April 30, 2007

Our Cup Runneth Over

Whittard of Chelsea Opens

We admit it. We’re so bad at holding grudges.

It wasn’t even 250 years ago that we dumped 45 tons of the stuff into our lovely Boston Harbor, and already we’ve accepted the Brits and their tea back on our shores.

Newbury Street has just welcomed England’s best-known specialty tea retailer, Whittard of Chelsea. They’ve got more than 130 shops in GB, but Beantown has the first in the U.S.

The new shop brings loose, bag, and specialty high-end teas, plus coffee, hot chocolate, and a blend-your-own tea bar. Sniff your way through the sampling station, where shelves upon shelves of loose leaves await. Then, after you’re duly transfixed, they’ll brew a cup of your choice to test and taste. Pay attention, and they’ll teach you how to brew a proper cuppa.

There’s also every imaginable accoutrement — saucers, mugs, pots, strainers — in modern brights, classic Britannia, or country fruit designs.

So it’s true what they say: To forgive is divine.

Whittard of Chelsea, 170 Newbury Street, Back Bay (617-536-5200 or whittard.com).