tahoe Sunshine—sold in tins.
Along with serving tinned teas and hot cups of the bright, flavorful, and earthy loose leaf blends, Coffeebar also serves London Fog, Rooibos chai, and other tea lattes.
Coffeebar Senior Manager of Operations Matt Brown says its Rosemary Matcha (made with ceremonial grade matcha) is by far the bestseller, with its chai coming in at a close second. In 2025 alone with two of the coldest months yet to come, Coffeebar had sold 118,000 cups across all locations. Coffeebar was the first café I ever saw make a lavender latte (made with Davidson’s lavender flower petals and housemade concentrate), and it’s Coffeebar’s third bestseller.
“All our loose leaf teas and tea lattes are steeped by our baristas in each store, not mass produced. This allows us to control the sweetness with agave post brew if the customer desires,” Brown says.
And going back to being as close to farm to table as possible, Buchheister says, “One of our big philosophies is vertical sourcing, and that’s really going direct to origin. Our coffee, our tea, our flour, all the things we try to do at Coffeebar we try to have that vertical integration from source to consumer. It just checks all our boxes for local, sustainable, proper sourcing and great, high-quality products.”
Housemade Tea Blends made at Woods Apothecary, South Lake Tahoe
With a goal to help people achieve their best health using holistic, sustainable, and natural remedies, Woods Apothecary began hosting bimonthly tea parties, inviting the public to come to its brick-and-mortar location on 2264 Lake Tahoe Boulevard #12 to taste and talk herbs.
“It’s an educational, fun, intimate gathering where we sip tea and have snacks as we talk about the benefits, flavors, medicinal uses, and eugenics of certain herbs,” says Woods Apothecary Owner Gina Woods.
“We home in on a specific style of herbs every week, like ones that boost the immune system, help the nervous system, improve mood, or whatever is happening in the changing of the seasons,” she adds. There are about 4-5 herbs that the apothecary tastes and discusses each event, seeing how they affect the body’s system.
Woods says her favorite tea now is lemon balm, “it’s a nice antiviral herb,” she says, and the damiana is popular. “The marshmallow root is popular, too. It’s slightly sweet and has a demulcent energy…it’s slimy, coats, and soothes the system. I put it in a lot of healing, GI, and gut health teas.”
As far as the tea pouches, she puts together and sells in the apothecary, she says the Woods Chai Masala is a huge bestseller. “I can hardly keep it on the shelves,” she says. The Mineralize Me and Flu Fighter tea blends are also big hits. “But they all have their seasons,” Woods adds.
She’ll do variations on the chai, too, like create a nutritive digestive blend that replaces the green tea element with nettle steeped with traditional chai herbs or an immunity chai where she adds echinacea to it to stimulate the system and circulation.
Tea parties are held the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, and in March she’ll rolling out an herbal certification program, which can be done online and/or in person.
“Every day we offer tea at the apothecary, and we have tea and yoga every week where you can try the product. And I have local honeys on hand to sweeten it. Tea is constantly flowing here,” Woods’ laughs.