You may well be on your way home by now, but Teaism does indeed sell loose tea.

Bethesda can indeed be pricey. That area has one of the highest per capita incomes in the nation. Not that everybody is rich, but very very few people there are poor. Well-off people with busy busy lives translate into a great demand for restaurants.

Hmm, I wonder how Malaysian differs from Thai, Indonesian, or Burmese ... it's always fun to try a new place.