24th June, 2008: The Colorful Portland Tea Scene
According to a report published in the New York Times, Portland, Oregon “is host to one of the most distinctive tea scenes in the country.” The beverage (and the fun) is brewed in a number of distinctive tea houses as well as organized tea parties that don’t take themselves too seriously.
There are the typical chain tea businesses one might expect, but locally-owned venues have popped up as well, each catering to some very sophisticated tea tastes. One, Barefoot Sage, is tucked away in a building which looks suspiciously like a hardware store, but which comes alive inside with luxury. Patrons enjoy “tea blends … and recline on enormous plum-velvet sofas, [their] toes soaking in terra cotta basins filled with hot water and rose petals.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Tea Chai Té, a tea store where owner Dominic Valdes is “trying to take the doily out of the tea experience.” He’s not alone. Also taking tea into a new culture with less formal traditions is the TeaZone in Portland’s Pearl district which serves up a variety of tea cocktails with casual flair. Not to be out-done is entrepreneur, Gary Wiseman. Wiseman has gained a reputation for staging color-themed tea parties, such as the Emerald City tea party. His favorite, however, was an event on Burnside Bridge. He says, “The theme was black, white and shades of gray.” The tea was Earl Grey.
To learn more about Portland’s thriving tea scene and the entrepreneurs driving it, read the full Times article here.
Posted by Brenda at 6:00 am |
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
