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Going beyond a cup of joe

The Willdens, former coffee drinkers, bring a high-end tea bar to Crystal River and expound on the drink's health benefits.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published August 1, 2006

CRYSTAL RIVER - Ask Gail Willden how much tea she drinks.

She'll crack up.

"It's morning, noon and night," she said. "Probably eight or 10 cups a day."

A reformed coffee drinker, Willden and her husband, Norman, have brought their trendy passion to Crystal River. Though the city still lacks an upscale coffee shop, it got its first high-end tea bar last month.

"It's a health trend and everybody loves it," Gail Willden said. "They (customers) are excited to get freshly brewed tea."

The Atlanta transplant opened a shop, Back Porch Garden, on Citrus Avenue last year.

Tea was an afterthought in the business, which caters to the avid gardener.

But Norman Willden worked in franchise development for Tealuxe, a Boston chain billed as "Starbucks for tea," and began offering tea samples in the shop.

"We started with 90 percent gardening (merchandise) and in the middle of the shop we had a small section where people could try different kinds of tea," Gail Willden said. "Everyone kept stopping there, and you couldn't get through."

The Willdens decided tea was good business.

Customers are now greeted with a tea bar at the front of the store, shiny canisters holding more than 50 different kinds of Tealuxe tea. (The Willdens order them wholesale).

This isn't supermarket fare, Gail Willden said.

"When you buy tea at the store, it's mostly stem," she explained. "This is all loose leaf."

She pops open the canisters, smelling their contents.

Kir Royale, an herbal blend, is a mix of sweet berries and spices. Mango Mist, a black tea, is true to its name, containing chunks of dried mango and other fruit.

And then there's Caramel Creme Brulee, which Gail Willden called "a nice cheat."

Since summer in Florida isn't a great time for hot tea, the shop features a couple of iced options every day.

When it gets cooler, the Willdens plan to put more tables behind the shop and perhaps serve desserts as well.

"We'll start out with one dessert night a week and see what customers think," Gail Willden said.

The tea she's not worried about.

The drink has grown in popularity in recent years, though it has yet to eclipse coffee in the states. Tealuxe opened in 1996, and an increasing number of U.S. residents are realizing tea's health benefits, Willden said.

"Tea in the U.S. isn't as popular as in other parts of the world," Norman Willden said. "In many places it's the second most consumed beverage after water."

Tea has less caffeine than coffee and boasts a number of antioxidants.

"I was a coffee drinker for a lot of years, and I didn't realize how bad it was for you," Norman Willden said. "Whenever you go to a new doctor, they always ask, 'Do you smoke? Do you drink alcohol? Do you drink coffee?' "

The Willdens converted, and now they're spreading the word.

They tell customers which teas will help them sleep, which will wake them up and what kinds will boost their immune systems.

"Tea customers are extremely loyal," Norman Willden said. "Once they've been educated, they just come in and say, 'I'll have three of these, two of these, one of these.' "

In the Willdens' opinion, there's no such thing as too much tea.

Said Norman: "You can have an energizing tea in the morning, an herbal in the afternoon and a chamomile in the evening. You can drink it all day long."

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 21:27:23]