At the Northern Tea House, there may be no such thing as a bad choice. Owners Maria and Ibn Bailey want every visit to be an experience, from picking a tea cup and pot to their selection of more than 100 teas from around the world.
When I’m there, I go straight for the minimalist red tea pot, a Japanese-style cup and the rooibos.
“It’s delicious and it is great for you,” Maria said of the distinctive red tea made from a South African bush, adding that it is good for high blood pressure and diabetes. “And adding some cream and sugar to it — the not so healthy part — to me, it’s like dessert.”
The tea house, which opened last year, is the culmination of Ibn and Maria’s vision of a comfortable and homey space that “reflects Ibn and I…from the colors to the way we decorated it,” Maria said, calling it “our heart and soul.”
And it’s not just tea. They offer food as well, keeping their cooking “very much homestyle” and to items that “go great with tea.” They are also is working on introducing desserts from around the world, like mochi from Japan and Malva cake from South Africa. “It tastes like syrup and pancakes but way better,” Maria said.
They feature local artists’ work on their walls and take part in First Friday, despite their Valley location, and also Final Friday, the Valley’s answer to downtown. They have had local musicians come and perform, including Veinglorious (See a Capital City Weekly article on him at http://bit.ly/28VX8lG). The tea house has also become the site of many birthday parties, meetings and pop-up trunk shows; the shop’s Green Room rents for $18 an hour to private parties.
Tea is “a social kind of thing, so a lot of people come here and they meet up, catch up on things,” said Maria.
The tea house has even converted some coffee drinkers into regular customers as the Baileys work to raise awareness about tea.
“Some people are like, ‘It tastes like water. Water and leaves.’ (But) there’s a lot more to tea,” said Maria, from educating people about the health benefits of oolong to brewing the perfect milk tea.
“We don’t brew it just by pouring some hot water on top of our leaves,” she said. “Some people buy the tea and then (come back and say), “it doesn’t taste like when you guys make it.’”
Such was the case with my own strawberries and cream, a delicious concoction the Baileys make with sencha, a green tea from Japan. Each purchase comes with instructions but it might take sometime to reach the Bailey’s level of skill. The leaves are sold by the ounce, however, allowing you multiple tries at perfection.
AN OPEN FUTURE
“There’s all kind of things that we’d like to try,” Maria said of their future plans.
Their Valley shop is their home base, she said, but they haven’t ruled out expansion downtown or even — as one customer has asked — to Douglas. “I think a lot of people would be excited,” she said.
They’re always looking for new teas. They research and try out new samples at home but have also been traveling for their work, including to a tea festival in Seattle last year.
“It was kind of crazy. You’re thinking, ‘Oh, a tea festival, it’s not going to be a lot of people,’ (but) it was very packed,” Maria said. The crowds and the wait were worth it, however, to try out vendors from around the world. “We found some vendors that we’re now offering here because it was so good,” she said.
In the future, they plan to add tea plantations in Asia and elsewhere to their travel itineraries.
CHOICES, CHOICES
But back to the tricky task of choosing your tea. The tea house offers some aids to the indecisive customer. Each Saturday, the Baileys offer free tea samples, “like Costco but better,” if you don’t want to commit yourself. One customer has solved the problem by starting on the top shelf of the shop’s “wall of tea” and working his way down.
There’s also a tea passport where you can keep track of which teas you’ve tried and rate them. “I have folks (who) are just going down the list,” Maria said. “That helps, if you’re adventurous. We have some crazy teas that are not very delicious. You do have to get used to them.”
Like the Alberta Street Chai, combining Lapsang Souchong black tea with both roasted and unroasted máte, vanilla bean, rooibos, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. “The smoky chai,” Maria calls it. “We have people that love it.”
While this tea lover is still on the fence about the loveability of Alberta Street Chai, one thing is certain: Whatever you choose at the Northern Tea House, you won’t be bored.
• Contact Capital City Weekly staff writer and design wizard Randi Spray at randi.spray@capweek.com.
During June, the Northern Tea House featured artwork by MK MacNaughton on their walls. The artwork changes month to month.
Visitors to the Northern Tea House can enjoy their tea from a tea cup and pot of their own choosing.
