Miro Tea is so fabulously Ballard it's enough to make me consider converting from coffee to tea (although I don't think I can ever give up my coffee).

With nearly 200 different types of loose leaf tea and knowledge learned from her family's successful local tea business, Jeannie Liu brings her expertise to Ballard to create a perfect gathering place for customers to hang out, study, play games, and expand their knowledge of tea.

More than five years ago, Liu helped conceptualize her family's business, the popular bubble tea hangout spot Oasis. Miro is a spin-off on Oasis, with the same concept of a casual, relaxing hangout spot but "a little bit more adult." Liu refers to Miro as, "The place where bubble tea drinkers go when they grow up." But I still love bubble tea and I am a grown-up!

Here's a little Tea 101. All tea comes from the plant camellia sinensis. The different types of tea produced - white, green, oolong, and black - depend on the process, temperature, location, and how the individual estate owner processes tea. There is tea, and then there is botanicals/herbals from which we get peppermint and chamomile "tea" (technically not tea because it doesn't come from the tea plant).

At Miro one can find tea from all over the world: South Africa, Japan, China, India, and Sri Lanka, to name a few. Miro's most popular tea is the rooibos, a botanical from South Africa. The word rooibos is the African translation for red bush. Rooibos, not to mention its pretty red color, is palatable because it's not bitter, therefore easy for people to approach. "You can steep it is for as long as you want, and it takes on other flavors nicely, like vanilla. You can drink it iced or hot. And it's also good for digestive purposes and calms an upset stomach," says Liu.

Besides her growing knowledge of tea, Liu is really enjoying being a part of the Ballard community. Take her d/cor, for instance. The works of local artisans decorates Miro's space. She wanted to decorate with reclaimed and recycled materials. Some of the furnishings come from Collective in Ballard, including the central piece from which she built the aesthetic of the entire space - an old 70s smoker's bar. Customers approach this area for daily tea samples.

The wall panel board behind the counter is made from reclaimed stalks of the sorghum plant. When trying to finish the flooring, Ballard's Restore came to the rescue by matching the existing flooring with 100-year-old fir. A bad windstorm knocked over trees in a local man's backyard. Liu got the oak and had custom made counters built around the walls of her shop. Even the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling are from local glass blower Ryan Staub.

"I wanted to support local businesses as much as possible. In building this place I realized how resourceful Ballard is. You can do a lot staying in this neighborhood." That is something us Ballardites like to hear.

Miro likes to display local talent by rotating artists each month for the local Artwalk. Other local fare include desserts from Hiroki, the pastry shop in Greenlake, Macrina day pastries, and Cocoa Chai Chocolates by local chocolatier Ivy Chan.

Not only is the ambiance aesthetically pleasing and inviting, Miro offers a great food and beverage menu. For food options one can choose from handmade sandwiches, salads, or the popular whole-wheat crepes (with fillings made from scratch). Liu says that French customers say that Miro crepes taste better than French crepes, which is the compliment of all gastro-compliments.

Tea options include everything from a cup or pot of tea chosen from the myriad of choices of loose leaf, to classic options such as English Breakfast and Moroccan Mint, to the more adventurous names of Bourbon St. Red, Smoked Caravan, White Ozzy, and Midnight Blue.

Upon ordering a cup of tea, the customer gets his/her own individual timer for the perfect steep time. Tick-tock. Now that's - perfect. Other hot options are tea lattes and chai tea. From the cold fusions menu, one can order sparkling tea, blended tea, or traditional iced tea.

Miro features an iced tea of the day to introduce people to different iced tea possibilities. Miro also offers a tea of the month, which features various categories and regions of tea with the purpose of educating the public. Miro's tea specialist Elliot Knapp also runs a tea blog (www.mirotea.blogspot.com). Miro will start offering more workshops and tea tasting events.

With wonderfully tasting tea comes wonderful taste in tea ware. Miro's retail products not only include bulk loose leaf tea in various sizes, but different steeping options, including a gold filter for fine leaf tea, Chinese tea thermoses, as well as specialized teapots and teacups from the Japanese ceramic artist Mori Masahiro.

Only one place brings together knitting circles, teenage girls playing Battleship, diligent students, and poetry groups. Miro Tea, so many to choose from, just say, "Miro, Miro, on the wall, which tea is the fairest of them all?"

What:

Miro Tea

Where:

5405 Ballard Ave. N.W.

www.mirotea.blogspot.com

206.782.6832

When:

Hours are Mon-Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-8 p.m.