 |
| Rob and Dawn Aldridge own The Tilting Teapot, 474 SE Hwy. 101 in Depoe Bay, 541-765-7654. Learn more about their unique teapot at www.virtualtea.com. OCT photo. |
|
Leaves, well enough alone
Enjoy the simple pleasure of loose-leaf tea
[One of a pair of tea-related stories published in February 2007. Read the other, about La Tea Da in Tillamook and Newport's Tea Party, here.]
By Niki Price
Oregon Coast Today
The story here, steeped in the celebration, food and finery that surrounds British-style high tea, leaves a little to be desired. What about the drink itself, the 2,000-year-old practice of cultivating the plant, drying the leaves and combining it with water? For an update on the world’s most popular drink, we turned to Rob Aldridge of The Tilting Teapot in Depoe Bay.
Along with his wife, Dawn, Rob sells 46 choices of loose-leaf tea along with imported teapots, strainers and other accessories, in a combination retail space and warehouse south of the Depoe Bay Bridge. The centerpiece of their catalog is the Tilting Teapot itself, an ingenious and historic design that makes enjoying loose-leaf teas easy and enjoyable, without bags, strainers or other equipment.
Although he receives and welcomes drop-in shoppers, most of his customers are on-line, people from around the country who are just ahead of the next big beverage thing. Rob compares the tea market to the American wine drinkers, 40 years ago.
“When I was a young man, wine was just coming into its own. All we had to choose from was a Gallo hardy burgundy and a few other, simple choices. In those days, nobody knew a pinot noir, or a petite syrah, or even to ask for it. A lot of today’s demand for wine is based on education,” he said. “Tea is like that. Each one has leaves from a tea plant somewhere, mixed with other things and prepared in a certain way. There are variations, like wine, that depend on soil, climate and altitude.”
Many people are turning to tea because they’ve heard about the health benefits of its antioxidants, antibacterials and natural fluorides, he said. Others are searching for an alternative to coffee, in order to cut back on caffeine or because coffee upsets their stomach. Still, some approach their tea with a resignation that is born of bad, poor quality bagged tea, he said. “People have told me they don’t like tea. I always ask them if they mean the lukewarm liquid you can see through, in a Styrofoam cup on an airplane? Unfortunately, in our world, you are usually served 5-cent a bag tea, which is only tea in the broadest sense of the word.”
The Aldridges became experts in 1998, when they opened Tea & Tomes in Newport. In the six years they owned the British-style tea room (now called The Tea Party, under new ownership since 2004), Rob had the opportunity to taste many varieties, and grew from a tea buyer to a purveyor. He sells many kinds, under the brand Tuppence Tea, including a Depoe Bay Blend that is half black, half green with a cherry flavor. He’s also writing a book on the subject, “All Things Tea.”
From the intense, smoky lapsang souchong to flowery China rose, from fruity black spice to grassy green tea, there’s a tea for every taste. All you need to do, Rob said, is stick with loose leaf teas, which are bigger and more flavorful than pre-bagged varieties. The Tilting Teapot offers two-pot sample bags for $1 each, which allows new sippers to try half a dozen kinds without much investment.
Tea is like wine in another respect, he said — there are lots of snobs.
“Green tea is a good example. Some people love it. Some people think it smells like you just mowed the lawn. Don’t let anyone tell you what to drink.
“Just like wine 40 years ago. People are going to decide what tea they like through education and experimentation. It’s going to be a demand based on consumer preference, not on advertising,” he said.
|
|
|