Saturday, October 16, 2004

Tea time: Pick your style

Whether you prefer serene Asian or proper British, there's a room for you

CHUCK GRAHAM

Tucson Citizen

Coffee gets a house, and tea gets a room. That's been the general size relationship defining the importance of these two beverages in America ever since the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Yet there is a hint of change in the air. Never mind what Starbucks wants you to think; tea rooms are becoming a trendy choice.

It is worthwhile remembering that 30 years ago there were just three Tucson restaurants with professional-type espresso machines. So why not imagine that, 30 years from now, Tucson will be filled with proper tearooms dispensing the finest brews available from a wide variety of tea leaves? In central Tucson there are already some choices.

It would seem after a visit to Seven Cups Tea, 2516 E. Sixth St., there are as many kinds of tea leaves as there are coffee beans. Maybe more. Take a seat at one of the elegant inlaid tables at Seven Cups and you are immediately offered a menu with seven pages of tea drink options listing "a selection of over 45 rare and organic handcrafted Chinese teas," plus a few more pages of dessert selections.

This tearoom is dedicated to the Chinese reverence for this drink in all its serene manifestations.

So that you never feel rushed, a waitress keeps coming around with pitchers of boiling hot water to refill your pot. Since the personal pots are small, the tea doesn't have time to cool off before it's finished. But with all those refills you can enjoy at least seven cups - more, if you've a mind to.

Of course, those in a family-style mood can order larger pots. The lady with the boiling water will still keep coming around as often as needed.

The mood here is peaceful. The lighting is soft. A large aquarium sits in a corner of the room, glowing with tranquility. Compulsive shoppers can also admire four large china cabinets filled with delicate cups and pots for sale.

There is no ceremony with the tea service, though, should you feel intimidated by such things. No matter how rare the tea you order, the accommodating waitress will be sure it is properly steeped and served at your table. All you have to do is enjoy.

For a more British colonial experience, check out the Tudor Rose tearoom at 2029 S. Craycroft Road, near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The emphasis here is definitely on colonial because this cozy little place has none of the high-toned propriety we associate with the serving of tea in all those Merchant-Ivory movies such as "A Room With A View."

The Tudor Rose maintains its fondness for black tea and traditional English meat pies in a rustic environment where mismatched furniture is arranged in a room of white concrete-block walls painted with an English garden motif. But each table is set with freshly ironed table cloths and linen napkins. Tea always receives the respect it deserves, arriving in a ceramic pot nicely clothed in a crocheted tea cozy.

Even though the Tudor Rose doesn't list a variety of teas, the house tea is excellent. It is served with that all-time British favorite combination of a cream pitcher and a bowl stocked with sugar cubes, so you have the chance to ask your companion, "One lump or two?"

All the cups, saucers and plates are china, of course. Adding a whimsically publike atmosphere are pictures on the walls of a younger Queen Elizabeth II, a sweet Princess Di and such public notices as "No Swearing or Blaspheming."

Sitting reflectively in a tearoom, one can't help thinking of the differences from a coffeehouse. For one thing, a tearoom has real cups instead of paper cups with plastic lids. Tea is served by the pot instead of the cup, so there's no going back to the counter for refills. You don't get tablecloths and linen napkins in a coffeehouse, either. In a coffeehouse, loners would typically be writing confessional novels or suicide notes. In tearooms, they write poetry.

So think of the difference this way, basically. Bohemians drink coffee. Civilized folk drink tea.