Are you looking for rich, smoky tea with notes of pine smoke, toasted wood, and woodsy undertones? You’ll find it in lapsang souchong, which can be substituted for whiskey in mocktails.
Perhaps you prefer sweeter teas, like blackberry sage, black tea with berry notes and a cool sage undertone. Alternatively, you could choose a complex orange spice, a zesty fall blend of cinnamon, sweet orange and cloves.
These are just three delicious examples of Treasures and Teas’ extensive selection of over 180 varieties of teas sourced from around the world, including some of the world’s best tea growers. They carry local labels, Market Spice and Barnes & Watson from Seattle. Working with several high-quality purveyors allows them to curate a hand-crafted list of favorites.
“I really like some of our white teas because they have less caffeine than a green or a black tea would have,” says Bree Martzke, owner of Treasures and Teas. “Venetian Tiramisu is one of my favorites.” Tiramisu is a calorie-free dessert tea made up from a blend of cocoa and vanilla with mellow brandy notes from Harney & Sons.
The hardest part of walking in is narrowing down your selection to take home. A great wall of tea houses every single tea, with sniffing jars to test the delicious aromas. Bree and Aaron Martzke, the owners of Treasures and Teas, are there to help narrow your search based on your preferences: sweet, savory, complex, smoky, spiced, etc.
Treasures and Teas have been part of the Edmonds core for almost 20 years. Three years ago, Phyllis Carlton, the 17-year owner of the shop, started to put out feelers to her friends and family to see if anyone might be interested in taking over for her retirement. The Martzkes started to daydream about it.
At first, the idea was a joke. The couple both had full-time jobs and a baby at home. They often came home frazzled and stressed from their long commutes and day jobs and would wistfully talk about selling tea instead. As the days went by, the joke turned into a question: Why not? Carlton was a good friend the Martzkes had come to know since they were regulars at her shop. The couple wanted the freedom and flexibility to spend more time with their daughter and bring her to work if they needed to. The commute to the shop is five minutes compared with Bree driving to Everett and Aaron to Redmond every day. They began thinking seriously of the change.
Carlton was elated at the idea of the Martzkes taking over the shop and agreed to stay on for a few months teaching them everything she knew about business and teas. The couple dove into the tea world, learning as much as they could about the shop and tea growing with tutelage from Carlton.
They “started working our way through the wall of teas,” says Aaron. When they took over the shop, there were 150 teas. They’ve since expanded to 180 and counting. “We would grab a new tea every day.” The purveyors like to slip in history and fun facts about the teas.
Three years on, and the Martzkes have just welcomed a second baby into the tea house. They are enjoying their shopkeepers’ lives immensely. “It has proven to be a really good experience for us. We have no regrets,” says Aaron. They’ll be celebrating their third year of ownership on New Year’s 2027.
There’s more to the store than loose-leaf teas alone. The couple has expanded their offerings. Aaron is skilled at creating custom products and uses his previous experience with software to operate a laser machine to etch glass and wood and print on clothing. He brings in his former work in tech to programming machines, combining it with creativity and an eye for art and design. A wall of Edmonds-themed t-shirts, sweatshirts, and children’s clothing hangs in the entryway. Aaron has worked with various local businesses to create custom clothing for their brands and events.
The shop also features products from local artists. This includes porous, handmade mugs that are able to breathe, allowing the tea’s aromatics to be fully enjoyed, much like a wine glass aerates the wine, allowing the drinker to taste the wine more fully than with a regular glass.
Jewelry, cribbage boards, candles, printed tea towels, and gifts are all available from local artists. The Martzkes buy from a local mother and daughter team in Mukilteo who import the highly sought-after Polish pottery from their family in Europe.
Guests who visit often like to create custom gift baskets with decorative tins and a handpicked selection of two-ounce bags of loose-leaf teas they pick out for loved ones.
Come in on a Saturday for a sample tea selection that changes every week. The Martzkes are available for tea blending classes, private tea tastings, and tea parties. Treasures and Teas is open Monday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 pm and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Treasures and Teas
102 5th Avenue S, Edmonds
425.771.2601
