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Wayne Powers is in the midst of a very interesting life. He is, to name just a few of his passions, a successful professional actor, musician, and author, and he loves a good cup of tea. It was his desire for tea, and lack of a good local cup, that led him to open TEA-ReX, Charlotte’s first tearoom, a decade ago.
Powers thinks of TEA-ReX as his gift to Charlotte, an extension of his love affair with tea and his love for the city. Located in the Atherton Mill complex, on South Boulevard in the historic South End, the shop is an eclectic mix of modern and historic, from the urban building juxtaposed against an interior filled with antiques, to a wildly diverse clientele. Powers observes that TEA-ReX is one of those special places where you can see a blue-haired lady from Myers Park sipping tea next to, and chatting with, a blue-haired boy from NoDa. Powers says he meets the most wonderful people in Charlotte and isn’t sure if nice people drink tea, or drinking tea makes people nice, but a little magic seems to happen in his tea room.
Tea is the second oldest and second most-consumed beverage in the world (water, of course, is the first on both counts). The tea plant camellia sinensis grows everywhere across Asia from Tibet to Taiwan, and fossil records show that the plant has existed for millions of years. Tea is brewed from the leaves of the plant, and the different styles of tea, like green and black, essentially refer to the amount of oxidation the tealeaf is exposed to when the waxy outer surface is broken. There are hundreds of varieties of tea, each with its own aroma and flavor characteristics. Many styles of tea and preparation methods have evolved in different cultures. People transplanted to Charlotte often sorely miss the tea of their home and long for a cup prepared in the style they remember.
Most of us are used to seeing the tea bag, powdered tea, or instant tea used to brew a cup. Powers says the best way to experience tea is to drink it brewed from loose tea leaves. Loose leaf tea is higher quality tea. Tea in tea bags is made from the two lowest grades, called fannings and dust, which are like leftovers of the loose-leaf tea. Break open a tea bag and you’ll see the almost powdery tea inside. The tea in the bags can’t compare to the quality of premium tealeaves, which require art and experience more than technology to produce. Sometimes folks are hesitant to try loose leaf tea, but Powers insists that brewing tea this way is easy. He has even brewed tea on an airplane. The gracious staff at TEA-ReX will lead you through the process and show you how to make it at home with minimal fuss, equipment and expense, and insist that you’ll never go back to a tea bag after experiencing the real thing.
When you visit TEA-ReX, the service harkens back to a kinder, gentler time. You can’t just order a “Number 3” but, rather, the staff listens to what style of tea you prefer and makes some suggestions, often allowing you to smell and select something that is perfect for you. You can stick with an old favorite, or branch out and try something new. If you are far from home and longing for a tea brewed in the Asian, Indian or English way, the staff accommodates. Powers believes that we are victims, in a way, of our own progress. Fast food, frozen dinners, canned veggies and tea bags are all convenience products for a busy lifestyle, and a visit to the tearoom is exactly the opposite of this. No chain-store feeling, no cookie-cutter service, just a relaxing respite in the middle of a busy day. For all their expertise and experience, the folks at TEA-ReX aren’t tea snobs. If you want a glass of southern-style sweet iced tea, you’ll find the best you’ve ever had there.
TEA-ReX has a devoted following. When the shop next door was closing with a big ‘going out of business’ sign in the window, customers arrived practically weeping, afraid it was TEA-ReX that was shuttering the doors. Many customers purchase tea by the cup, but a large portion of the business is in bulk tea, both in the shop and on the Internet. Tea connoisseurs find the place from visits to Charlotte, or through word of mouth, and tea from TEA-Rex flies to every state in the union-- even to customers in San Francisco’s Chinatown, a real testament to the quality of the TEA-ReX product.
When I have visited the shop, I’ve seen chefs arrive to sniff the different styles and select teas to use as ingredients for cooking. Tea is the hot new ingredient for chefs, pastry chefs and mixologists around the country. The subtle flavors are used as poaching liquids for fruit or seafood, for glazing or smoking meats, adding flavor to risotto or grain dishes, plumping raisins or currants before adding to scones, as a grace note in chocolate and other dessert recipes, and for ingredients in cocktails. Restaurant-i, on East Boulevard, makes a green tea martini so wonderful that a culinary instructor friend spent most of last summer trying to re-create it at home. Barking Dog Chocolates, the socially conscious chocolate company that provides the fabulous treats at Bonterra, infuses truffles with both Jasmine and Earl Grey teas. The always-innovative Mark Hibbs, chef-owner of Ratcliffe on the Green, serves Ashley Farms Peking Duck breast, fresh from Chatham County, stir-fried with Whistlepeg Acres shiitake mushrooms and Tega Hills pea shoots, finished with a green tea and lemongrass Japanese barbecue sauce.
Tea can also be paired with food, just like wine. In fact, many of the terms tasters use to describe wines are used for tea as well. You’ll hear tea described as fruity, floral, smoky, or tannic. The flavor profiles of various teas are so varied that the choices and pairing potentials are endless. Around the country many chefs are preparing multi-course dinners, each served with a different style of tea.
Hotels around the globe serve afternoon tea, to the delight of traveling tea drinkers. Monticello Restaurant in the Dunhill Hotel offers afternoon high tea Friday through Sunday from 3:00-5:00. The elegant dining room in the historic hotel is the perfect setting to enjoy a variety of beautifully prepared tea and an assortment of dainty treats.
The renaissance of tea in the United States mirrors our interest in healthful living. The health benefits of tea include better control of blood sugar, improved blood pressure and blood flow, decreased inflammation, lower cholesterol, and better weight control. Some medical experts say that tea is loaded with antioxidants, which combat free radicals, and is potentially anti-carcinogenic. Whatever the health benefits, Powers calls tea a lubricant to conversation. It is soothing yet invigorating, providing mental focus and clarity. And all of these benefits come without the jitters that accompany coffee, or the dullness that comes with drinking alcohol. There is a switch going on in Western culture from coffee to tea, and Westerners are just discovering what the Chinese have known for hundreds of years: drinking tea is good for you and delicious, too.
If you are looking to try something new, to support local independent business, to do something healthful and fun, visit TEA-ReX and sip the best teas the world has to offer, all served with a warm southern welcome.
~ Catherine Rabb
TEA-ReX® Tearoom
2102 South Boulevard
704-371-4440
www.tearex.com
Barking Dog Chocolates
www.barkingdogchocolates.com
Restaurant-i
1524 East Boulevard
704-333-8118
www.restaurant-i.com
Bonterra
1829 Cleveland Avenue @ East Worthington Avenue
704-333-9463
www.bonterradining.com
Monticello Restaurant at the Dunhill Hotel
235 N. Tryon Street
704-342-1193
www.dunhillhotel.com
Ratcliffe on the Green
435 South Tryon Street, Suite 100
704-358-9898
www.ratcliffeonthegreen.com
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