American Tea Houses
Hello Steepsterites,
I started this thread to help myself and others increase their knowledge of the style and culture of tea houses across America. Where you live, what kinds of style of tea houses do you see? Victorian? Modern? English? Asian? Where are they? Around where I live, in PA, the tea houses are all victorian in nature. I have heard rumor of more modern styled tea houses in Philly, however I have not made the drive out to see for myself.In Houston, I only know of two “real” tea houses, where one may both purchase leaf tea and sit down to drink tea: The Path of Tea and Te House of Tea. Both are Asian style.
I purchase a lot of prepackaged tea from British Isles, but it is more of a general British import shop. There is also House of Coffee Beans, which sells a few varieties of tea, but of course, coffee is its main focus.
Other than that there are a few hotels that occasionally offer British-style events they usually bill as “high tea” or “cream tea.” Sorry, I can’t recall which ones are doing this right now!
There is a wide variety of tea houses here in Denver. The House of Commons in LoDo is a very British type tea room. The famous Brown Palace Hotel does afternoon tea, also in a British style. Capital Tea is an American fusion-type tea place with a very homey feel. Boulder has Ku Cha, a traditional Chinese tea house that serves their tea in a variety of ways, including small and large pots, gaiwans, and gongfu/yixing style.
My favorite tea house in Denver, Seven Cups, is now closed. It was Denver’s only authentic Chinese tea house. They encouraged customers to drink their teas in traditional Chinese ways: yixing, gaiwan, putting the loose, whole leaves right into a tall glass. It was an amazing place, and it broke my heart when it closed. The original Seven Cups still exists in Tucson, AZ, and I can’t wait until I visit the place.
Login or sign up to leave a comment.