By 
Instagram is such a great way to find new places, and I’m so excited to share with you this special find: Tea at Shiloh — a community tea house where people come together to socialize, connect, meditate and let their creative juices flow.
Co-owner Shiloh did a commendable job in creating a warm and cozy space where everyone felt welcomed and safe. I loved meeting people from different backgrounds and ethnicities. When I was about to leave, a girl with an apron thanked me for coming. We started talking, and lo and behold, she turned out to be Shiloh!
On what people can expect at the tea house, Shiloh said: “I like keeping things magical and open for interpretation – for the guests to come in with no expectations.” She also shared on her Instagram:
“Your experience at the tea house involves a comfort with mystery and a level of trust. We encourage you to walk in with no expectations as we believe the deepest mysteries are found without any teaching.”
“Each night is different as it changes with whoever walks into the space. If you must get a detailed description of what you are exchanging your energy for, then perhaps the tea house isn’t a space for you just yet.”
Speaking with Shiloh, I discovered that one of the main inspirations behind the creation of the space was a certain loneliness she felt whenever she went out. She always looked for peaceful spaces at night, but never found any. “Why Tea?” I asked. “Tea does an incredible job of connecting us to ourselves, to each other and to the natural world. My best conversations have always been over tea.” she said.
On her highlighted IG stories, Shiloh shares a short breakdown of each session:
Daylight hours “These daytime hours will be dedicated to working and chatting softly over tea with friends. Laptops, iPads, and books are welcome. We discourage any outside meetings (video meetings, long phone calls, etc) as it can be distracting to our guests.”
PM Late Night Tea – “Late night tea has really vibrant energy and can be super social, especially when we’re fully booked.”
Quiet hours – “You can come and listen to live music or a live ambient set and enjoy the space without needing to make convo with anyone. These nights have limited capacity and are definitely more introverted than our other nights. You’re still more than welcome to socialize, these nights are just much quieter than our weekend evenings.”
The space was modeled after Shiloh’s bedroom. On Instagram, she has a few pictures of her bedroom, which include books, plants and a low profile bed.
The tea house also offers workshops and classes.
To book your spot, you have to go to the website (here) and select the day and time slot you want. You can also make the reservation through the Instagram story link, where you’ll be able to see the full weekly schedule.
The price for the PM Late Night Tea session is $35, which is pretty reasonable considering that the session is 4-hours long, you’re in a beautiful space meeting like-minded people, and getting unlimited refills of premium tea. There’s a strict no cancellation policy, but you may exchange your ticket on the Discord channel (here). Keep this in mind if you’re not sure you’ll be able to make it.
For my first time, I opted for the PM Late Night Tea session, which is from 7pm to 11pm. The tea house is located in the Arts Districts. This brimming neighborhood is known for its warehouses turned into restaurants, cool bars, and loft office spaces. When I arrived at the address, there was a security guard outside. If you didn’t know what you were in for, you would think that this was the entrance to a nightclub or a speakeasy. Once I showed him my ID and my ticket, another world awaited me behind the door.
The white floor seating cushions, the wooden tables and the smell of incense made for a very unique setup. On the tables, there were watercolors, games, tarot cards, books, and most importantly, the tea.
Everyone who walked in looked around in pure awe. Before going up the stairs, there was a separate small room with a curtain. The floor was covered in cushions and people were reading quietly — It was almost like a canopy bed. For privacy reasons, I didn’t take a picture of people reading. But this is what it looked like:
When you walk in, one of the employees working there will give you a quick explanation of the place. First, you’ll be asked to take off your shoes and leave them on the shelf. Secondly, after you’re settled in, you go to the tea bar, where you get UNLIMITED tea!
Blake gave me a full rundown of the teas. He was so nice and you could tell he was really happy to be there. There were two teas that were decaffeinated: the herbal and the floral. Since it was nighttime and I wanted to make sure I got a good night’s sleep when I got home, I opted for the herbal. I had never had a more delicious tea in my life! I’ve had quite a few herbal teas, but this one was so uniquely rich in flavor. It was so good! Later in the night, I transitioned to the floral, which was also delicious. If I had tea like that every day, I might seriously consider switching from coffee.
I first started the session upstairs, where I played tarot cards with two girls. They were both college students. One of them was born and raised in Las Vegas and was currently going to school at FIDM. We talked about the amazing food scene in Vegas and the low cost of living there. Sadly, most visitors don’t know this because they never steer away from the strip. Other than the strip, she said that there wasn’t that much to do and the weather was very extreme.
After that, I made my way downstairs, where I played with watercolors. The last time I used watercolors was in my childhood, so I had no idea what to paint!
At one point, the lights turned red and the song ‘Otro Atardecer’ by Bad Bunny and The Marias started playing, setting a calm night time ambiance. The vibes were immaculate!
I finally let my imagination take the reins and painted a palm tree and a cactus. But while I was in the process of figuring out what to paint, a group of three girls from Orange, a city in Orange County, started talking to me. Although they visited LA almost weekly, they wouldn’t live here. We first bonded over coffee – they were huge coffee lovers and were always on the lookout for new places. They recommended two coffee shops: Memory Look in Koreatown and Moongoat Coffee in Costa Mesa. Regarding their favorite things to do in LA, one of the girls was in art school and her favorite thing in the world was going to museums. “I could look at a painting for hours,” she said. I mentioned the show The OC and they rolled their eyes. They said that growing up in Orange County was a very different experience. Some of the things were true, like the rich kids. But mostly, it wasn’t an accurate depiction of growing up in Orange County. They did love going to the beach, and their favorite beaches were in Laguna Beach because the water was so clear. I asked about Huntington Beach, but they didn’t like it there because there were oil rigs and the beach was too open.
After sitting on a stool for a while without any back support, the floor seating cushions looked very inviting. So, I carefully made my way to the couch that was the farthest from the door, weaving through people’s legs.
Here, I met a girl who was born in Iran and moved to LA with her family at the age of 12. Her dad was the owner of Kabob Village, a restaurant in the Topanga mall and she currently lived in Koreatown by herself. She liked living in this part of LA because of the walkability. She also said that whenever her friends visited her, they hated it because of the terrible parking situation. But thankfully, she has an assigned parking spot. “You can’t live in Koreatown without one,” she said. We talked about art, traveling and exploring the world. Besides LA and Iran, she’s only been to Turkey, but she longed to travel to places like NY, where she’s never been. In California, she loved San Francisco. By the time we were all done talking, it was almost 10 pm and I was already starting to feel drowsy, so I made my way out. As I was putting on my shoes, Shiloh approached me and thanked me for coming.
She really liked that I had come by myself. As you read in the beginning of the post, this session is great for socializing. If you don’t feel comfortable going by yourself, you can always bring someone with you, but remember that even if you go with someone, the aim of this session is to talk to people and get out of your comfort zone. I loved switching to different places, but many people picked a spot and stayed there for the rest of the night.
All in all, I had an amazing time at Tea at Shiloh. In Los Angeles, there are many activity groups to meet new people, but what Shiloh created is truly unique: A way to connect with other people through tea and arts & crafts. Prior to the session, I thought I was going to have a very awkward experience, but this was far from the truth. When you walk into the tea house, make sure to drop all your expectations and surrender to the unknown…
