Steeped in stillness, The Empty Tea Cup opens in Oak Harbor

Published 1:30 am Friday, January 23, 2026

The Empty Tea Cup, Oak Harbor’s latest tea house, offers something rare: a place to pause.

The noise of the street seems to dissolve the moment guests step inside the tea house that opened last month.

Owner Joshua Brock greets visitors to the Southeast Pioneer Way spot with a calm demeanor. Whether they arrive to taste Brock’s selected free tea samples, brewed slowly over multiple infusions, to relax quietly with a book and tea or to linger for hours with friends over a single cup that can be steeped again and again, The Empty Tea Cup offers a meditative oasis away from the busy world. The space is spare and intentional, with soft meditative music, uncluttered surfaces and natural lighting.

“It’s the main dream of most tea nerds,” Brock said when asked why he turned his passion into a business. “That’s what this tea house is founded on. It’s a way to bring people to a different space, to have community.”

The tea house will host its first event 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24, a special educational gathering focused on compressed teas, led by Lori and Charles Dawson, co-founders of the Whatcom Tea Association. The guest speakers will introduce guests to the history and brewing styles of pressed teas, offering an opportunity to taste and learn in a communal setting. Brock hopes this will be the first of many events that will bring in guest tea enthusiasts, experts and tea-ware potters.

At the tea house, customers can experience free tea tasting, purchase loose tea leafs or buy an individual brewed cup for $5 with free resteeps in-house. It’s a shame if customers don’t steep their teas at least once, Brock quipped.

The tea enthusiast is at the heart of The Empty Tea Cup, a devoted tea connoisseur whose relationship with tea has been developing for roughly a decade. What began as an interest grew into a deep study of tea as something far larger than a beverage, encompassing the appreciation of history, culture and hospitality across the world.

“I’m just a big appreciator of cultures and histories and respecting and adopting traditions.” he said. “No matter what culture you’re in, hot beverages are a way to welcome guests and to share what you have.”

The products served at the shop reflect the ideology of exposing guests to the breadth of flavors of tea around the world. The business focuses on traditional tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant – offering green, white, yellow, oolong, black and pu-erh teas. More than 40 varieties from a dozen countries are available at the shop, most displayed in little canisters so guests can open them and experience their aromas before choosing.

Central to the experience customers receive at the tea house is the Gongfu brewing method, which originated in China, and uses a higher ratio of leaf to water and repeated infusions. Though Brock hasn’t visited a tea-origin country himself, he is passionate about embracing the Gongfu method at his tea house. Sampling tea isn’t just one-and-done, Brock noted; the second to fourth pour is often the best, though it is subjective. Changing temperatures of water, he said, pulls out different compounds from the leaves. Drinking in small amounts over an hour or two allows drinkers to experience how a tea changes over time, with each steep revealing different aspects of flavor and texture from the tea leaves, he explained.

“You’re pulling out little snapshots of what the teas flavor is,” he said. “When you use a well-crafted, whole tea, you’re going on a journey with it. The flavor’s gonna change as it opens up and expands, and your first couple steeps are going to be different than steep five or steep ten.”

That sense of journey mirrors the energy of the person guiding it. Brock’s quiet presence and steady attention sets the tone of the room, creating a calmness that contrasts with life outside the door.

For years before opening The Empty Tea Cup, Brock practiced tea service in public spaces, libraries and regional tea festivals, often offering sessions at no cost. These experiences shaped both his approach to sharing tea and the selection now offered in the shop. Each tea was chosen not only for its quality, but for his appreciation of the people who source them.

Over time, the shop plans to host more gatherings, including talks with tea professionals, potters and enthusiasts, as well as tastings that highlight rare or unusual teas. The vision for the space is for it to grow organically, shaped by community interest and friends and families who will make the shop a home.

The tea house is located at 275 SE Pioneer Way, No. 103, but can be a little hard to find. The website, theemptyteacup.com, has a handy illustration of the location.