Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/48160
A^]`ZWUV`( B O\ CdPO\ BSOV]aeS continued from page 59 = klahoma City's first and only urban teahouse—aptly named T, an Urban Teahouse—recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. And that's no slight accomplish- ment. Having opened the store in the aftershock of the economic downturn on Oct. 1, 2009, owner Kristy Jennings could probably put "recession proof" on a list of her product's many taste and aromatic qualities. Raised in Arizona, 42-year-old Jennings first came to Oklahoma for college. After earning a master's degree in counseling, Jennings spent 17 years working with mentally ill adults and in various administrative roles within the health care industry. But it was tea—a beverage that had bobbed in and out of her life since childhood—that would eventually grab her full atten- tion. "I've loved tea forever," she says. "I guess you could say my mom introduced me to it, but what really sealed the deal was spending a col- lege semester in Vienna." Jennings says drinking tea in Austria solidi- fied the bever- age as part of her morning ritual. 2 espite her love for what Two years later, Jennings can stand behind the broken-mir- ror-topped bar at her northwest Oklahoma City teahouse and say she has "absolutely no regrets." After focusing so intently on all the risks associated with opening, she says the perks (like relationships with her staff and customers) have been the big- gest surprises. Customers can order any tea from Jennings' mostly unchang- ing lineup of 100 offerings by the cup or in bulk. Covering all the usual categories—black, green, white, oolong, chai and herbal— Jennings is confident she has something for every palate. Her shop is also the only place in Oklahoma City with such a wide bulk selection. And how exactly she calls "the com- munity aspect" of working in health care, she began to think it wasn't her true niche in the world during her last five years of working in the field. With the help of a spiritual mentor, Jennings delved into a two-year journey—"some serious soul-searching," she explains—to figure out how she could better serve her com- munity while also meeting her own needs. The requirements were simple: "I wanted to be happier doing what I did every day," she says. Jennings adds that for an adult, it's often hard to differentiate whether you're good at something just because you've done it for so long or because you actually have a talent for it. "It was crystal clear," she says of her own epiphany on the issue. "I can tell you the day it happened, when I knew this is what I was going to do." $ TEA ALMANAC 2012 does a casual tea drinker—or even a veteran one— choose among so many cup possi- bilities? Jennings' response to the "what's your favor- ite?" question is that of a seasoned tea server: "I usu- ally don't answer that unless a cus- tomer is truly asking out of curiosity. Usually it means, 'Your menu is over- whelming to me, help me pick a tea.' But category-wise, I love oolongs. I just find them so fascinating." One thing you won't find on the menu is bubble tea. "I'm too pur- ist for that," says Jennings. For those wanting something more traditional, ceremonial Japanese matcha is a popular option. Curiosity and passion have helped keep Jennings afloat through the ups and downs of launching a new business. "I definitely used to get bored in my old life," she says. Now her customers laud her vast knowledge, but her usual response to compliments on her knowledge base is that her journey has only just begun. "I'll never reach the peak," she adds. "There's just so much to learn: the politics of the country, the climate of the land. Tea doesn't succumb to too many trends. It's not trendy, it's been around forever and has an amazing, beautiful history, CHANCE NEWMAN/LAST CHANCE PRODUCTIONS