A new tea shop is taking shape just steps from Alexandria City Hall, and it's betting on tradition rather than trends. Seven Teahouse is under construction at 101 S. Royal Street in Old Town, with signs in the windows pointing to an opening sometime this fall.
The shop's roots trace back to a Loudoun County farmers market stand, according to ALXnow, before Seven Teahouse opened its original brick-and-mortar store in Leesburg in 2024. That Leesburg location will stay open even as the company builds out its presence in Alexandria, with additional locations also in the works.
When Seven Teahouse first launched in the Village at Leesburg center off Route 7, it took over a 1,600-square-foot space next door to Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, according to The Burn. That store sells tea bags, loose teas, tea sets, kettles and cups, the outlet reported at the time.
No Bubble Tea, But Plenty of Loose-Leaf Options
The new Old Town shop is built around traditional tea rather than the bubble tea that has become a staple of many newer shops nearby. The menu spans loose-leaf and bagged varieties, including black, white, green and oolong teas, per the same ALXnow report. Bubble tea isn't part of the lineup, though the Leesburg store does serve coffee and pastries alongside its tea offerings.
That traditional focus sets Seven Teahouse apart from some of Old Town's other recent tea and coffee openings. Last year, Bloom Tea opened a Vietnamese coffee and bubble tea shop at 425 S. Washington Street, the station notes, while The Spice & Tea Exchange has long operated near the Market Square Fountain off King Street. ESP Tea & Coffee, meanwhile, serves espresso and dozens of premium teas elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Tastings, Workshops and a Matcha Lab
Beyond retail tea sales, Seven Teahouse offers guided tea tastings, a tea brewing workshop and what it calls the Matcha Lab, which pairs matcha tasting with brewing guidance, the report states. On its own website, the company describes hands-on sessions that walk participants through the essential techniques of traditional tea brewing, and lists tea-tasting experiences that run roughly 50 to 70 minutes with a maximum of five guests per session.
Seven Teahouse also promotes a tea master tasting session it calls Tea Sense, along with ceremonial-grade loose-leaf tea, premium tea bags and handcrafted tea sets for sale. The company says its founder, Jared, hand-picks tea in Yunnan, China's wild tea forests, and its site states the business won three gold, two silver and four bronze awards across seven tea categories at the Golden Leaf Awards — figures that are self-reported by the company.
ALXnow reported that Seven Teahouse's owners did not respond to a request for comment on the Old Town opening.
A Growing Tea and Coffee Scene
The Royal Street project arrives amid a broader wave of tea and coffee openings around the region. A specialty coffee roaster with two decades of history in Virginia planned a July opening in Old Town, according to Old Town Alexandria Patch. Separately, a Northern Virginia tea-house brand was preparing to open its first Maryland location in Montgomery County, bringing along its own selection of teas, pastries and fried chicken, as reported by Rockville Patch.
For now, the exact opening date for the Royal Street shop remains unannounced, with only the fall timeframe confirmed by signage at the construction site. Until then, tea drinkers curious about the brand can still visit the original Leesburg location, which continues operating as Seven Teahouse works to expand its footprint across the region.
