Popularity of ancient drink is creeping up on coffee

In the next three or four years, experts in the industry expect tea to equal or exceed coffee as the nation's beverage of choice.

That's the latest word from the World Tea Expo, according to Chris Easton, proprietor of Chris' Tea Cottage in Bigfork.

"The tea industry is going gangbusters," Easton said. "A huge percentage of people are opening tea shops all around the country. It's tripling."

It comes as no surprise to Vivienne Montague, who has offered afternoon tea for 11 years along with breakfast and lunch at Vivienne's Fifth Street Cafe in Kalispell. She found success in spite of an off-the-beaten-path location.

"It's a hole-in-the-wall, really," Montague said. "But business is tremendous."

She brought impeccable credentials to introducing the British tradition, including watercress and cucumber sandwiches and colorful Battenburg cake, to the Flathead Valley.

"I'm the only one who is truly English," she said with a laugh.

At afternoon tea from 2 to 4 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Montague offers an orange pekoe tea from Canada or an assortment of boxed teas. Customers get individual teapots, finger sandwiches, scones and cream, and tartlike pastries filled with jam, almond, pecan, and other treats.

Montague said word-of-mouth grew her breakfast, lunch and afternoon-tea trade. She said her customers drink more tea than coffee, even with meals.

"Tea in general is definitely expanding," she said.

Newer entrants into the Flathead tea scene, Easton at Chris' Tea Cottage and Glen Kinsey at Glen's Teas 'n' Things have also noted a steady infusion of new customers during recent years.

At the World Tea Expo, Easton heard that aging baby boomers have taken to tea, fueling the forecast that the beverage may wean the nation from coffee. Along with less caffeine, tea provides another benefit Easton learned about at expo educational sessions.

"Caffeine in tea goes into the system a whole different way [than coffee]," she said. "You never get the jitters from it."

Both proprietors said they followed their hearts into the tea business rather than these predictions of profit potential. Easton started with Christmas teas in her home that became so popular that neighbors shopped months in advance for hats and other finery to wear to the event.

Her experiences inspired the business she began with her husband nearly 2 1/2 years ago in a circa 1921 cabin in Bigfork.

"My pleasure is seeing people happy," she said. "People don't take the time to do this in their homes anymore."

The couple made a substantial investment of money and labor to create the cottage within the cabin just off Electric Avenue on River Street in Bigfork. It includes a retail shop and restaurant/tea rooms, with one that can be closed off easily for parties.

Easton and her husband took pains to preserve the cabin's features, such as original log walls and white fir floors where possible. She sets tables with antique linens, hankies for napkins and delicate fan-shaped plates.

A modern woodstove warms winter customers from the very spot where the old stove once was.

"It's very cozy," she said. "People love that."

Post-Christmas months pose the biggest challenge to all Bigfork businesses. Easton responds with tea tastings and special teas for such holidays as Valentine's Day and the upcoming Mother's Day extravaganza, including a harpist, elegant food, tea and stronger fare.

She plans to expand her Web site to bring in Internet sales during the slow months.

"That should be very helpful to keep me going," she said. "I'm in a hard winter market."

Chris' Tea Cottage offers daily lunches of sandwiches, soups and salads and afternoon teas. Customers have a range of tea-time options from "The Commoner" scone and tea to the "Royal Tea" of scones, tea sandwiches, desserts, tea champagne or sherry.

Easton brings new ideas for her business from her yearly trips to the world tea expos. She said new directions in the industry include pairing teas with foods, cooking with tea and, a personal favorite, tea sorbets.

"That is really cool," she said. "This has opened the tea world in so many different directions."

Kinsey, a veteran of several business ventures, plans to expand his things at Glen's Teas 'n' Things to include Columbia, Jamaican and Hawaiian-select roasted coffees in the near future. He said he doubts that America's caffeine-driven culture will switch anytime soon.

Kinsey leaves no doubt about his personal preferences.

"Tea will always be my baby," he said.

Although his interest dates back to herb-gathering with his mother during childhood, Kinsey focused on selling tea when a broken neck from auto accident left him unable to handle the rigors of his Columbia Falls pet store. "I started this shop with $500 from my grandfather four years ago," Kinsey said with a laugh.

His cozy store in the Glory Days Emporium building in Kalispell has seen from 20 percent to 30 percent growth each year. His extensive knowledge of tea lore, cultural practices and history make a stop at Kinsey's shop a mind-expanding experience.

"In most other cultures, tea drinking isn't to drink liquid," Kinsey said. "It's a whole process."

During travels in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan and Okinawa, he learned about the many ceremonial aspects of tea, including the use of incense. In time, Kinsey also became steeped in the tea traditions of India, China and Tibet.

"I've even been complimented by a couple of monks," he said. "It was a real privilege to be told I made one of the best cups of tea they had ever had."

Redolent with mingled aromas of teas, herbs and incense, the store features hundreds of gallon jars of tea, myriad teapots and tea-related gifts. Kinsey serves fresh hot and ice tea for his customers to savor while admiring his antique teapot collection.

The shop stocks 300 teas, which present mind-boggling combination options for customers.

"We mix and match," he said. "I make a really good house tea."

Glen's Blend has captured customer's hearts as well as a runner-up prize in a competition in 2000. His signature tea includes all manner of healthy herbs and tonic teas.

Both Kinsey and Easton say most customers are surprised to learn the truth about herbal tea.

"It has no tea product in it," Easton said. "It is not tea. It's lavender, rose hips of your herbs."

Because the Food and Drug Administration doesn't sanction health claims for tea or herbs, the two proprietors take care not to promote their products as cures. But Easton was excited about information emerging about the naturally sweet and slightly nutty-flavored rooibos, grown only in South Africa.

"Its benefits surpass even green tea," she said.

Both proprietors prepare only loose-leaf tea, shunning bags that they say contain leftover "blowings" from whole tea. Kinsey said he only stocks hand-picked, pesticide-free, estate-grown teas.

Easton filters her water in Bigfork, while Kinsey brings in his to avoid using Kalispell city water.

"One of the main ingredients to make a good cup of tea is good water," Kinsey said.

He stressed the importance of the proper temperatures of 200 degrees Fahrenheit for black tea or oolong, and 170-180 F for green tea. Steep tea leaves from three to five minutes, extending the time to about seven minutes for herbals.

"Have you ever had bitter tea?" Kinsey asked. "It was steeped too long or the water was too hot and it burned the leaves."

For health benefits, he said, most research recommends drinking from two to eight cups, so he weighs in with drinking four cups.

For additional information about tea or the businesses, check their Web sites at www.ChrisTeaCottage.com and www.Glensteas.com. Call Montague at Vivienne's Fifth Street Cafe at 752-8436.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com