I’ve been writing recently about Black-owned coffee shops and will have two more posts on that subject soon, but I’m taking an interval for teapot fillers that cover a variety of Black-owned enterprise. The six shops represented here are a cozy reflection of this variety.

Teatopia lights up Saint Louis with curated teas for young folks

Teatopia is at 2619 1/2 Cherokee Street in St Louis, Missouri. 31-year-old Proprietor Reginald "Reo" Quarles has introduced carefully curated tea to a younger audience because he sees good tea as an affordable luxury, and he hopes his shop will leave people feeling better than they did before they sat down for a cup. Thus, his motto is “Brewing better lives one leaf at a time.”

The tiny shop is just 300 square feet, with room for three tables and not much else. As of November 2, it’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday—closed Mondays. The shop’s small space makes for low overhead, and its location in the heart of Cherokee ensures good foot traffic. It offers 70 different teas as well as other small food items that will leave you amazed and wanting more. A variety of salads and small bites, plus several teas of the day and a range of smoothies, offer plenty of choices for customers. Quarles also sells tea equipment, teas, and other items on his website at https://www.teatopiastl.com/.

Teatopia sources tea from Africa, Sri Lanka, India and other parts of Asia. The hot drinks—each brewed with carefully set water temperatures and steeping times—are served in 20-ounce pots with 10-ounce cups in house. Sixteen-ounce to-go cups are also available.

Serengeti Teas & Spices: Cozy home for West African tea and food

Located at 22 East 125 Street. New York City, this shop is open Wednesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. They introduce the history, magic, sumptuous taste, and exotic flavors of Africa through signature coffees, teas, cocoas, and spices.

As the company’s website says: “Serengeti products are entirely conceived, crafted and delivered by handcrafted farming to ensure the very finest quality product. The world of aromas and flavors in our products have no limits - vegetal, woody, floral, robust, classic, marine, earthy, grassy, citrus, fruity, soft tingle, tart and smoky.

Using rich bouquets of tea leaves, coffee beans, cocoa beans, herbs, spices, flowers and dry fruits brighten the Serengeti process. Keeping the coffee and hot cocoa chocolate blends balanced and always perfecting our coffee roasting process ensures taste and an uplifting finished product for your enjoyment. Your senses of smell and taste help in distinguishing roundness, softness, strength, astringency and aromas. Serengeti create products to awaken this in you. Learning how to discover and express the sensations and impressions felt while tasting our products will be the next step.”

Ligaya Mishan talks more about the shop’s owner, chef Doughba Caranda-Martin III, and its West African cuisine in a fine NY Times review from 2018:

“Caranda-Martin braises escargots slowly in a stew of tomatoes and smoked peppers, including musky black pepper from the Gulf of Guinea and wild handpicked Madagascar pepper, floral with a whiff of camphor. Just before serving, he adds half a teaspoon of crushed Ghanaian kpakpo shito peppers, ever so slightly less incendiary than Scotch bonnets. The snails emerge tender, with a lovely heat that curls up the back of your throat.”

Mr. Caranda-Martin was born in Liberia to a family steeped in politics (one grandfather was a senator) and spent much of his childhood on his grandmother’s farm in Grand Bassa, south of the capital, Monrovia. During the civil war in Liberia, he was separated from his family and consigned to a refugee camp in Ivory Coast, from which he emigrated to the United States.

He began a career as a visual artist and helmed a nonprofit organization to send medical aid to West Africa, but he carried with him lessons from his grandmother’s farm and his family’s history of growing tea and coffee. In 2013 he opened a tearoom, Serengeti Teas and Spices, in central Harlem, and five years later established Serengeti Kitchen about a half-mile east.

No meal is complete without tea, served in a glass kettle that’s perched over a candle to keep it warm. Each has a story, and owner Caranda-Martin says he wants customers to bring their stories with them when they dine or stop in his tea store to explore choices. Think about your cozy story next time you’re in New York and stop by to experience West Africa in a cup.

