Chado Tea Market
An infatuation becomes a market dedicated to the art of tea
Reviewed by Virginia B. Wood, Fri., June 22, 2007
Chado Tea Market
3663 Bee Caves Rd. Ste. 4-D, 306-0224
Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm
Tony Ingargiola came to Austin with a team of Dallas hotel professionals who took over management of the venerable Driskill Hotel in the 1990s. After several years at the Driskill concierge desk, he was recruited to create the same position at the Barton Creek Resort. A little more than two years ago, Tony decided to put his years of customer-service experience to work in operating his own small business and caught the wave of an emerging trend. Chado Tea Market in West Lake celebrated a two-year anniversary in May of this year. Ingargiola traces the beginning of his journey into the tea market to his infatuation with Japanese tetsubin, cast-iron teapots. "When I started collecting them, I realized I needed quality loose teas to prepare in them, and I began exploring the world beyond Lipton tea bags," he explains. Today, Tony's chic little shop is filled with the results of his explorations – more than 70 varieties of gourmet loose teas sold by the ounce, plus a tasteful selection of tea accoutrements, including Japanese and Chinese teapots.
West Lake neighbors have found their way into the shop via good word of mouth, and, recently, area restaurateurs who shop there have begun to offer Chado's products to tea-savvy customers in their own establishments. Enjoy Chado hot teas at Houston's, the Galaxy Cafe on West Lynn, and Eastside Cafe and the refreshing strawberry-hibiscus tea blend on ice at the new Zocalo Taqueria in Clarksville. It's difficult to imagine surviving summer in Austin without iced tea, the ubiquitous Southern beverage of choice. Here again, there is a world of choice beyond the name-brand brews. To make surviving summer more delicious, Chado offers an inviting variety of chai spice blends and fruit/herbal tisanes such as green tea and papaya, coconut-mango, and peach-ginger with cinnamon, all perfect for serving over ice. Whether you are an established tea aficionado or merely a curious novice, Ingargiola has the tea for you.
