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Maleah Moskoff launched her home-based tea business, Cha Cha Tea, which emphasizes fair trade and organic products at affordable prices. - Michelle Stocker/The Capital Times

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Local entrepreneur Maleah Moskoff wants to bring a true tea experience to Madison.

For the 33-year-old Madison native, that means taking time to slow down, smell the tea leaves and brew a pot of the beverage that's been tied to human health and welfare for more than 5,000 years.

In April, Moskoff launched her home-based tea business, Cha Cha Tea, which emphasizes fair trade and organic products at affordable prices.

To help explain the allure and health benefits of tea, she's been busy bringing tea parties into potential customers' homes and businesses. During free "Tea With Maleah" sessions, Moskoff provides information about all things tea, including proper tea brewing temperatures and how to get the most out of a pot of tea, as well as samples to sip.

Moskoff also sells tea, teapots, tea cookies and accessories for brewing tea such as timers, perfect tea spoons and specialty tea ceremony products.

A self-described "student of tea," Moskoff is heading to San Francisco on Aug. 29 to attend Slow Food Nation. It's a three-day festival where an estimated 50,000 food aficionados will meet to explore the slow food concept, which touts "a food system that is sustainable, healthy and delicious." The event includes taste pavilions, food films, workshops, hikes and a music festival.

Why are you attending Slow Food Nation?

Well, I've never been to San Francisco!

But seriously, going to Slow Food Nation means getting to a concentrated meeting of people who are mentors for me, almost like gurus. Among them are the greatest tea minds in the world, and they're all under one tent.

I'm also interested in being in San Francisco because of the cultural emphasis there on tea, which is pretty far ahead of where we are in Madison.

When you say you want to bring a tea experience to Madison, what are you talking about?

I'm really interested in the idea of tea as the original slow food, and paying attention to the way tea is produced and prepared as a return to a more deliberate, healthful way of living. I want tea to be a fun, affordable, tasteful daily ritual in peoples' lives ... something that they look forward to every day, or several times a day.

What's the difference between the cultural phenomenon behind drinking coffee or drinking tea?

There's kind of a guzzle-and-go mentality behind drinking coffee. You often drink coffee while you work; it's about the buzz. The true experience of tea has to do with taking a step back. You prepare the tea, sip it, savor it. It's about slowing down, not speeding up.

Drinking a cup of black tea -- which has the highest amount of caffeine of all teas -- is still less than one-third the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee.

Does tea have an image problem in America?

I kind of want to take the doily out of tea. Sometimes people think of it as their grandmother's tea or a kind of fussy, Victorian kind of thing when it's not that at all.

Across the world, it's the second most popular beverage, after water. People have been drinking it for thousands of years, and for most of that time they've been pretty aware of all the health benefits, from weight loss to fighting cancer. Lots of studies show these benefits, and it helps reduce stress, the effects of arthritis, plaque and bad breath, among other things.

So, generally, I think more and more people are finding their way to tea for many reasons. There's just so much room for growth in this market.

Who is your target audience?

I'm interested in providing tea and education about tea to a local market for an affordable price. I'm also really committed to finding tea providers who follow organic, fair trade and sustainable practices. They're out there, and if you pay attention, you can find them. I think there are many people in Madison who find that important.

Developing a sense of community while I'm working is part of the experience, and I like working with both individuals and businesses.

I actually believe tea is for everybody, from children to the elderly, but probably realistically the audience is likely to be mostly female, maybe 30 to 55.

What do you find most appealing about tea?

I've always loved it and remember drinking tea as a child, so I guess personally I find it comforting. I also appreciate the history of the plant, and how the way the leaves are handled creates the various color and taste characteristics. Tea is stongly affected by where and how it's grown, so you have the sense you're traveling the world in a cup.

What's the secret to brewing a good cup of tea?

Tea is only as good as the water used. It's also the quality of the tea, the timing and the temperature. Sometimes people say to me that I'm some sort of connoisseur. But that's not really true. I'm a student of tea, and there's quite a lot to learn, but very little that's strictly right or wrong.

To contact Maleah Moskoff, go to www.chachatea.net or call 608-347-4546.