Happy Int’l Tea Day 2026!
This year I’m celebrating International Tea Day reporting live from Dublin, Ireland with a cup of matcha in hand and breaking news…
The Irish are big on teabagging
The Irish are among the biggest tea drinkers in the world, and I must say that tea culture here feels very humble and less performative than in some places (I will NOT name names 😉). Tea is offered when someone arrives, when something bad happens, when something good happens, when you’re cold, tired, heartbroken, celebrating, or simply existing.
As someone who works in tea professionally, I’ve loved getting to experience Dublin the last few months through that lens (and cups of tea in all of those situations listed above). The city has this wonderful blend of old-world tea culture and modern specialty tea spaces.
But it is true…they do love their teabags. For most people here, the big question is Barry’s or Lyons? These are the two major household tea brands that you can find almost everywhere across the country, with a level of brand-loyalty that rivals one’s allegiance to their local GAA team.
My favourite public art in the city…obviously.
Leave it to a handsome Irishman to get a tea snob hooked on this.
A few of my favourite things
So in honour of the occasion, here are some of my favourite tea discoveries around Dublin so far:
A stroll through St Stephens Green with a cuppa.
This is probably one of my favourite specialty tea shops in Dublin, and the first tea-quest I made on my initial trip to Dublin in 2025 and have been back every time.
Wall & Keogh focuses on loose-leaf tea and has the kind of selection that makes tea nerds immediately lose all sense of the outside world. Their atmosphere is warm, relaxed, and deeply tea-forward in a way that’s still approachable. Their large selection in big glass jars allows you to see all your options, and most importantly - to sniff them!
Tea Garden feels less like a café and more like a hidden little sanctuary for your spirit.
Low tables, floor cushions, dim lighting, global teas, tucked-away rooms. It has this cozy, bohemian atmosphere that makes you want to stay for hours. My experience there was completely on-brand to the vibe and obviously included an astrocartography reading from a friend. It’s a completely different tea experience from formal afternoon tea culture, and I love that Dublin has space for both.
I fear this place has become dangerous for me financially. Not just because of the exceptional matcha, but due to its location. This cute cafe in the heart of the city centre is actually inside the Planet Beauty by Brown Thomas shop. So not only did I leave with an iced Hojicha, but also a €22 ‘Bounce Balm’ for my lips (it WAS worth it).
Tiny, stylish, matcha-forward, and exactly the kind of place that makes you suddenly consider becoming the kind of person who journals regularly from one of their cute pink bistro tables on Clarendon Street. Their matcha is genuinely excellent quality, the team is well educated, and it is prepared to perfection. On a visit last fall (or as they would say here Autumn) with my tea bestie Justine from Cup of Communitea, we also both loved their seasonal feature which was a Black Sesame Latte. They also have cute ‘me time — tea time’ swag that any tea lover will adore.
This has become my go-to place for Hojicha - it’s the best I’ve found in the city.
First of all, the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre is already one of my favourite places in Dublin, I can’t believe it took me so long to actually go in here. A beautiful old Georgian building where you enter through a floral shop, its filled with independent boutiques, Neapolitan wood-fired pizza, an ENTIRE STORE of designer hand-made fascinators - it’s temptation everywhere! You’d think my basic-bitch homing beacon would have activated immediately upon landing in Ireland, but it did indeed take me two months into my third trip here to finally walk in.
And perched up in the corner of the top floor of the centre, framed by an exposed brick wall and dangling greenery there is The Matcha Bar! For the purists, this place is legit - their owner Elaine travelled to Uji to source high-grade matcha. And for those that like more variety, there’s a ton of luxurious flavour options to enhance your matcha experience - including maple cinnamon cold foam, white cacao and coconut, rose, lavender, blue vanilla and more. One of my favourite things I spotted here is a beautiful matcha bowl they collaborated with an Irish potter to make (and yes - you can also buy all the accessories you need to make matcha at home here).
Opened in 1927, Bewley’s feels like stepping into another era in the best possible way. Stained glass windows, marble counters, old café energy, pastries, and pots of tea in the middle of bustling Grafton Street. It’s one of those places where you can genuinely imagine generations of Dubliners sitting and chatting over tea, and its a favourite place to curl up with a cuppa and book on a rainy day and feel like you’re in the middle of everything, but miles away as well. You can just have a humble pot or do an afternoon tea experience. Which leads us to…
I haven’t actually done this yet, but I’m obsessed with the concept, and I know when I do go it will become a favourite!
A vintage double-decker bus serving afternoon tea while driving around Dublin is objectively delightful behaviour, but Vintage Tea Trips somehow manages to be even more ridiculous and charming than I imagined. You climb aboard a fully restored 1960s Routemaster bus, settle in with sandwiches, pastries, little desserts, and endless tea, while rolling past some of Dublin’s most iconic landmarks as hosts tell stories about the city along the way. It’s less ‘formal historical tour’ and more ‘your funniest Irish aunt decided to host afternoon tea on a moving bus.’
Do I picture myself tripping down the bus stairs in heels and a dramatic tulle skirt while trying not to launch a scone across Georgian Dublin? Absolutely. Will I also emerge with a greater appreciation for Dublin history and at least three blurry photos of pastries? Also yes.
Proper Class: Fancy Afternoon Teas
And if you want full fancy tea energy, Dublin absolutely delivers. Here are some my afternoon tea to-do list:
The Shelbourne Dublin for a classic luxury afternoon tea overlooking St. Stephen’s Green
The Merrion Hotel for their art-inspired “Irish Art Tea” experience
The College Green Hotel for afternoon tea in the beautiful Atrium Lounge
The Westbury for glamorous people drinking tea in the Gallery Lounge
Pink for equal parts glam and girly - this place is a complete commitment to the aesthetic
Keeping It Casual: Shoutout to other Dublin Tea Shops
Tea Is Never Just Tea
But honestly? Some of my favourite tea moments in Ireland over my visits this last year haven’t been fancy at all.
They’ve been:
finding comfort clutching a paper cup of Barrys on Keem Beach in County Mayo while absolutely bawling and letting go of divorce heartbreak
traipsing through old cemeteries in the pouring rain, soaked completely to the bone while searching for my ancestors’ graves with a hot thermos of oolong in my hands
discovering a beautiful little tea café beside a waterfall in County Sligo that felt like something out of a novel
randomly knocking on the door at 8:30 p.m. of an AncestryDNA relative I had never met before and being welcomed inside for tea and cake immediately because Irish people are built differently (that story deserves its own blog post)
the emotional support cup of tea beside me as I nervously navigated through SO MANY roundabouts here while driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road
sitting on a rooftop in Dún Laoghaire sipping from my tiny Fermanagh china cup covered in shamrocks, overlooking the harbour in the first place I’ve stayed longer than a month in over a year (and the closest thing I’ve had to a home lately)
For me, tea has always been about connection - whether with yourself or others. Spending the last few months in this beautiful country, my cup of tea every morning is the constant tether in my life, no matter where I am in the world.
So wherever you are celebrating today, and whether it’s with matcha, an iced chai latter, pu-erh, mint tea, a cup of Barrys or a forgotten mug that’s gone cold beside your laptop (oh shit I did it again 🤦♀️), wishing you a very Happy International Tea Day!
xo Tory
Learn more about International Tea Day on the United Nations ‘International Tea Day’ website.
