Is the U.S. moving from coffee to crumpets?

According to The Atlantic, the United States is in the midst of a “tea renaissance.”  The dark age from whence it has emerged could be described as one where:

Tea was marketed as simply an anonymous brown beverage, always confusingly called “black tea,” and generally mass-merchandized as a supermarket loss leader. Alike in content and “convenience,” brands like Tetley and Lipton or Red Rose and White Rose lost whatever differences may have once existed between them.

But for the past couple of years, Americans have come to appreciate tea and the tea drinking experience with the connoisseurship of a wine aficionado.  In 2004, it was noted by the Philadelphia Business Journal that tea rooms were moving to the suburbs – and doing quite well, thank you very much.  They offered customers an elegant (and often themed) site to enjoy a cup of exotic tea, accompanied with various bite sized pastries.  It comes as no surprise then that tea shops, a place to buy tea brewing and drinking merchandise, should soon follow.  It seemed that Americans were finally beginning to regard cup of tea in the way they had long done with coffee and cigars – a necessary luxury.

As is to prove this very point, one well-known tea and accessory shop in Ann Arbor, TeaHaus, has expanded their Kerrytown location to include seating and a take-out counter.  According to an interview in AnnArbor.com from TeaHaus owner, Lisa McDonald, customers will be able to enjoy “decadent European-style cakes” as they “take a moment for a cup of tea.”  Already known for a wide variety of loose teas and masterful blends (almost 200) as well as accessories available for purchase at their 204 N. 4th Ave location and online at teahaus-annarbor.com, TeaHaus will now be hosting events besides providing more items for tea sommeliers.

In an interview with The Lucy Ann Lance Business Insider, McDonald discusses her passion for tea which was developed during 14 years abroad and details her vision for the new space.  She hopes it will become a place for friends to gather, as opposed to an extended office for laptop users.

-B.C.Bodnar