Samovar unveils new showcase store in San Francisco
Samovar Tea will open a new store in San Francisco later this week, with a stripped down tea menu and high tech brewing devices as the main highlights. The company's fourth outlet, located in the Mission District, is designed in a simple, utilitarian style. The tea menu is also understated, offering a single variety of each type of tea and not more than 10 in total, as well as a limited range of scones. However, the store features a cutting-edge brewing system controlled by tablet computers, with customized settings for each tea variety. It also accepts payments in online currency bitcoin. Samovar Tea was launched in 2001 and currently operates 4 retail stores and an online business, employing about 100 people.