A cup of tea is about more than flavor—it can also create community.

Celia Jimenéz here, sipping on some tea. Today, May 21, is International Tea Day. It’s a day to celebrate tea, a drink that has been around for over 5,000 years, and for which associated practices have spread around the world, creating different traditions and blends to satisfy our palates. 

One local place that offers a wide range of tea blends is Gold Leaf Spice & Teas with two locations, in Salinas and Carmel. I spoke with owner Lea Johnson, about tea, tea blends and tisanes, herbal teas made with plants, fruits or roots, with last week, and she shared how the concept started: “My mom had a middle-of-the-night dream back in 2009 that she opened up a place where people could come in and fellowship at a bar over tea,” Johnson says. Her parents retired in 2020 and she took over.

I’ve been to both Gold Leaf locations, and each has a distinct vibe. The one in Salinas is more intimate, moody and low-lit with a large bar dominating the space; the one at The Barnyard in Carmel is brighter, with indoor and outdoor seating. Both places have a large selection: 300 different tea blends. And both welcome grab-and-go shopping to pick up tea, or the invitation for the fellowship Johnson describes.

In Carmel, Johnson says clients prefer traditional single-estate teas such as tulsi darjeeling. In Salinas, they prefer fruity and caffeinated teas.

Customers can bring their own food, and the barista will prep a blend to pair with their meal. “We get a lot of people who come in with food from elsewhere, and they'll just sit and drink their tea, and we'll chat,” Johnson says. 

When eating something heartier or to accompany a chicken dish, Johnson recommends sencha, a popular Japanese green tea, or assam, a full-bodied black tea. “It just helps to bring different flavors forward, and also your tea flavor changes when you pair it, which is pretty neat,” she says. (At the Carmel location, many people bring dishes from Aabha Indian Cuisine, including turmeric lime chicken, she says.) 

Over the past couple of weeks, while reporting for a feature story in the May 21 issue of the Weekly, I learned that tea is more than a drink and that it can bring people together. I also expanded my own palate. At Gold Leaf, Johnson prepared one of the most popular blends: a mango garden tea blend with a shot of matcha, milk and a drizzle of honey.

I wanted to go with the flow, but I was a little skeptical since matcha isn’t one of my favorites. I was surprised by how all the flavors blended together; it has a sweet mango flavor with earthy notes.

Perhaps it was because Johnson used the right amount of matcha and made a paste before combining all the ingredients.

I’m curious to know what type of tea you drink and where you enjoy it around here—are you an at-home tea drinker, or is it a way to form a community?