I had the opportunity recently to visit a city I had never been, Reston, VA.
This city was never on my radar as a “must see” and basically I had never heard of it before.
I checked with a VA. Friend to see if she was near to possibly connect but alias Reston is closer to Washington, D.C. than it was to her.
Upon doing some research, in preparation for the trip, and taking into consideration, any tea establishments I might visit would have to be within walking distance from where I was staying.
The short list,
Greenberry’s Coffee and Tea
Lake Anne Coffeehouse
http://www.lakeannecoffeehouse.com/
both which I missed on this visit due to logistics.
What I did find was incredibly friendly people and lovely tea ware. Before we get into my finding, just a little about Reston.
I was pleasantly surprised by the “newness” of the city . A conversation with a hotel employee prompted me to do a little “Wikipedia” research about the history.
Robert E. Simon created the concept for this community .
It seems this community is
“An internationally-known planned community founded in 1964, it was built with the goal of revolutionizing post-World War II concepts of land use and residential/corporate development in American suburbia.[4]”* hence, the appearance of being so “new” in the architectural composition.
“Part of the New Town movement, from the beginning Reston was designed to follow “guiding principles” in its development that would stress quality of life. Citizens would be able to live in the same community while going through different life cycles with different housing needs as they age. It was hoped that Restonians could live, work, and have recreation in their own community, with common grounds and scenic beauty shared equally regardless of income level.[4]*
We stayed in the Reston Town Center where there was a mixture of both national and international guests and residents. It was lovely, it almost seemed as if I was home in NYC without the hustle and bustle.
Now about my tea finds.
I had no intention of purchasing anything at the shop but wanted to see if any of their tea ware offerings could be placed on my “when it goes on sale” list.
The helpful sales person invited my hubby to try some of the daily samplings being offered. Now as you all are aware tea is not my hubby’s drink of choice, being polite he did try a cup. I did not step in as I wanted to see what his reaction would be. He immediately asked the salesperson if the herbal brew contained sugar. There was a pause… Hubby then said I know this has sugar I can taste it. The sales person could not escape the question and admitted they used a natural rock sugar to sweeten the brew then proceeded to give the benefits of the “rock sugar”. Hubby’s response sugar is sugar (you go guy!) no matter what it’s called. I proceeded to go into the store to look at the tea ware offerings as Hubby went on a tasting tour.
The tea ware was lovely, although many of the offerings I had seen before.
Hubby picked out one item that we agreed was special though I was banned from purchase.
Our visit to Teavana ended with Hubby purchasing an herbal blend that sparked his fancy and questioned if it would taste the good with Agave.
I think the sales person was dismayed when his suggestions of companion tea ware was met with a “no thank you”
All in all it was a pleasant visit and I was so happy that my Hubby is learning about herbal blends and questioning the contents.
Another stop to look for tea ware was Anthropologie, which I have found to carry some very unusual selections. One such item was this “two types of tea teapot with spouts on either side. There were also many types of alphabetized tea cups and mugs.
After a nice walk around the area it was back to the hotel where I stumbled upon a fantastic store, Appalachian Spring, a unique gift shop specializing in American Craft. They have five locations throughout Washington, Virginia and Maryland.
I was greeted by the store manager, Liz who noticed me ogling the handcrafted tea ware. She was wonderful and knowledgeable about the ceramic designers and the specialty pieces.
The items were beautiful and unique.
I purchased a new teacup that ,“had my name on it” the design fit perfectly in my hand, just right for the way I like to enjoy tea. The many offerings can be seen on their website.
Dining in town has a host of wonderful offerings from high end to moderate. I chose to have my evening meal at Vapiano, just to try something new. Upon entry to this well lit, floor to ceiling windowed establishment I was greeted by a hostess who inquired if I had been there before.
My answer prompted her to give me a rundown, upon entry you are given a scan card where as you go to each of the food or beverage counters the preparer scans in what you have ordered, at the end of your dining experience the card is then scanned to total up your payment.
Ok sounded like fun to me so I gave it a try. I sauntered over to the counter and stood in line with others waiting for there freshly cooked pasta to be prepared. It was great watching the chiefs prepare the food on the spot.
I ordered the Scampi E Spinaci (shrimp, pancetta, garlic, white wine, wilted spinach,and lemon over pasta).
You are able, when at the counter, to make special requests to the main dishes as the chief prepares. I was so satisfied with my meal and the environment I wanted to go back the next day although time did not permit.
Our short visit to this lovely city ended all too soon, hopefully there will be a reason for me to visit again.
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I laughed at the “sugar is still sugar” and the “we use it to give our samples a little more sweet” parts.
It seems Teavana people are always trying to push for more sales… and of teaware.
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A few of my co-workers have gone to Reston and stayed in the Town center for a conference or two. It sounds really nice and I would love to go. Seems like there is a lot to do there. Thanks for sharing your tea travels.
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i love the tea cups and pots! they do know teaware.