It’s no secret that tea is trendier than ever these days. If you’re looking to sample a new brew after a day spent shopping for holiday gifts, Capital Teas is for you.
This week the Annapolis-based company celebrated the grand openings of its newest micro-shops in Towson Town Center and The Mall in Columbia. Each shop has a full-service tea bar featuring unique hot and iced teas, as well as organic loose teas and tea sachets for sale.
“We’re thrilled to join the Towson and Columbia communities,” says Peter Martino, co-founder and CEO of Capital Teas. “The proximity to other innovative, thriving retailers in both malls is unmatched.”
Martino founded the company in 2007 with his wife, Manelle, and the couple has since opened a total of 12 stores in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.
“The tea comeback is really 250 years in the making,” Martino says. “Americans love to experiment and there’s currently a revolution in taste akin to what happened with wine.”
The new micro-shops have opened just in time for the holidays, offering seasonal teas such as pumpkin chai and peppermint bark tea. The stores also feature a signature “sniffing wall” of black, green, oolong, and Earl Grey tea to aid shoppers in their selections.
“The opportunity to open these locations in time for the holidays forced our hand to move fast,” Martino says. “It really is such a great time to be in a mall.”