PIPER AND LEAF Tea & Coffee Shop — Restaurant in Alabama

Piper & Leaf is incredible. They sell both hot tea and iced tea, but they're mostly known for the iced tea, served in Mason jars that are hand-painted with the Piper & Leaf logo -- you pay for your first jar, then you bring it back for half-price refills. You can also get half-price refills at any shop that serves Piper & Leaf tea or at the farmer's market, which is pretty great.

I'm really not a "tea person" generally -- i love coffee, but I never really got into tea as much. I only tried Piper & Leaf because the bags of tea smelled so good, and because I'd heard so many people recommend it after trying it at the farmer's market. This tea won me over -- it's really fantastic. The flavors and recipes are obviously chosen with care because they're creative but not in a weird way -- they're not over-the-top.

Piper & Leaf's ingredients do a lot to make their tea outstanding. They use fresh, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and it really does make a huge difference in the tea. Ordinarily, I really dislike fruit teas because I think they taste artificial and fake, but Piper & Leaf uses actual fruit in their teas, and because of that I've found that their fruit teas are actually some of my favorite flavors.

The product is wonderful, but what really sets Piper & Leaf apart is their people. The staff here is friendly and warm and kind. They are excited about service and about their product, and they're happy to help you find your favorite way to enjoy tea (at their shop, they'll mix the tea with milk, almond milk and flavorings to create custom blends).

It seems like, for the staff at Piper & Leaf, tea is a way to serve others and to reach out to people. That commitment to community shows in their business model and in their tea, and it makes me really glad to support them -- I live in Birmingham, but I brew Piper & Leaf loose leaf tea at home even during the off-season when I can't find them at Pepper Place. (For Birminghamians, Piper & Leaf is available at Primeaux and as loose leaf at the Birmingham...

INCREDIBLE! The flavors are to die for. Honeysuckle is my favorite. It smells absolutely incredible. These teas are worth every penny you will spend. Piper and Leaf will turn you into a hoarder of teas. You'll find yourself walking around with random bags of tea in your pocket and have no idea how they got there, but you will be so glad they are there. They will be your friend, your new "Wilson" only maybe they won't need a bloody hand print for a face because that's pretty gross when you think about it. The teas will sooth you with the sweet aroma they produce. They will lull you off to sleep and help you be bright eyed in the morn. These teas are life. There's a flavor to help with everything I suggested (I think, except maybe the Wilson/friends thing. If tea really is your only friend, call a counselor maybe). *Serious face: The teas are incredible, hot or cold. They smell and taste incredible. Pure perfection. Invest in them. The shop is absolutely beautiful too....

The staff @ Piper & Leaf are great. They're always friendly and willing to help you decide which tea you'd like for the day. I'd have to say I'm partial to the Lowe Mill location because Jeremy can be like a "tea-dealer" and have you addicted to his awesome concoctions. In the winter a hot Monks Meditation blended with Chai & ...and a splash of almond milk will send all your troubles away. Yet the spring only has you looking forward to Sassafras Strawberry & a host of sweet flavors icy cold. If you have a hankering for a hot tea be sure to stop by "Q's" all things woven and artsy shop on the 2nd floor of Lowe Mill to get a one-of-a-kind Koozie for your Piper & Leaf Mason jar because they don't serve hot drinks in your jar without a koozie. After you get a hot one, you WILL see why!! The flavor and temp. lasts quite a while & no watered down flavor when you nix the ice!!. Where else can you get a pint of goodness for that price AND it...