Greetings to you lovers of life, food and drink; today the Rogue Chef will take you to another off the beaten path learning and drinking experience. In my last expose` I had taken you to South Philadelphia to experience a quaint little spot, called “Victor Café”. Well, to my appreciators of serendipitous circumstances, South Philly has way more to offer you than just one little old respected Italian eatery; it also has an out of this world (to die for) family owned and operated “Tea House”!
Approximately one block south, on the southwest side of the block, past the intersection of 4th Street & Bainbridge St.; way lays a tea lovers cornucopia. The name of this establishment is appropriately entitled “THE HOUSE of TEA. Ltd.” and the initial purveyor of this shop of teas was owner and New York City native, “Nathaniel Litt. The Tea House is more than adequately stocked with a plethora and array of teas gathered from the four corners of the globe. Each loose leaf tea is positioned within its own segmented space along and around the custom designed shelving system built my Mr. Litt and added on to by the sole heir to his tea legacy Ms. Jessica Litt.
The Tea House selections are individually contained within their own nostalgic amply proportioned black and or gold tin labeled with the “House of Tea” insignia. These choice tea selections are imported from the likes of places and regions such as India, China, Formosa, Japan, and Ceylon. With there currently being approximately 277 different teas to choose from, just exactly how does one begin to make up ones mind as to which one, or how many teas should a new comer or enthusiast start out with? Well, apart from the rhetorical quandary, I will share with you the first three selections that I started out with. My first purchased encounter was from the scented Green Teas portion of the tea menu, and it was delightfully entitled “Sundew. A delectable aromatic ambrosia of a simple yet sweet floral bouquet wonderfully intermingled with the green tea leaf character traits, with a palate that leaves nothing more to be desired. The second of my tea sipping encounters was of the Jasmine Green Teas, duly named “Silver Needle Jasmine”; now the aroma along with the palate of this tea is quite relaxing and intrinsically intoxicating, simple yet delectable. It has been said that the third time is a charm, and with my third encountered tea selection from the Scented Fruit and Fruit Teas category, this statement is quite accurate. This particular selection of tea simply called “Ginger with Pieces” (if you appreciate all of the properties of ginger) is superbly refreshing, well scented, with a touch of pungency upon the palate. For the record I am not a tea connoisseur, so my opinions and palate’s discernment are from the perspective of a {laymen / Chef} that can appreciate the wonderfulness of the Divine simplicity of the bounty of natures serendipitous provisions.
Journey with me back to the first time that I enter “The House of Tea”, it was roughly in the summer season of the year 1995; and I was working the lunch shift at a Jewish Delicatessen about five or six doors down from the tea house. When my work shift was over, I sojourned into this tea house just on a whim by chance; before that moment in time I had never seen or heard of a tea shop before then. Upon entering the shop Mr. Nathaniel Litt, instantly greeted me and welcomed me into his proprietary establishment with a warm zeal and enthusiasm; seemingly eager to converse and share with me his profound knowledge of his impressive collection of international teas. Mr. Litt’s insight on his tea collection was exhaustive and diverse, from the proper way to steep the tea, and even cooking with the teas in the culinary aspect. I posed to him the question of “what is the best way to sweeten ones tea before drinking it”. Now in my teens my mother started steeping herbs to make medicinal teas for their various health benefits, and to my surprise what she had told me in correlation to the herb steeping was the same exact information that Mr. Litt confirmed in relation to steeping loose leaf teas. That information being, all natural loose leaf teas can be most and best appreciated when not sweetened at all; also it helps to better develop ones palate for tea drinking. Without the presence of sugar or honey while sipping from your cup of tea, you can and will begin to discern the natural and subtle flavor properties that are abundantly relevant; but are lost with the presence of anything added to it. From a woodsy earth, to fruity sweet, smoky, bitter, or pungent tastes; the vast spectrum of what one can and will develop in the ability to discern distinctly when sipping natural loose teas in their au natural state is an evolutionary and worth while experience and endeavor.
With my deepest condolences and respect to the Litt family Legacy,
Mr. Nathaniel Litt passed away ten years ago; rest his soul. However, “The Litt Family Tea House tradition” still stands and runs even stronger now today due to the diligent effort and perseverance of Mr. Litt’s heir / daughter, ex-race horse jockey turned tea house proprietor; “Lady Jessica Litt”. I’ve duly addressed Ms. Litt by the title of {Lady} because of the extraordinary job that she has and continues to do in honor to the passionate pursuit of running the business that her dad started and was given to her by her mother to continue to run in Mr. Litt’s stead. Lady Jessica Litt is a precious gem stone that honors the legacy of her father quite well in relation to the old school homage “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. Since the day that “The House of Tea” has been placed within her charge she has not missed a beat in relation to how she manages the business exactly the way that her “Dearest Daddy” did. The only addition that she has made is expanding the custom shelving to accommodate a broader selection of teas; kudos Lady Litt.
I have met and personally spoken with Jessica Litt on a few occasions and I admire the amount of effort and tenacity that she has exuded in coming into a trade and business that she was not formerly acquainted with before the passing of her father. She is a diligent yet simple creature of habit in relation to her running the business just as her dad did before her. She travels across the globe to many and various tea tasting venues in search of the next tea to be acquired for the shop. Staying in constant touch with her European tea broker and consult finding out the venture cost of the market teas and then determining if we the tea consumer would appreciate the teas and effort in acquiring them. Ms. Litt is knowledgeable, personable, conversational, and as welcoming as her dad was with me when I met him twelve years ago. I strongly recommend becoming a permanent patron of “THE HOUSE of TEA. Ltd”.
