Photo BY MEGHAN ERKKINEN
A CUP OF TEA. Mad Hat Tea Company, located in downtown Tacoma, sells tea by the cup as well as in bulk.
Tobin Ropes, owner of Mad Hat Tea Company in downtown Tacoma, is bringing tea back in style.
Ropes, who formerly co-owned Acme Wine Company, discovered tea through a sort of epiphany. Ropes said he was driving home one night, distraught after firing the lawyers representing him in a lawsuit with his wine partners, when he heard a voice.
"Tea," the voice said. When Ropes questioned the voice, it replied, "tea, trust me."
In that moment, Ropes, who said he never was never a tea drinker before, became a tea enthusiast.
"I don't know why it happened, but I'm glad it did," Ropes remarked. "Sometimes in life you just have to pay attention to what you don't understand."
He spent that night researching tea on the Internet. A month later, he attended the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas. He said he tasted hundreds of teas – and took notes on each one – before he opened his tea company.
Ropes first began Mad Hat as a mail-order business and quickly grew it into what it is today. The Mad Hat Tea Company is a place for people to sample teas before ordering them or simply buy a cup of tea.
"It's nice because it's not loud," Ropes commented. "Coffee shops are loud; tea is not loud."
Ropes assured customers his tea is of high quality.
"Tea has no voice," Ropes said. "It has no has no way to authenticate what it is."
Because there are no controls in the tea world, he continued, vendors can label their teas as something they aren't. Ropes said he has done a lot of research, and for every tea he sells, he has tried ten.
Ropes has three or four different teas made up in pots every day for customers to sample. He will also make cups of any tea Mad Hat supplies.
Co-worker Maureen McHugh can also make botanical mixes for ailments ranging from sinus problems to anxiety to hangovers.
"I guess you can call me the resident mixologist," said McHugh, who managed a health food store for 10 years.
Ropes said he chose the location for Mat Hat, between 11th and 13th Streets on both Broadway and Commerce, because it was central to offices and to the city in general. The shop is broken into three rooms with tables, chairs, stools and couches. A back room is available for meetings or parties, Ropes said.
The location is decorated with artwork by McHugh and others, much of which is for sale. Ropes also sells tea accessories, including pots and mugs.
So far, business has been as expected, Ropes said.
"We get new people every day," McHugh noted.
As his popularity grows, Ropes said he plans on expanding his business. "There will be more Mad Hat tea companies," he predicted.
Soon, he said, he will be delivering tea to businesses. He also hopes restaurants and retail shops will carry his products.
However, Ropes said he is not focusing too much on those goals for now. "I think all that will take care of itself."
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