Teahouse Kuan Yin has been a Wallingford landmark since 1990, with the help of our devoted customers. Our cozy shop sells bulk teas and teaware which can be purchased on this website, plus light meals, desserts, and hot or iced tea in our fun and relaxing atmosphere. Our customers range from first-time tea drinkers to coffee drinkers to tea connoisseurs, and our employees are knowledgeable, approachable and friendly.

Atmosphere

The teahouse is a cosy, individual place, with comfy chairs and quiet music. Our no-cell-phones policy and free wireless internet make us popular for study, work, and lunch meetings. We're proud to report that at least two books in current publication have been largely written here, with a couple more on the way!

Art at the teahouse

We currently display and sell some remarkable teapots by Adrien Miller.

A portion of the artist's statement: "Throughout the last two years I have been exploring the meeting place of fine art and craft by making functional pottery infused with visual art. This show of artful pottery seeks to blend my background of painting, sculpture and photography into objects intended to be used in daily life...Don't be too shy to try holding a cup in your hand, they are made to be handled!" A complete version is posted by the display in the shop.

Tea at the teahouse

All the teas in our catalog are available to drink at the teahouse, hot or iced, for here or to go. We highly recommend sticking around! In cold weather we delight the masses with our Kashmiri Pink Chai with your choice of milk, and in hot weather we break out the juicer for our famous Jasmine Pearl Lemonade.

Pastries and Desserts

Featuring wheat free, gluten free and vegan baked goods made by a local baker along with a wonderful selection of cakes, cookies, bars, muffins and scones from Renaissance Desserts, Dolce Europa and Julia's.

We are also delighted to serve our own Teahouse Kuan Yin homemade gelati and sorbeti including Pumpkin, Caramel, and Pistachio gelati as well as our Vegan Mango Soy sorbeti!

Light Meals at the teahouse

We offer some light meals at the teahouse including freshly grilled focaccia, vegan samosas with tamarind dipping sauce, several kinds of curry, and a selection of hot and cold soups.

Directions

We are at 1911 N 45^th street in Wallingford, shown on this map. Wallingford is north of downtown, on the other side of Lake Union.

• By bus: the 44 and the 16 go right past us. The Metro Trip Planner can give detailed directions.
• From I-5: turn west on 45^th and go 10 blocks. We're a block and a half west of the Guild 45^th Theater; if you pass Wallingford Ave you've gone too far.
• From Aurora (route 99): turn east on 45^th and go 9 blocks, past Stone way and Wallingford Ave. If you pass the Guild 45^th theater, you've gone too far.

Neighborhood

We are proud to be a member of the Wallingford Saves program, a cooperative promotion headed by our friends next door at Not a Number. The receipt from one member gets you a discount at any other member, and we're happy to offer a dollar off a pot of tea.

Wholesale

We offer many of our teas for wholesale. If you are a retailer who would like to buy wholesale from us, please send us an email, and we will be delighted to set up an account for you.

FAQ

Q: What's Teahouse Choice?
A: Teahouse Choice was the name of the business under its previous owner. We changed ownership in June of 2006.

Q: Didn't there used to be a bookstore next door?
A: Yep, but they didn't move far! The good folks at Wide World Books and Maps are now located a block away on Wallingford Ave.

Q: What about ordering teaware and tea accessories on-line? A: We're just now starting to add merchandise to our on-line shopping process. Look for items to be added on a regular basis.