I've never been a coffee drinker, but I love tea!

Last week I was in Wichita and they had a fantastic loose leaf tea store with tons of blends. (Chelmsford Tea (http://www.chelmsfordtea.com/)) And of course Dallas has a number of tea stores.

Do we have any tea stores in the OKC metro?

Check out Super Cao Nguyen on 26th and Military.
Super Cao Nguyen Market :: Home Page (http://www.caonguyen.com/)

Their tea isle is like Wal-Marts cereal isle. Plus a lot of other interesting stuff. Stock up on some good ramen too..

"Inspirations" is a Tea House/Restaurant/Gift Shop and B&B just east of the intersection of Santa Fe and 2nd (178th Street OKC) in Edmond.

The restaurant serves up great "ladies who lunch" type food (wonderful salads, croissant sandwiches and the like), and their shop, in addition to having nice gift items, also has a wonderful selection of teas, tea pots, and tea accessories.

I believe they also serve "high tea" daily, and for special parties. They also have a selection of big frilly hats to wear for those who want to "dress up" for their tea "parties!"

Their website is HERE (http://www.inspirationstearoom.com/). You can even order their teas online, but it's not like getting to smell how wonderfully fragrant they all are.

There's also a British Import shop in town whose name escapes me. They used to be just off of Classen, but I believe they have moved, so I am not certain where they are now.

We really don't have the kind of specialty tea store like the kind you seek. I've been in one in Boulder, Co., and it was wonderful. My guess is there's not much of an audience for it here.

Canterbury UK Imports is at 2913 N. May

A Spot for Tea (http://www.aspotfortea.com/) is on N Macarthur

I usually just order my teas online
Peets Coffee and Tea (http://www.peets.com/shop/tea_topsellers.asp?sid=064B80C6C4BD0DED15C5C1B5D86 309D6&cm_re=hp-_-feature1-_-Text) has a wonderful Jasmine tea that I love.

World Spice Merchants (http://www.worldspice.com/teas/teas.shtml)
This is a wonderful store that I used to go to when I lived in Seattle. They sell teas and spices. I order all my spices from them.

"Inspirations" is a Tea House/Restaurant/Gift Shop and B&B just east of the intersection of Santa Fe and 2nd (178th Street OKC) in Edmond.

The restaurant serves up great "ladies who lunch" type food (wonderful salads, croissant sandwiches and the like), and their shop, in addition to having nice gift items, also has a wonderful selection of teas, tea pots, and tea accessories.

I believe they also serve "high tea" daily, and for special parties. They also have a selection of big frilly hats to wear for those who want to "dress up" for their tea "parties!"

Their website is HERE (http://www.inspirationstearoom.com/). You can even order their teas online, but it's not like getting to smell how wonderfully fragrant they all are.

There's also a British Import shop in town whose name escapes me. They used to be just off of Classen, but I believe they have moved, so I am not certain where they are now.

We really don't have the kind of specialty tea store like the kind you seek. I've been in one in Boulder, Co., and it was wonderful. My guess is there's not much of an audience for it here.

Why do you think their is not a audience for speciality teas in the OKC area? Just curious? If Wichita, Tulsa, Dallas and Boulder have speciality tea shops then why would OKC be the exception? I would assume that OKC has a diverse amount of residents that have a diverse palate for different things to try, not just the same old thing. I mean OKC is suppose to be a progressive, dynamic city.

Unfortunately, I don't believe Oklahomans have really discovered tea. Generally, tea drinkers are a little more health-conscious, active and culturally aware - something the average Oklahoma Citian is not. As a former barista as well as a former resident of Boulder - I've always found tea drinkers to generally be very active individuals.

I know you can purchase loose leaf tea by the ounce in Stillwater at Aspen Coffee Company (its a drive, I know) but they really only have the same things any Starbucks would have - but in loose leaf.

I think, like coffee, tea has plenty of hope in the OKC market. While we are "behind" as far as education to these specialty beverages we are certainly open to the quality that is found in other markets.

The US is still "behind" as a whole when it comes to tea but is quickly learning. I love watching all the tea rooms open up - from hip and modern to form and classy.

Tea is not just tea just as coffee is not just coffee. There is a difference in quality across the board and I look forward to seeing more quality tea rooms opening in OKC in the future.

There is an article in this week's Gazette about tea places in OKC. . .

Thanks Foodiefan. I'll have to pick one up! I'd be interested to see what it has to say.

Forward Foods in Norman on Main...downtown.

Forward Foods is a fun place, largest selection of cheese in the state probably. Nice gourmet and hard to find items also.

Have you ever tried Prima Cafe? PrimaCafé (http://www.primacafe.com)
It's mail order but local and is also available through the OK Food Coop Oklahoma Food Cooperative - Local Food, Local Farmers - Farmer's Market, Natural, organic, health, sustainable, locally grown, meat, vegetables, nuts, produce, bread (http://www.oklahomafood.coop/) which is all locally produced food and such and you can pick up your orders at various parts of the metro.