It’s hard to find a good aromatherapy and herbal/tobacco accessories supply store these days. I mean one that really distinguishes itself. You can walk into any strip mall smoke shop and find an array of strangely-shaped glass smoking accessories. It’s overwhelming, really, the array of options for people who indulge in herbal jazz and tobacco smoking and/or aromatherapy. But what really distinguishes what the ne’er-do-wells of the world call a “head shop”?

“First and foremost, it’s about customer service,” says JT Tapp, shop manager at The Green Room.

Customers sauntering into The Green Room are greeted and acknowledged within minutes of walking in the door. Usually within seconds. But some of them don’t even notice because the store is replete with mind-bendingly beautiful blown glass. Regular users of herbal smoke products, tobacco and aromatherapy sometimes have a limited attention span. I hear lavender and patchouli are particularly hard on the hippocampus and short-term memory. Sorry. Back to the glass. ...

That’s another thing that makes The Green Room special. They have established relationships with dozens of local glassblowers, and offer them all the support they can. It shows in the store’s selection. I remember when people smoked their lavender- and clove- and cherry-flavored tobacco out of plastic things made by a company called Graffix. Simple, straight tubes of plastic with a bowl for your sage or whatever. But The Green Room offers these sorts of Frankenstein monstrosities with multiple chambers and bubble bulbs and in-line ash catchers and all sorts of other bells and whistles. But you can find that sort of thing at the mall these days. What you won’t find is an array of custom pieces made locally and with care.

“We have a lot of custom pieces,” says Tapp. “We work with at least 25 local blowers. Local means from Bellingham to Portland.”

Beyond glass, The Green Room offers a variety of gear for your basic smoking needs. Papers for herbal cigarettes; screens for the water pipe that you smoke tobacco out of; bags to keep your tobacco in; containers that look like various everyday household items to hide your tobacco or cloves in; cleansing regimens in case you work at a place that samples your urine to make sure you’re not smoking any sage; beautiful custom wooden boxes to keep your herbal smoking materials in.

JT says vaporizers are hot these days. Vaporizers are great for aromatherapy. They heat the material just enough to create a nice, soothing vapor rather than harsh smoke. Though JT only sells vaporizers for use in aromatherapy, she suspects some local medical marijuana patients are using them to smoke cannabis. The medical marijuana movement has coincided with a serious growth in business for The Green Room. But drawing any sort of direct connection would be a leap of the imagination.

Aromatherapy is becoming very popular these days.

“Whatever people do with it after they leave is up to them,” says JT. “We’re just here to help.”

6413 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.566.6436