The Cultured Cup
8312 Preston Center Plaza Drive | Dallas, TX 75225
To be completely honest and open (and isn't that the point in a blog after all?) my first impression was that I was completely put off. After experiencing the delights of Europe, it was slightly less refreshing to see a "facade Europe". When I walked in the first time, I can think of little words to use to describe how I was treated than snubbed. I was not offered any service, and was not made welcome, while numerous other customers, both before and after were attended to.
If it hadn't been for the dearth of tea shops in Dallas, that may have been the end of my experience, but just as some seeds are sown on rocky land, they too can sprout, and I soon came to appreciate The Cultured Cup.
The Cultured Cup however does have a charm, and while I may not agree with everything that is said in the shop, or how some of the things are done (I doubt I will ever be convinced that serving tea, next to coffee, is acceptable), they do hold claim to possibly the United States's largest Mariage Freres tea distribution. Which has certainly wet my appetite for a visit in September.
The most negative thing about the shop, which has been confirmed by several people I have spoken with, is the level of pretentiousness . I know the irony in me stating this, as I am possibly one of the most snobby tea fanatics I know. However frequenting this place, has hopefully made me a bit wiser in the matter, in that I can not think of anything that puts people off more, than pretentiousness.
The first instance was a friend of mine, lets call him Luigi. We both worked at the same restaurant, and we both had a taste for some of the finer things in life. He comes from a very intense coffee background (his family has been growing coffee in plantations for several generations), and use to frequent the Cultured Cup, however when one of the owners went off on a tangent, making several mistakes about coffee, Luigi politely tried to correct him. One of the owners wouldn't acknowledge the fact that they might be wrong, and asserted that Luigi was wrong. In the world of business, I doubt I have seen many instances where it is ever a good idea to tell a customer they are wrong, especially when they are purchasing several hundred dollars of coffee a month. Goes with out saying, that Luigi does not purchase his coffee at the shop anymore.
Another instance I met with a couple people, that at the mention of the name, The Cultured Cup, gained a fearful look in their eye, and merely stated that one of the owners had acted like they knew everything. I too know this from experience, however name dropping a couple of the more difficult teas to find, and making a good friend in the shop, spared me the over-the-top lectures.
I am always one for learning more about tea, however how one is taught can be equally more important. I see it slipping into an irony that "The Path of Tea" suffers from, a review to come later. Just because one is a "Tea expert" doesn't necessarily entitle much, similar to a wishy-washy tea certification of a "Tea master". Tea is a great equalizer, perhaps a lesson that many of us tea drinkers have forgotten.
Not to make this post too lengthy, but through and through I give The Cultured Cup, a passable ranking and review. It tries, and I think it is in its trying too hard that puts people off. If it were to accept itself, and find its own way, as oppose to trying to be everything at once, people might regard it in a new light. I wish there were more seats, I wish that they would keep more teas in stock, as I right this review as they have been low/completely out of several teas for a long time. I wish they served scones. I wish they served tarts. I wish they were like the tea shops I have experienced in Edinburgh, but the bottom line is, they're not.
The owners/employees are nice people, and while it has taken me a month to appreciate them, I know that I will miss them when I am in Edinburgh. If I had any advice for anyone in the Dallas area it would be to check it out, and give it another-go.
~~~~~ EDIT
Reading back through this, I feel I do come off as overly harsh, and I would like to stress the facts that the owners really are nice, and sweet, and more than willing to spend far too much time nit-picking over what is the best tea for you to try, and it does have the largest tea selection I've seen in the United States (Larger than Teaism, Ching Ching Cha, and many others). The best way for one to determine if a place is right for you, or if you like a certain tea, is to give-it-a-go.
------Tea Fanatic
p.s. sorry for the poor picture quality, but was having fun with an iPhone.
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