Brewing

I always try to forewarn people who are coming to the shop that we are in an unusual spot for a tea shop. We are located, in fact, in an industrial park…within my plumbing and heating professional’s building. He’s a wonderful landlord, and we have working heat and air conditioning here. After being previously located in a beautiful old Victorian era building with character oozing from the walls and beautiful natural lighting…but with poor heating and cooling mechanisms, I’ve decided this is very important. Tea needs to be kept in comfortable, dry environments, as do people. Customers and employees will not be enjoying themselves if they’re freezing, roasting, or having to wipe sweat off their brow. So…I took a chance by renting this space. I figured in China and other parts of Asia, many of the best teas are found in little out of the way holes- in- the -wall. If it can work there, maybe it can work here. Our goal is to offer the finest teas we can at a fair price. It is also to educate and inform our customers. We’ve chosen to put our monetary gains into high quality teas, educating ourselves, and keeping up to date on all things tea, by particpating continuously in our professional organizations and classes, rather than locating in a high rent district. We’re grateful to our customers who go out of their way to find us, spread the word to their friends, and then keep returning. Our location is actually quite convenient to major highways, the Maine Turnpike, and Route #1.

Once you’re inside our space, you won’t realize you’re in an industrial park. The space is filled with wonderful teas: black tea, green tea, Oolong tea, and herbal tisanes, as well as “all things loosely related” to tea! We carry unique gifts and jewelry which anyone, tea lover or not would love to own. Our selection of books includes the Tea Shop Mystery Series as well as children’s books, books about tea in general, and lots of recipes. Many of the books have beautiful photography. I promise you that you will not find such a large selection of tea goodies anywhere else in the state of Maine.

We want you to be satisfied with your tea purchases, so we encourage you to taste before you buy. We can help you sort out what teas you have or haven’t liked in the past, whether you’re looking for a straight tea, a flavored tea, or a blended tea. Or we can introduce you to a totally new taste.

If you’re totally new to tea, or if you’d like in-depth knowledge about a particular type of tea, we encourage you to take one of our classes. It’s always fun to learn with others who share an interest.

And, if you just need a quiet respite away from the daily bustle, you’re welcome to visit and sit at our small table to enjoy being served tea and something light to go with it, all on your own or with a friend. So, thanks for taking a chance and stopping by. We look forward to serving you.

Tea is ready!

Our next Tea 101 class has been scheduled for Saturday September 25th from 1 to 3:00 pm. It will be held here at Nellie’s shop. For a descrition visit our Classes and Events page.

Cost : $15.00 per person                                                      

Contact us to reserve your space.

Stay tuned for other fun events we’re planning…

Like, A class on Pu’erh Teas,

 and a Japanese Tea Ceremony…

We look forward to welcoming you to the Wonderful World of Tea!

Just returned from the annual three day World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, the premier conference for people in the Specialty Tea industry. Although a bit smaller in the past few years, reflecting the economy, I always come away with fresh ideas, new knowledge, and ideas for new products. This year is no exception. When jet lag has dissipated a bit more I will fill you in with a more complete report. For now, I encourage you to visit the shop in the next few weeks as new merchandise arrives. Some of the highlights include tea from Ajiri Tea, a new company importing black tea from Kenya with a heartwarming story behind it; new electric kettles with programmable temperature settings so you can steep your green teas, oolongs, and blacks at the perfect temperature, and tea infused chocolates. Also check out the new selections of the Emma Lea children’s books which chronicle Emma Lea’s experiences having tea with family, friends, and including the new Emma Lea cook book.

Please join me for our class on Green Teas. If you have tried to like green tea because it is supposed to be so good for you, but…it just tastes like grass, this is the class for you! Believe it or not, all green teas are not created equally. The varieties are so numerous and varied. This class will introduce you to the cultivation, geography, and processing of green teas and the opportunity to taste 4-6 different teas of China and Japan, the primary countries of green tea production. Following the class, we will enjoy simple snacks with pots of tea of your choosing.

When: Sunday January 24th, 1 to 3 pm

Where: at Nellie’s Tea and Gifts

                    5 Industry Rd.

                    South Portland, Maine 04106

Cost: $5.00 per person (fee waived with purchase of $10.00 or more on day of class.

(Visit “Contact Us” page for directions to the shop.)

To reserve your spot, call 761-8041, or e-mail nellie@maine.rr.com. Please leave your name and a phone number where you can be reached in case of any changes. I’ll look forward to seeing you!

Okay, so it’s actually fourteen days, but you don’t want to wait until the very last second to complete your shopping. We have a great selection of gifts for your tea loving recipient, and the price range is varied.

For the Mystery loving tea drinker, I would choose one of the teashop mysteries by Laura Childs and pair it with a package of tea by the same name in the title. For instance the first book in the series, Death by Darjeeling  paired with a tin or box of Darjeeling tea, the Champagne of teas, will delight your tea drinking mystery lover. Other titles include Shades of Earl Grey, Gunpowder Green, The English Breakfast Murders, Jasmine Moon Murders, Dragonwell Dead…you get the idea. The books all have recipes at the back for tea time. Price of the books ranges from $6.99 to $7.99 and tea selections from $3.50 and up. 

For the  family Grandparents, those of us who have all the “things” we’ll ever need, you can’t go wrong with a little gift of their favorite tea packaged up with a pack of McVitie’s Biscuits and a jar of luscious lemon curd. Wrapped up in a basket and tied with a ribbon, this selection is priced from about $10.00 and up. (Don’t get me wrong, this is not only for grandparents). Anyone would enjoy this selection.

We have a huge selection of teapots, cupsinfusersservewarebookstinyteapot jewelry…whew! Oh yes, and TEA; lots of tea ! Choose from loose leaf tea, tea bags, fancier and roomier tea sachets, priced from $3.50 and up.

So, come on in, and have a cup of tea while you’re here before moving on to your next engagement.