Tea

Here are some places where a lot of time, effort and expertise go into providing the best possible cheering cup of tea. (To be continued next week.)

* Peet’s Coffee and Tea: In the tea import business since 1966, this small Berkeley-based chain now has five locations in our area. Try the various grades and flushes of Darjeeling and the best-selling Assam, English Breakfast and jasmine. We recommend Lion Mountain Keemun. Also a good assortment of China blacks, Indians, Oolongs, green teas and blends. (Tea, small pot $1.25; loose leaf, 4 ounces $4.95 to $19.95.) Peet’s, 258 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 248-3664; 11750 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, (310) 979-7892; 328 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, (310) 379-1896; 60 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena, (626) 795-7413; 2439 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 399-8117.

* Chado: This attractive tea shop and restaurant offers nearly 350 teas from all over the world, sold by the pot in house or by the ounce to go. The house tea (and best seller) is Maurices, named for the island of Mauritius near Madagascar. It’s an African black tea that’s grown side by side in the field with vanilla beans and seems to absorb a subtle vanilla fragrance. (Tea, small pot $2.75 to $4.85; loose leaf, $1.79 to $8 per ounce.) Chado Tea Room, 8422 1/2 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 655-2056.

* The Coffee Roaster: Dick Healy roasts the coffee, but his wife, Jane, is responsible for the excellent selection of teas at this Sherman Oaks shop. Her own blends, a Welsh Breakfast Tea and a Sencha Earl Gray, have won followings. Other great teas include a mild silver-tipped Formosa Oolong (“It tastes like the sweetest, best water in the world,” says one fan), a second-flush Singbulli Darjeeling, a fancy jasmine and an excellent mid-priced Keemun, the Burgundy of teas. (Tea, pot $1; loose leaf, 4 ounces $3.50 to $18.) The Coffee Roaster, 13567 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 905-9719.

* Hugo’s Tea and Herb Shop: Hugo’s new tea room sells a mind-expanding variety of teas and tea drinks. Popular teas include a Japanese Sencha (green tea), an organic Oolong and “King’s tea,” a Taiwanese blend of green and Oolong that’s lightly flavored with ginseng and has what the menu calls “a long sweet aftertaste.” Other specialties include healing-formula yogi teas and chais, as well as tea-based smoothies and juices, such as the peach pear ginger protein smoothie with toasted almonds and soy milk. Healing oils--sea cucumber, cumin, cardamom--can be added to the drinks. (Tea, cup $2 to $4.50; loose leaf, 4 ounces $3 to $25.) Hugo’s, 8401 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 654-3993.