Leo Lukidi's Spring Mountain Road tea shop: loose-leaf tea from small farms in China, Taiwan and Japan, teaware, free tastings and private sessions.
Leo Lukidi says he has tasted more than 50,000 teas, and he still samples about 20 a day, comparing each against similar teas before it goes on the shelf at Tea & Whisk. His shop on Spring Mountain Road sells loose-leaf tea from China, Taiwan and Japan, bought mostly from small family farms that he visits himself, 50 to 80 of them a year by the shop's count.
Why only three countries
Lukidi speaks English and Chinese and intermediate Japanese, and he keeps his sourcing to the places where he can talk directly with growers. Desert Companion caught up with him in 2025 on his fifth sourcing trip to Japan, where he explained the matcha shortage and pointed buyers toward matcha from Shizuoka and Kagoshima, not only famous Uji. The shop's stated aim is to make traditional, unblended tea popular in America; flavored teas are stocked, but mainly for iced tea.
On the shelves
- green teas, including Chinese and Japanese greens and matcha
- Wuyi, Phoenix and Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs
- black, white, yellow, sheng and shou pu-erh, and heicha
- rooibos, hibiscus and herbal blends
- teaware: Yixing, Jianshui, Jingdezhen and Nixing teapots, Japanese pots, gaiwans, cups, matcha bowls and tea pets
New teas arrive monthly, and online orders over $95 ship free in the U.S.
A shop built around tasting
Lukidi, who is Chinese-Indonesian, grew up drinking tea as an everyday beverage. A 2017 Cleaver Quarterly story found him hosting weekly meetups where regulars brought their own teas to brew gongfu style, and described his habit of offering free samples: he asks what you usually drink, then steers you by flavor, sweet, floral or roasted. That approach still shapes the shop, where most first-time customers are beginners. Walk-ins can browse teaware and taste during open hours, and a private tea tasting with Leo, listed at $90, covers tea history and what separates premium leaf from ordinary.
Hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.
Visit or contact Tea & Whisk
6288 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 110, Las Vegas, NV 89146
702-907-6543 (call or text)
Business website
Researched September 26, 2026. Source 1; Source 2; Source 3; Source 4; Source 5; Source 6; Source 7. This is an independent directory listing, not a claim that the owner has joined or installed a badge. For a correction or removal, contact Cody. Listings are free and badges are optional.
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