MEITUS: Numbers say, it's tea time

By Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 23, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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It doesn't take a fortune teller to read the tea leaves. According to the Tea Council of the USA, there are more than 2,400 specialty tea rooms and retail shops in big cities, with more opening every day.

In the last couple of weeks in Denver, Wystone's World Teas, a tea bar and cafe in Belmar Shopping Center, opened for business, as did Seven Cups Denver at 1882 S. Pearl St. and Pekoe Sip House at Origins Cherry Creek North in Fillmore Plaza.

The combo platter of a tea/beauty shop is a first for Origins, an Estee Lauder brand of beauty and skin-care products that emphasize overall well-being. Many of the products incorporate the essence of teas - Matcha green tea, white teas, ginger teas - making them a natural pairing with the beverage, said Jane Lauder, who was at the opening. She's the New York-based senior vice president and general manager of Origins and the 35-year-old granddaughter of Estee Lauder.

The free-standing cafe is a collaboration with Paul Cattin, who owned a tea shop in Boulder. It has a winning, hip, cool factor: Everything is environmentally correct - the floors are made of wood reclaimed from old barns - the sales people are called "guides" and soon there'll be a spalike area for massages and facials. They chose Denver for our fitness-oriented, environmentally conscious and educated populace.

Given my Zenlike nature, I walked into the store and immediately hyperfocused on the most important thing: the luscious baked goods that Watercourse Bakery is providing for the cafe. I was intercepted by Daniel Landes, the chef/owner of Watercourse, who was there for the opening. He directed me to his vegan cinnamon rolls, made of sweet potatoes - they look like the yummy sugary kind to me - his blackberry bran muffins and his mini-Ho-Ho-like cupcakes. I told him, "I'm on the first day of my new, new diet." He asked, "What kind? Gluten-free? Dairy-free?" and I rolled my eyes. "I'm eliminating all foods that don't jump into my mouth by themselves."

He handed me the cinnamon rolls. I can honestly say they taste too good to be vegan. I tried to take just a bite, because it was the first day of my new, new diet, but these were just too darned healthy for me to resist. I glanced around to see whether I could tuck into a muffin without anyone noticing.

While I drank a cup of coffee, because, really, I'm not a tea drinker, I pondered the latest trend in the industry and its staying power a la Starbucks. Sales of teas in all areas of consumption jumped from $1.84 billion in 1990 to $6.85 billion in 2007, fueled by two things: the accessibility of the ready-to-drink bottled products, which is really driving the trend, and the recognized health benefits, which aren't enough to motivate me.

However, as I slowed down and smelled the coffee in this lovely, environmentally friendly place, I realized that I could be lured into it as a regular habit. I felt elegant and very British, a character in a movie enjoying tea time with my vegan cinnamon roll, circa 2008.

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