Churchills Tea Room - Cincinnati, OH

For all of you tea lovers I am writing this to share with you a true gem in the downtown shopping district of Cincinnati.

My enjoyment of tea started in college with my roommate Mike. He is a purveyor of all things expensive: cigars, Audi's, wine, speaker systems, Rolex watches, etc... He started buying loose leaf tea and brewing it as a hang over cure. I had always been fascinated with tea, and this really pushed me over the edge in regard to interest. After buying my first cast iron tea kettle I started buying loose leaf teas and trying all kinds of hot and iced tea. I now have many tea kettles, my most prized being from my trip last summer to Hong Kong, China, of the Yixing (pronounced ee-Shing) variety, that was hand made by a master potter. I picked up one for Mike as well. He was very grateful.

So back to Cincinnati, there is a place called Churchills Tea Room that is located in Tower Place downtown. There is this delightful British woman who owns the tea shop, and she has done a marvelous job with the place. High Tea is served 6 days a week and they also have a large variety of tea to choose from off of the shelf. Probably the most enjoyable part of visiting this shop is having a discussion with the owner. I find id fascinating and intriguing being around someone who is such an expert. The desserts she makes are quite delicious, and the view from the prized window seat is not bad either. Hint: There is only one window seat, so if you plan on people watching you had better make reservations!

After visiting on many occasions I now choose to buy all of my tea from this unique place to support their efforts to reinvigorate downtown. I also have brought many friends to spend the afternoon enjoying High Tea and having insightful conversations. It takes about 45 minutes from my house to get down there, but as of yet I have never regretted the drive.