Shipping policy

Shipping & Fulfillment

While we are often faster, please allow for up to five business days after the day you place your order for processing and fulfillment. During sales, promotions, and holiday periods, we may need additional time to fulfill your order.

If you select an expedited shipping method (such as Priority Mail), please note that the transit time begins after your order has been processed and shipped. The processing timeframe mentioned above still applies before your package is handed to the carrier.

Please be aware that package delivery is currently experiencing regular delays. We cannot guarantee specific delivery timeframes.

Packages that are lost or misdelivered through UPS may be eligible for coverage through Shipsurance. Please reach out to us if you believe your package has been lost or misdelivered and we will work with you to pursue coverage.

We are not able to cover packages that are stolen after delivery.

Free shipping promotions do not apply to wholesale orders.

Return Policies

We honor refunds or replacements if the item you received was not what you ordered or if it arrived damaged. Items must be in new condition to be eligible for return, and any approved returns must be received at our warehouse within 10 business days from the date we communicate with you about the return.

Please note that all heritage brand matchas (for example Marukyu Koyamaen, Yamamasa Koyamaen, Kanbayashi Shunsho, Hekisuien, etc.) are final sale. Please see our Matcha Specific Policies below for full details.

Please contact us within 10 days from the date your order was delivered (or for local pickups, from the date your order was fulfilled) if you experience any issues. We are not able to consider requests made after this 10-day window. If you need to cancel an order before it has been fulfilled, please see our Order Cancellation policy below.

To submit a damage claim, please provide clear photos of all sides of the shipping box and the damaged item(s). These photos are what allow us to file the claim with the carrier, so we are not able to process a claim without them.

Please note that tea is an agricultural product, so some seasonal variance in flavor and appearance is to be expected across different harvests. We recommend purchasing smaller quantities initially to ensure you enjoy the tea before committing to larger purchases. 

Return shipping on orders is the customer's responsibility. If you received free shipping on your original order and subsequently return an item, we will deduct the original shipping cost from your refund.

We are not able to accept returns on tea subscriptions or gift cards. 

Matcha Specific Policies

Our goal is to offer top tier matcha products at a fair price to the highest number of people we can. Because of this, we do not allow the resale of any matcha products purchased from our site.

We enforce two purchase limits on heritage brand matchas: a limit of one per person for most individual items, and a maximum of four heritage brand matcha products within any three day period. These limits apply per household as well as per customer name.

Orders that exceed either of these limits are cancelled in their entirety and refunded in full. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Everyone wants matcha, and it is important to us that we are able to offer it to as many people as possible. Please see Order Cancellation below for details on refund timing.

Heritage brand matchas (e.g. Marukyu Koyamaen, Yamamasa Koyamaen, etc.) are not eligible for refunds, replacements, or discounts. This includes issues of personal preference as well as minor cosmetic damage that does not affect the product itself, such as dents or scuffs on tins, denting of boxes, or matcha dust on the outside of a bag.

Local Pick Ups

We are open for local pickups for online orders Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 3:00 pm and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm (barring holidays).

Because our teas are weighed, packaged, and labeled to order, pickup orders represent completed, custom work. Orders must be picked up within 3 weeks of your pickup notification, and we will send a reminder before your pickup window closes. We are not able to refund orders that are not collected within this timeframe, though we are happy to ship uncollected orders to you upon payment of applicable shipping costs.

Order Cancellation

Should you need to cancel your order before it is fulfilled, please email us immediately at emily@thesteepingroom.com and wait for a confirmation reply. Please note we must have an accurate order number to be able to locate the order. Once an order has been fulfilled, we are no longer able to cancel it.

Orders that exceed our posted purchase limits (such as certain matcha offerings) will be cancelled and refunded in full without fulfillment.

If your order is returned to us due to an incorrect address, we're happy to cancel and refund your order (minus any return and/or shipping fees paid to the carrier) upon request. Alternatively, we can reship your order if you pay the applicable reshipping costs and any fees incurred from the carrier.

Your credit card will be refunded when your card's issuing bank finalizes the refund. Unfortunately, we are not in control of when the issuing bank or credit card company completes the refund transaction.

Taxes, Tariffs, Duties, and Handling Fees for International Orders

The fees, taxes, tariffs, and/or duties that your Customs agency and post office add to the cost of delivery need to be paid by the customer directly. We have no way to predict or cover these costs.

If you reject the shipment and send it back to us to avoid these types of costs, please note that shipping is not refundable and that you are responsible for the cost of return shipping.