Happy Small Business Saturday!
I decided to celebrate by making my way to a local small business. I have been meaning to go to for a long time, but I kept leaving town on trips. I pulled myself away from my very comfortable couch and books for the one thing I love almost as much: TEA!
I found out about the existence of Tea Sip through Instagram, of course. I followed them; they followed me, which automatically makes them cooler and more desirable in my book. It is a locally owned small business, which opened this summer – I think. Anyways… It’s new. It’s cute. It’s a tea store. What more could you want?!?!?
Tea Sip is located at 321 W. 19th Street Suite A, Houston. Or it’s in the Heights right next to Retropolis. If you’re in the area, you should definitely stop by. Not only are they a tea shop with the usual wares, they also have all their teas to go. So if you’re shopping in the Heights, grab a cup of tea (iced or hot) to keep you company.
It’s so cute! The windows are huge. Walking in there are tea cups and tea pots everywhere. Heaven, but I was incredibly self conscious because I’m clumsy and poor. I have been to so many tea shops, but I found a first! Most places have samples to taste and smell; Tea Sip does it different. All the packages of tea are labelled with a number which corresponds to a vial full of tea hanging up. It’s fun and unique! The tea pots are cute, but what really stands out are the cups and mugs. All kinds of different shapes and sizes ranging from classic to outrageous. My personal favorite were the cups and saucers in bright metallic colors. There are stamped spoons… I, of course, left with one one that said “Sweet dreams are made of Teas!” It’s true.
The employees are amazing. They were more than happy to answer questions and chat while we waited for my tea to steep. It is obvious they enjoy working there, or they’re incredibly good actors. Either way, I had fun!
Tea talk. I love tea. I have drank a lot of it in many parts of the world. I have come across weird teas. Tea Sip has some weird teas. I have a hard time buying weird tea without trying it. I’m not a gambler. I bought peppermint because a) it’s my favorite b) it’s hard to mess up. Before I learned of their tea-to-go, I asked what the best weird teas were they had. The two suggestions were Cupcake and a spicy one – I don’t remember the name. I love cupcakes. I love tea. I wasn’t convinced I would love cupcake tea. I love spicy, but since my gallbladder took its exodus from my body, spicy and I don’t get along. I decided to get cupcake tea to go, and my boyfriend got the spicy one. Apparently, the spicy one gets spicier the more you drink it. So I don’t know, but he enjoyed it. I LOVED the cupcake tea. It smells like a cupcake. It tastes like a black tea with a cupcake finish. It’s not something I would normally try or ever like, but it is amazing! Definitely try it. If you’re not in the Houston area, order it.
I left with a small bag of goodies. It took a lot of willpower to not leave with one of everything because the cups are so adorable. Since it’s the Christmas season, I held myself back. I will be back after Christmas… and I will be poor.
