Town tearooms sip the spotlight in national magazine

By Jim Flint for Ashland.news

Ashland’s tea shops are brewing up some buzz, with three local favorites making a splash in the nationally circulated TeaTime magazine.

Featured in the September/October issue with an abundance of photos over a seven-page spread were Chozu Bath & Tea Gardens, Dobrá Tea, and Lovejoy’s Tea Room.

Tea aficionado Julie Forth, who has a home in downtown Ashland, tipped off Ashland.news when she saw the article.

TeaTime is published by Hoffman Media. The publication proclaims the pleasures of tea as a gourmet beverage, and publishes articles that range from food features to tearoom profiles.

“I used to subscribe to TeaTime, but in recent years I just buy one or two issues per year,” Forth said. “I learned about the Ashland feature in Lovejoy’s September email newsletter and immediately ran out and bought the issue.”

Chozu

Chozu Bath & Tea Gardens, approaching its 18th anniversary, is owned by Ilene Rubinstein. It’s located at 832 A St.

A Santa Barbara native, Rubinstein moved to Ashland in 1997 to establish a chiropractic business, which she continues to operate today.

She says she was honored to be included in the TeaTime article.

“It was lovely and unexpected,” she said. “Most people are coming to us for the back gardens portion of the business and for the treatments.”

In establishing Chozu, her focus was on health and wellness, “a place where people can go to do their own self-care,” she said.

Why a tearoom as well?

“I have a passion for things Japanese and the Japanese tea service,” she said. “The ritual is calming — sitting in repose, having a moment with oneself.”

Food is also served in the tearoom. “We offer a variety of small plates, but a dinner menu is coming soon,” she said.

Forth said she hasn’t been to Chozu yet.

“It’s a bit further of a walk for me, but it’s been on my list to visit, so I aim to get there soon,” she said.

Dobrá

Dobrá Tea, owned by Travis Peterson, is located at 75 N. Main St. A bohemian-style tearoom and restaurant, it offers more than 100 varieties of loose-leaf teas from different regions around the world.

The Dobrá story began in Prague during the last few years of communism when a group of young tea lovers started meeting to drink teas smuggled into Czechoslovakia.

The Ashland tearoom, opened in 2014, is one of six Dobrá tearooms in the U.S. and the only one on the West Coast. All are independently owned and operated.

Forth says she goes to Dobrá about once a month.

“Their teas are fabulous, but I still always order their Mayan spice hot chocolate,” she said. “It’s dynamite and not something you can get anywhere else in Ashland. I also love their red lentil dal and their raspberry brown butter tea cake. It’s a very welcoming place.”

The shop offers a world tea experience, which may be the reason for its selection by TeaTime. The more than 120 teas from around the world are served in ways traditional to the countries of origin.

“The photos on our tearoom walls are personal photos from our tea country travels,” Peterson said, “and they provide a snapshot into our passion for tea.”

Online tea shop too

Dobrá has an online tea shop and a food menu of bowls, salads, soups and in-house bakery treats to pair with teas. Boba tea (bubble tea) is also on the menu.

Petereson says customers enjoy learning about what they’re drinking at Dobrá.

“We like to educate our tearoom guests about our teas,” he said.

Peterson’s future plans for Dobrá include initiatives that will build on the shop’s national and local attention.

 “We will do more community and business events, catering, tea pop-ups and retail,” he said.

Lovejoy’s

Lovejoy’s Tea Room, located at 96 N. Main St., is owned by Muna Nash. A cozy, quirky place filled with mismatched china and furniture, the shop offers a multicourse afternoon Queen’s Tea Service by reservation only. A few tables are always available for walk-in guests who can enjoy a cuppa and a limited sampling of the menu.

Forth visits Lovejoy’s several times a year for their Queen’s Tea. She calls the tearoom “a true gem in Ashland.”

“It’s always a delicious and delightful experience,” she said. “Their smoky Scottish tea is a personal favorite, and I especially love their smoked salmon and coronation chicken tea sandwiches.”

Lovejoy’s has been open for only four years, but owner Nash has been running tearooms for 24 years.

“I had often visited Ashland and felt that Lovejoy’s would be a perfect fit,” she said.

She describes the tearoom atmosphere as whimsical and eclectic.

“It’s a magical, old-fashioned vibe where guests can leave the outside world behind for a few hours,” she said. “I wanted to recreate the feeling I had in the tearooms in the countryside of England and Ireland, where you feel you are in someone’s living room.”

She was thrilled to see Lovejoy’s featured in TeaTime. The tearoom also has been featured in Oprah Magazine and AAA’s Via magazine.

“I was delighted to see this location receive national attention,” she said. “I have received many congratulatory calls and emails. A few guests have mentioned they traveled to Ashland to check us out after reading the TeaTime article.”

Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at [email protected].