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Fit to a tea: Genteel beverage is carving out a niche in Madison
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Tea time is starting in Madison.
Although tea is the world's most commonly consumed beverage next to water, in Madison, like much of the rest of the United States, tea has been a distant also-ran in any beverage popularity contest.
This city continues to celebrate its long-standing love affair with beer, and in the last decade we've also enthusiastically embraced dozens of coffee shops as popular annexes to the office. Coffee, and lots of it, is seen as an essential fuel that drives both morning meetings and late-night study dates.
But one doesn't have to read tea leaves to predict that the popularity of the beverage is only going to grow in Madison. Joining the traditional-style Legacy House Imports Tea Room are the newer Ma Cha and Dobra teahouses, offering a slower-paced alternative to the drive-through Starbucks of the world. One of the hardest-to-get tickets at last year's Wisconsin Film Festival was for a documentary called "The Meaning of Tea." And local businesses say they're seeing an uptick in interest in exotic teas, whether in-store or online.
Tea has plenty going for it. There's little question these days that tea -- particularly green tea, a source of beneficial antioxidants -- provides some significant health benefits. It's also a beverage with a rich, complex cultural history, inviting study and experimentation much like wine does for oenophiles. Another bonus is that even high-quality tea is generally less pricey per cup, which resonates with consumers tired of paying $4 for a latte in this recessionary economy.
But the current interest in tea drinking seems to go beyond practical considerations. A growing number of young and not-so-young devotees appear to be choosing sit-and-sip culture over grab-and-go.
"It's hip, it's modern. It's interesting and it's fun. This isn't just your grandma's cup of tea," said Maleah Moskoff, owner of Cha Cha Tea, a local online company that began selling tea and tea accessories earlier this year.
With their atmosphere of caffeinated buzz, java to go, cell phone chatter and Wi-Fi connections, coffee shops have become in some cases extensions of a 24/7, go-go office culture. Sometimes there's so much intensely focused laptop work going on that anyone having a chat with a friend draws more dirty looks than someone whistling in the library.
Like coffee shops, two local teahouses also sell warm cups of non-alcoholic beverages. But the ambience at Dobra Tea, 449 State St. and at Ma Cha Teahouse + Gallery, 1934 Monroe St., feels distinctly different from a coffee shop.
Far more serene and conversation-friendly, both teahouses encourage patrons to kick off their shoes, fold themselves up and sit or lounge on pillow-covered platforms as they sip tea, either alone or as part of a group. The emphasis is on conversation, and a book seems like a more appropriate companion than a computer. And to-go tea isn't encouraged; recently, a customer at Dobra was gently told she couldn't get a cup of hot tea in a travel cup.
Todd Nixdorf is a spokesman for Milwaukee's well-regarded Rishi Tea, which supplies high-quality organic and fair trade tea to consumers through retail stores and online. He is a strong proponent of a tea-based lifestyle, and said people are drawn "to its relaxing, soothing and consciousness-raising qualities."
He also said that there's growing sophistication about what constitutes good tea.
"I think there are some nice parallels between wine and tea, with both having enormous complexity and diversity, and a really long history and tradition. We're seeing a growing interest in tea as people learn more about it. It helps that now we can get the good stuff here," he said.
When he and other tea devotees talk about high-quality tea, they are not referring to boxed tea bags sold at the grocery store.
"When I had my first real cup of tea, brewed properly with fresh leaves, it was love at first sip," Adam Ernst said. Ernst and his wife and business partner, Sarah Nettie, own the Madison outlet for Dobra Tea.
Open since September, Dobra Tea is part of a Czech Republic-based chain of teahouses that have 18 shops in Europe and one other North American location in Burlington, Vt.
Rishi Tea's Nixdorf acknowledged that coffee culture has become "pretty entrenched" but likened any matchup between coffee and tea as the difference between a sprint and a marathon, with tea ultimately having more staying power.
"We're a fast-paced, go-go, drive-through kind of society. Coffee is part of that," he said, adding that he believes the culture of tea offers an alternative that many people find appealing, once they are exposed to it.
"Tea is slowly catching fire," he said.
According to Nixdorf, coffee provides an energizing jolt, but then there's often a corresponding crash in the middle of the day. He said tea, with its lower amounts of caffeine and a generally gentler impact on the body, doesn't have that problem.
"Tea provides a more gentle lift, and no crash. It's about as healthy a thing as you can do for yourself," he added.
At the Willy Street Co-op in Madison, spokesman Brendan Smith said "our tea selections have definitely been growing. If we had the space, we could probably triple the size of the section and it wouldn't be too much."
He added that Justin Rassner, who works in the co-op's health and wellness section with bulk teas, said he's noticed more younger people experimenting with a variety of teas in recent months.
Both Dobra Tea and Ma Cha Teahouse, which has been open since the summer of 2007, are attracting enthusiastic, multigenerational customers who are happy to take a break from the day with the age-old ritual of a pot of tea. Both teahouses cultivate a slightly exotic feel that pays homage to the countries where the various varieties of tea originate.
The teahouses also put an emphasis on not just serving their customers, but educating them about Camellia sinesis, the single plant that produces all varieties of tea, and how local conditions, harvesting, processing and steeping affect the finished product.
Both Dobra and Ma Cha feature lengthy menus that go on for dozens of pages, describing a dizzying array of black, green, oolong, white, puerh and herbal teas from countries around the world. Both also offer small plates of food, including savory and sweet small plates that enhance the tea but don't overwhelm it.
The menus function primarily as guides to the world of tea, and at both teahouses there's a relaxed, open vibe that invites questions.