Just Add Honey Tea Company: Teas and teapots covering downtown Atlanta

Just Add Honey Tea Company—at 684 John Wesley Dobbs Ave. Unit E in downtown Atlanta, Georgia—is a sophisticated twist on a southern tea tradition. They offer “thoughtfully blended” loose leaf teas made in small batches to ensure the perfect cup. Because of Covid-19, they are now operating as a “grab and go” café to maintain social distancing and to protect and care for their staff, tea lovers, and the public health. They do offer patio seating, so customers can sip with them at tables are spaced six feet apart. Desserts and coffee flesh out the menu.

Just Add Honey also sells teas, a tea strainer, and a basic ceramic teapot online at justaddhoney.net and on their social channels to cover anything customers need. Their cozy distribution office uses all safety measures recommended by public health officials to protect workers and shipped orders. Most packages ship in 5-7 business days from the date of your order. Founder and CEO Brandi Shelton reminds customers they may experience shipping delays through the U.S. Postal Service, which will contend with higher volume during the holiday season. Regular deep cleanings, wiping down all high-touch surfaces throughout the day with food-safe disinfectant, and keeping people home if they’re feeling ill add to the safety of Just Add Honey’s operations.

Brandi Shelton and husband Jermail have a great partnership that has helped them weather the problems of starting a Black-owned business in Atlanta. They talk candidly about their progress as a couple with children and as business owners in a series of short videos (#morethantea) on their Facebook page at https://bit.ly/3paPbMt. Brandi points out that a Black-owned business often faces special challenges in obtaining funding for startup and continuing operations. As she says, they often found themselves “moved back in the queue” for bank financing and ended up exploring multiple sources of money to keep from relying too heavily on a bank officer’s decisions. It’s all worked out, though, and their shop is well worth a visit if you’re in downtown Atlanta.

Cuples Tea House: a cozy blending of tea and culture

Cuples Tea House—at 409 N. Howard Street in downtown Baltimore, Maryland—is a family-owned and operated tea business covering premium loose leaf teas, tea accessories, tea education classes, and tastings. They have more than 40 tea blends on their menu. Owners Lynnette and Eric Dodson plan to combine culture, music, art, and tea education in a socially related atmosphere, with tea as the connection that makes it all possible.

The Dodsons say they designed Cuples Tea House to reflect the infusion of tea and tea education in their community as a way to reduce the frequency of preventable health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. They want to inspire healthier communities by educating people about the many benefits of drinking tea, a beverage rich with antioxidants and the power to boost mental clarity. They’re also determined to reflect their passion for tea and its rich tradition as a way to connect socially responsible and like-minded people.

To encourage health and community, the Dodsons have created a relaxing urban atmosphere with plush seating, a wrap-around bar, large floor-to-ceiling windows, high shelves, and live plants to reduce noise and visual pollution. They cultivate a space where people naturally experience the “basic goodness of being in the moment.” Lynnette and Eric hope guests will visit for a delicious, healthy beverage and leave with their spirits nourished and elevated.

With tea, there is so much to consider – how it looks, the cost of each ingredient (and their proportion to the overall blend), the aroma, the taste and of course, maintaining that consistency through the end product. Through our online store, our pop ups, farmers markets, and our retail location we provide the customer with our quality teas and a customer friendly experience. The online store also covers a selection of attractive and practical tea accessories, as well as tea add-ins such as honey, caramels and elixirs.

Fans of Cuples Tea can also find it at farmers markets including Boordy Vineyards and Havre de Grace; restaurants including Uber Bagels and Deli (all locations), Dough Run Bakery (Monkton); and stores including Reginald F. Lewis African American Museum Gift Shop and Knit and Soy Metal Candle Shop. Cuples Tea House was featured in the November, 2019 People Magazine (online) as one of Jada Pinkett Smith’s 10 Favorite Holiday Gifts.

Calabash Teahouse & Café: Imaginative tea blends and healing philosophy

Calabash Teahouse & Café—at 1847 7th Street NW and 2701 12th Street NE in Washington, DC—is a popular teahouse ready to help you with foods and teas for dynamic living.

