Amy Truong, founder of San Diego’s pop-up and online popular Paru Tea Bar, proudly celebrates the opening of her flagship location at 3034 Cañon St. Truong has “blossomed” the fast-growing enterprise into an onsite retail store to “build within our community.” Her dedicated, monthly tea box subscribers now “have a place” to enjoy new tea blends.
“We wanted to open an accessible location where people could integrate into the local community,” she said. “While we expand our e-commerce and wholesale lines, we hope to preserve the wonderful and simple intimacy that comes with drinking tea.”
Featuring a unique brand of teas, the Paru Tea Bar will continue to specialize in community events, private classes, tea tastings, and premium tea subscriptions as well as retail and wholesale sales.
Paru Tea carries a relatively small collection of seasonal teas “compared to other tea shops.” Teas are made in small batches to ensure the freshness of both herbs and blends. Organic, high-grade herbs are harvested during peak season from local farmers and new teas are brought in for a limited period of time. Launched in 2017 to promote a “tea culture,” the opening of the landmark location earmarks the company’s second year in business. Truong promises to remain devoted to reaching out to “mingle” with local businesses, including distilleries, art installations, yoga studios and kombucha suppliers. “Since consuming tea is a historically social practice, we pride ourselves on mingling with the San Diego business community,” she said. The Paru Tea Bar is Truong’s nod to her ancestral background. Although born and bred in California, her grandfather migrated from Vietnam to Paris then America and worked diligently to pursue the American dream. Inspired by his drive as an entrepreneur, she embraced the idea of honoring her Asian and Parisian roots with tea – an element of “calm and tranquility” deeply steeped in familial traditions. Truong traveled back to Vietnam to learn everything tea, first-hand, from tea farmers. “Tea is a way to honor my roots. My mother, a tea drinker, played a huge part in teaching me about tea. And while travelling throughout Southeast Asia I learned a lot from local farmers. I aim to honor tea as the international tradition it’s always been.”
Truong also noted that an abundance of coffee shops overshadowed a seemingly absent San Diego tea culture. It began as an ice-tea pop-up, which became so popular, she included hot tea blends and established an online store. According to Truong, tea, with all of its medicinal and healing properties tea equals self-care. And who says tea can’t be fun? Paru Tea Bar’s Blue Chamomile is as unusually fun as it is popular. “Our Blue Chamomile tea is made with butterfly pea flower, so it turns the whole tea blue,” she said. “The all-natural tea will purple and pink by adding lemon. Some say it’s pretty magical!”
Truong described the new location as “perfect.”
“Point Loma is a perfect destination spot,” she said. “The area has so many amazing small shops, we thought it was a great location to have a great tea experience.” 
The Paru Tea Bar also offers a tea flight service, which allows customers choose three teas to enjoy “side by side.” Rotating cold brews, iced tea drinks and Japanese inspired iced matcha and hojicha lattes and whisking teas also grace the menu. Paru Tea Bar
3034 Cañon St
Hours: Tuesdays-Thursdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Mondays. Info: paruteabar.com, 619-432-2882.
Facebook: @paruteabar Instagram: @paruteabar http://www.paruteabar.com/