Colleen Smith is the owner of Tea Bar and Bites, a tea shop and bakery. Smith started the local business in 2004 but her love of tea began long before that. In a interview with The Scoop, she tells us how tea has impacted her life and how it can impact the lives of others.
What was your purpose in opening Tea Bar and Bites?
Tea has always been important to me and that is why it’s part of the name. I started by focusing on the teas that I grew up with. I then added more and more. Here, we use tea in our baking. We infuse it into cupcakes and will use it in cocktails.
Where did you get your love of tea from?
My love for tea started at a very young age because it was part of my growing up. I was raised by an Irish mother and her mother came from Ireland. Tea was a big part of their day. Having a cup a tea every morning with a little saucer and cup with the kettle going. It is always so comforting: the cup and the whistling tea kettle. It became a part of my life and as I grew older and even in college I always had a tea kettle in my room.
Have you visited Ireland?
Just once and we had a wonderful time. I was able to visit both of my grandparents’ homes in County Clare. I knew I still had a family member there and we went to a deli in town to ask if the deli man knew the Hough family. He said “around here, if you throw a rock you hit a Hough”. So we followed him, all nine of us, and met my mother’s second cousin and she, as you can imagine, rolled out the tea cart. It was so special.
What kind of tea did you grow up drinking?
It was a black tea that my grandmother would have sent over from Ireland. She emigrated over to America at the age of nineteen. She would write to her sisters back in Ireland and they would send over tea. So that was the first tea I ever had. It was mostly milk when I was a little girl and then, when I was older, I worked in a natural food grocery where I learned about the properties of tea. Tea is good for not only for the comfort but for the health properties.
What is your favorite tea at the moment?
I still love Lyons Irish Tea. When we were in Ireland, they said Lyons is the best–better than Barry’s Irish Tea and I took their word for it. I love Genmaicha Tea which is a green tea that has been harvested with rice. When you put a little bit of heat to it then the brown rice pops up like popcorn and it gives it a nice nutty flavor. It’s a nice tea for a cold day.
Do you take your tea as it is or do you like to add things to it?
It depends on what tea it is. I add honey to Genmaicha, but mint tea never needs anything added. I can’t help but put a little bit of sugar into my Irish tea, though. In Ireland, they always put cream in their tea. I grew up with that but I use sugar now that I don’t have dairy very much.
What are some beginner’s teas?
I would definitely try Rooibos. A vanilla or a provence blend is really nice hot or iced. The Japanese Cherry is a great green tea and earl grey is also very popular.
Why should other people try tea?
There is so much more than just sitting back and enjoying a cup of tea. The ritual of turning the tea kettle on in the morning and getting out the tea cup and saucer brings back a lot of nostalgia and has become such a sought after activity. I want people to come, sit back, and relax but mostly just slow down. I think drinking tea makes you slow down and be present in the moment.
