Portland’s Popular Tea Bar Opens Downtown Today

Lovers of bubble tea, matcha lattes, and beautiful, minimalist cafes will dig this news: Hip, tea shop franchise Tea Bar is opening its fourth location today in the towering skyscraper Park Avenue West.

Like the other Tea Bars, the downtown spot will serve a menu of teas, tea-based lattes, matcha drinks, and bubble teas, plus soft serve made with matcha sourced from Japan and pastries delivered daily from local bakery Nuvrei. The 16-foot tall room will feature a similar minimalist aesthetic to the others, with seven-foot tall Birds of Paradise plants set against the clean white interior.

The store will be the fourth from owner Erica Indira Swanson, who launched the first Tea Bar on Killingsworth in December of 2014 when she was 22 years old. The goal was to make tea drinks more fun and accessible for a city that primarily thrived on coffee, with a focused selection of teas as well as tea-based latte drinks, matcha, and boba teas, all made with high-quality ingredients. Later, Swanson would open spots in NW Portland and on Division.

The new spot is a nostalgic one for Swanson, she tells Eater, as she used to visit the nearby Finnegan’s Toys and Gifts with her father while growing up. “I would go to Finnegan’s and other nearby shops with my dad, and many years later, here I am with a shop of my own just down the street. I would have never even imagined that would have been possible.” She also tells Eater, “I’m so honored to be in that building,” referencing Park Avenue West. “Vanessa Sturgeon is the owner and manager, whom I greatly admire and respect. It’s been a wonderful experience working with her, and being surrounded by such incredible neighbors.”

• Tea Bar [Official]
• Nuvrei [Official]
• Tea Bar Reveals Upcoming Fourth Location Downtown [EPDX]
• All Tea Bar Coverage [EPDX]