11-11-11: Baicha Tea Room Offering Free Samples for Grand Opening Today

Baicha Tea Room is in Edmonds.

Located at Fifth Avenue South in the former space of Marilyn Young Beauty, the doors officially unlocked for business Wednesday morning. Despite the visual location and about Edmonds’ first tea room, co-owner Ann Lalitkomol says she hasn't been too busy the first two days.

“I don’t think people realize that we are actually open yet,” she said. “We have had a few customers, but I think everyone thinks that Friday is the day we open.”

The hype might be due to the fact that today is the official grand opening and—in honor of the palindromic date—between the hours of 11:11 a.m. and 1:11 p.m. the shop will be offering tea samples as well as tea sandwich samples including traditional egg salad, tuna, chicken salad and cucumber.

The store itself?

The décor is clean and serene, with polished wood floors and tables, several couches and plush leather chairs downstairs, and plenty of room for customers to work in peace or gather with friends. Lalitkomol says she plans to add a children’s play area, as she has a son in preschool and a 1-year-old daughter, both of whom are sure to be spending a lot of time in the shop.

The menu at Baicha is extensive, with 80 different varieties of tea from China, Japan, India and Sri Lanka. There is green tea, black tea, white tea, herbal tea, decaffeinated tea, flavored tea and a generous selection of organic teas. Prices range from $2 for a cup to $5 for a pot.

Baicha also serve tea lattes and seasonal teas such as buckwheat tea, fresh ginger tea and Christmas tea (a blend of black tea with cloves, vanilla and cardamom). 

“I have been waiting for a place like this to open in Edmonds,” said return customer Shannon Pitts, who was at Baicha with her sister and her 2-year-old daughter Kaia. “I am a tea junkie. I had the Sencha yesterday, and that was delicious. Even Kaia had a few sips and loved it.”

Lalitkomol and her husband, Joe Budharaksa, are effusively friendly, working behind the counter, greeting customers with enthusiasm and earnestly answering questions from tea novices. Lalitkomol gave Kaia a mini banana muffin and introduced herself to everyone who walked into the shop. 

“We will definitely be coming back,” said Pitts. “And I will be recommending this place to all of my friends.”