Calabash Tea and Tonic is a multi-award-winning wellness brand helmed by Dr. Sunyatta Amen, a 5th generation master herbalist and naturopathic physician hailing from a Jamaican-Cuban-Native American family.

Dr. Sunyatta grew up steeped in ethno-botany behind the counter of the “black pyramid” herb shops and vegan juice bars founded in Harlem by her father. She has had a lifelong drive to create beautiful, safe spaces in redeveloped communities and promote wellness beyond Western medicine for all their tribe members.

“How can they help heal you today?” is how their crew welcomes every guest in-person or at www.calabashtea.com. They intend to transform customers by reconnecting modern people with food and drink as medicine. They offer 80+ teas and tonics meant to help you on your healing journey, which they know is different for everyone.

One of the fun things about Calabash is their imaginative titles for teas and spices. Here are my favorites:

Black Magic Woman Tea— This Calabash best-seller combines the tempting taste of plump, juicy peaches with organic orange peels, Turkish rose petals and a dash of Jamaican ginger. It’s subtle yet warm and inviting!

Fat Black Pussycat— Named after the legendary West Village nightclub in New York City. The Pussycat helped launch the careers of many including Jimi Hendrix, The Mamas and The Papas, Richie Havens, Lenny Bruce, Shel Silverstein. And Bob Dylan created “Blowing in the Wind” one night on stage at the Pussycat. Calabash formulated this tea to match the famous regal deep-red stage curtains and to give you a tart, non-caffeinated boost.

Voodoo Child Seasoning— Perfectly balanced blend of spices gives you a dash of New Orleans magic for stir fry, soup, stew, and marinades!

TeaLee’s Tea House & Bookstore: Cozy space and informative bookshelves

TeaLee’s Tea House—at 611 22nd Street in Denver, CO—provides high-quality loose leaf teas, excellent coffee, food and sweet treats, and specialty drinks including beer and wine in an afro-centric atmosphere. They’re open until 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday but close at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Closed Monday through Wednesday.

As Krista Kafer says in Westword: “Risë Jones and her husband, Louis Freeman, opened TeaLee’s after five years of planning, hard work and even a GoFundMe campaign. Seven years before the doors opened and the first pot of tea was brewed, Jones had embarked on a tougher journey: She was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Fortunately, she beat it—and after she recovered, Freeman asked her what she wanted to do with her life. Her reply: “I want a tea house.”

That’s me (TeaManToo)—sitting at a cozy round table in the picture below. I particularly enjoyed browsing the books on the shelves near me. TeaLee’s has an impressive collection of books that cover the history, struggles, and successes of Black people in America. But we also took time to enjoy a tasty lunch prepared and served by the owner and her husband. The proprietors are warm, enthusiastic folks who enjoy their mission of bringing fine teas and Black culture to the Five Points area of Denver. Rise Jones prepared our fine lunch of quiche and nutbread, plus an excellent black tea in an attractive glass teapot, while Louis Freeman regaled us with historical stories about the Five Points area. Cozy place, excellent lunch—who could ask for more?

Whenever you’re out at your favorite tea house, dining in or carrying out, don’t forget a beautiful Thinsulate™-insulated Kup Kollar™ or Kup Kap™ to keep your tea hot and flavorful. For a pot of tea, you’ll find our Tea Tabard™ teapot cozy invaluable.

Sources

Sarah Fenske, “Teatopia, Tea Shop for a New Kind of Customer, Opens on Cherokee Street Today,” www.riverfronttimes.com (January 30, 2017) [SF]

Krista Kafer, “TeaLee's Reflects the History and Culture of Five Points,” https://bit.ly/3lEUfXb, Westword.com (February 19, 2018). [KK]

Tony O. Lawson, “Black Owned Coffee and Tea Businesses That are Great Alternatives to Starbucks,” https://bit.ly/3l7rhyl (April 14, 2018). [TL]

Ligaya Mishan, “At Serengeti Kitchen, Touches of Memoir Dot the Menu, https://nyti.ms/2IR8f1m (February 1, 2018). [LM]