The first part of May I took a short trip to San Francisco. They have some amazing places for tea that I would highly recommend. First and foremost, don't miss the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The garden is awesome and have some tea and mochi while you are there. A real surprise was "Samovar". There are 3 of them around the city and they have a very innovative menu, a wide variety of tea, knowledgeable staff, and beautiful presentation. Bring money, it's on the expensive side but worth it. China town was dissappointing to me for tea, but down at the Ferry Building or in Berkeley, head to the Imperial Tea Court. This tea room and tea shop are focused on Chinese tea. They serve it Gong Fu style. Looking for an inexpensive British style tea?, head for Leland Tea Company. Leland offers a wide variety of teas, scones, tea sandwiches etc.
I also went to Berkely to have lunch at Alice Water's Chez Panisse. It was very nice...food was exceptional, simple and fresh. The reason I went was that years ago I read a book called the "The Agony of the Leaves" by Helen Gustafson. Helen worked at Chez Panisse and had a love of tea. Consequently she taught them how to do tea right. I wanted to see if after her passing they continued to "serve tea right". They do!!! Although the number of teas they offer are few, they make a great cup of tea. They are one of the very few restaurants in this country that do it right.
All of the places mentioned above have websites... google them and the next time you are in San Francisco, check them out.
