Stash Tea opened in the early 1970s as a line of concoctions. With the aid of a guidebook and a developing knowledge of Northwest forest botanicals, Steve Smith mixed herbs, roots and berries.

These days, most people know the company as the purveyor of something else: Tea bags stashed in square packets, lined up with other brands in the aisles of grocery stores.

Forty years in, Stash is working to restore the focus on loose-leaf and other specialty teas. And last weekend it opened its first retail space in Portland — a North Mississippi Avenue store and tea bar that offers 250 loose-leaf teas and 65 by-the-ounce flavors.

The offerings range from dessert teas such as Black Forest Cake and Tiramisu to green teas such as Organic Blue Nettle and Tea of 1000 Charms. The by-the-ounce teas include a few rare ones, such as the Chinese green tea Sparrow Tongue, which retails for $9 an ounce. The tea bar features holiday specials, lattes, ciders and hot chocolates made with lapsang tea.