"Tea is a more ritualistic, spiritual, centering kind of thing," said Anthony Verbrick, teahouse manager at Ma Cha, which has an Asian approach to tea. He and his partner, Rachel Fox, an artist and graphic designer, were both raised on tea, and he said it's an important part of their own lifestyle.
"I think there's a good following for it, once people understand what it is," he said.
Customers also buy tea sold by the ounce to take home, along with brewing supplies like pots, cups and infuser baskets.
Maggie Jacobs, a University of Wisconsin student who is studying Japanese, said she had been to Dobra four times.
"It's quite different from a coffee shop," she said. "I like the tea setups, and all the little rituals. You can stay for a long time, and it's really a good place to talk with your friends. And we seem to get into such deep philosophical conversations. I think it's because of all the different cultures that are represented here," she said.
Two first-time customers said they were shopping on State Street when they stopped into Dobra to try the tea.
Cho Yang, a visitor from Fresno, Calif., said she had tried some teahouses in her hometown, but they didn't have as large a selection as Dobra.
Her friend, Tobi Silgman, who lives in Madison, said she liked what she called "the mellow lightness of tea.
"We took our shoes off, and I think we're going to spend the afternoon here," she said. "I know that tea is better for you than almost anything else."
Local pediatrician Dipesh Navsaria is a dedicated tea drinker who takes an electric tea pot and his own blend of tea when he's traveling so he can always get a good cup. He is a fan of a blend of black teas in the morning, and prefers darjeeling in the afternoon.
He's only had a couple of cups of coffee in his life.
"One I drank in my teens, and I learned I didn't like it. The other I drank to be polite," he said with a laugh.
Even someone like Navsaria, who grew up in a tea drinking family in New York City, said he discovered a huge, greatly expanded world of tea when he became an adult. He said the varieties and tastes are remarkably diverse and rich, and part of the pleasure of drinking tea is the education it brings.
"If someone comes to our home and asks for a cup of black tea, or green tea or whatever, we look in the cupboard and there are 30 or 40 different varieties," he said.
Traditionally, tea culture is cultivated in homes like Navsaria's, with children learning from their parents, whether it's the carefully prescribed rituals of the Japanese tea ceremony or the elegant manners associated with British high tea. As they learn the rituals, the children also learn the rewards of acting polite and civilized.
Pat and Marsha Flannery opened Legacy House Imports Gift Shop and Tea Room, at 4221 Lien Road on Madison's far east side, in 2000. Since then, they've seen a steady growth in customers who are interested in experiencing the tea room's traditional tea service, which includes choices of 60 different kinds of tea, brewed by the pot with loose tea leaves, and served with appropriate sweets, finger sandwiches and snacks.
Pat Flannery said the tea room, which "looks like your grandma's parlor," is popular for baby and bridal showers, and has a growing, multi-generational legion of fans, including Brownie troops and Red Hatters.
"Since we started, many more people are getting interested in tea. We hear many people saying, 'I used to drink coffee, but I know tea is better for me,' " he said.
The Legacy House Imports Tea Room is open six days a week, and sells tea accessories, including cups, pots and a variety of teas.
Although such British-style tea -- also common in elegant hotel dining rooms and places like Milwaukee's upscale George Watts Tea Shop -- seems to be limited locally to Legacy House, an emphasis on manners plays a role at local tea parties aimed at children.
At Bean Sprouts, a child-centric restaurant in Middleton that focuses on helping kids get off to a healthy, cheerful start when it comes to eating, Tuesdays are tea party days.
On a recent Tuesday, Bean Sprouts was filled with children and their parents having tea (both real tea and "tea" juice) in brightly colored pint-size pots and easy-to-grasp matching cups. Along with their tea, they munched on dainty snacks.
Although some little girls arrive for the Twos-day Tea Parties at the restaurant in long princess dresses or tiaras, the tea parties serve boys, too. In fact, owner Shannon Seip has two little boys, and she said she thinks tea parties, with their snacks and general emphasis on genteel behavior, is a good thing for all kids.
"I don't want my boys to be excluded from this kind of fun," she said.
One of the Madison Children's Museum's most successful annual fundraisers is a December holiday kickoff event called Tea and Trains, held at the Madison Club. Basically a fancy tea party featuring model trains, the event attracted a dressed-up crowd of about 350 children and adults on the first weekend in December.
So what is involved in brewing the perfect cup of tea?
Tea aficionados start with a loose leaf tea they like, and store it in airtight containers away from the light for no more than a year. Then they brew the range of teas -- black, green, oolong, white or herbal (also known as a tissane, and not actually the leaves of Camellia sinesis) -- using fresh, high-quality water, heated to the proper temperature for the leaves they have chosen. Then they steep the brew for the time recommended for that variety.
It's not as complicated as it sounds, and many local devotees say there's plenty of information available from other tea lovers, at places like Willy Street and Community Pharmacy, online (chachatea.net, rishi-tea.com, uptontea.com and teasource.com all provide good information about tea) and at local teahouses like Ma Cha and Dobra.
Mary Moskoff, the mother of Cha Cha Tea's Maleah Moskoff, is a psychotherapist who is also a huge fan of tea and tea culture. In fact, she teaches classes about the "tea mind," and what it adds to many traditional meditation practices.
She said that a very deliberate, mindful approach to brewing and drinking tea seems to be helpful for people who feel rushed and ungrounded.
"It's a concrete ritual that can bring harmony and tranquility. When it's shared with others, it's about developing relationships. Chemically, coffee is meant to excite the mind and body. But tea, and the culture of tea, is associated with bringing a kind of equilibrium," she said.