If you’re a tea lover in Albuquerque, you’re likely familiar with New Mexico Tea Company. Many of the classiest joints in town – Seasons, Farm & Table, Zinc, Artichoke, Vinaigrette, Betty’s, and way too many more to list – serve NM Tea Co tea. They’ve also been a staple business on Mountain Road near downtown for years. Their homey tea shop is lined with shelves of shining metal canisters adorned with beautiful art, a different design for each tea variety. It’s been one of my favorite shopping destinations for a long time.
So I was thrilled when I got an email at the end of October announcing the grand opening of their new shop in Albuquerque Uptown, right by the Gap. (And triumphant, as a lover of the local and homegrown, to see that the new location is the exact spot Teavana vacated when corporate owner Starbucks shuttered the chain.)
I finally made it to the new store a couple weeks ago, and it is as charming as the original shop, but with a very different feel appropriate to its setting. The metal canisters still gleam in ranks on their shelves, each with a small sample tin in front for sniffing. (The smaller Uptown shop has a slightly reduced selection, but there’s still an ocean of tea here to choose from, as well as beautiful teapots and other accessories.) The shop feels open and airy, with a bright pop of color from variously sized paper lanterns.
There are a couple of exciting new developments, as well. I was excited to see big bowls full of adorable sample-size packs of tea, sporting the variety’s full-color artwork, $3 each and perfect for stocking stuffers. And, at the front counter, prepared drinks! The Mountain shop experimented with freshly prepared tea but could never make it work in the space.
The Uptown shop has a nice menu of brewed teas and tea lattes. Of course Arne and I each got one. I tried the London Fog in the house style, which adds lavender syrup to the classic Earl Grey tea and vanilla; the addition is lovely, amping up the Earl Grey’s floral notes and giving the drink a New Mexico twist. My drink was put to shame, however, by the Hot Tamale Latte that Arne got. Made with hot cinnamon tea, it is bright and spicy and so naturally sweet from the cinnamon that, made in the recommended house style with no sugar, it was still as sweet as my drink. Highly recommended!
Uptown Tea is cheerful yet soothing, with truly friendly and helpful staff – some brought from the old shop and some new – who really love tea and can steer you toward varieties you’ll enjoy, especially if you’re a little overwhelmed by all the choices. It’s worth braving the holiday crowds for. (I don’t say that lightly; I hate holiday crowds.) And if you’re shopping at Albuquerque Uptown anyway, you mustn’t miss it!
Talk to me!