Where to Drink Something Medicinal in Portland This Week

Smith Teamaker cafe serves 30 kinds of hot tea, but the curious come in for colorful lattes and aromatic tea mocktails.

Smith Tea (Aaron Lee) (Aaron Lee)

1. WEDGEHEAD

3728 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-477-7637, wedgeheadpdx.com. 4-11 pm Monday-Saturday, 3-10 pm Sunday.

It isn’t on any of the delivery apps, but Wedgehead is still working a solid takeout cocktail game. Thanks to canned cocktail brand Little Hands Stiff Drinks, the Hollywood neighborhood bar has some of the best mobile drinks around. Case in point, the Hot Teddy: a deft mixture of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, housemade ginger-turmeric syrup, cinnamon honey and fresh lemon. It will cure what ails, every time.

2. HI-TOP TAVERN

5015 NE Fremont St., 503-206-4308, hitoptavern.com, 3-11 pm Monday-Friday, 2-11 pm Saturday-Sunday.

Coffee, tea or whiskey? No need to choose at Hi-Top, which until recently was the baby of the Old Gold-Paydirt-Tough Luck family (a fifth sibling, Holy Ghost, just opened in Southeast). The Chai Me is chai-infused rye whiskey with vegan hot butter mix, chocolate bitters and orange zest, while the amaretto coffee spikes a steaming cup of Stumptown Hair Bender with the almondy liqueur.

3. SMITH TEAMAKER

500 NW 23rd Ave.,503-206-745, smithtea.com. 9 am-6 pm daily.

Located on Northwest 23rd, the first-ever Smith Teamaker cafe is a quiet space on the busy boutique street. The cafe serves 30 kinds of hot tea, but the curious come in for colorful lattes and aromatic tea mocktails. The Golden Light Latte is a major favorite and can be served iced or hot. It’s made by pulling Smith Golden Light tea—with turmeric, sarsaparilla root and black pepper—through an espresso (or “teapresso”) machine, then adding maple syrup and dousing the blend with oat milk. The result is beautiful, complex, sweet and softly spiced.

4. NALU

722 N Sumner St., 503-519-3415, nalukava.com. 5-11 pm Thursday-Monday.

Up a steep flight of stairs reached through an alley behind North Portland’s Cherry Sprout Produce, you’ll find an intimate, homespun tea room. The interior sports a few tables and a canopied pillowed nook. It’s a small operation, but under the right conditions it might have red lentil soup. There’s always plenty of elixirs on the menu or a shot of fire cider to chase away the winter blues. But what you really need right now is probably Sun on the Mind, a loose leaf tea blend with turmeric, ginger, black pepper and coconut flakes.

5. PINK RABBIT

232 NW 12th Ave., 971-255-0386, pinkrabbitpdx.com. 4 pm-midnight Monday-Thursday, 4 pm-2 am Friday-Saturday, 6 pm-midnight Sunday.

Even before Pink Rabbit transformed its curbside patio into an outdoor discotheque, the Pearl District bar’s collection of picnic tables were consistently full. But now, with a weather-fortified patio full of mirror balls, string lights, additional speakers, and living plant installations, you can safely anticipate a wait for the top-shelf toddy, which sips like counterprogramming—restrained, mellow and deeply comforting.

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