On my final stop of my exploration of tea available in D.C. stores, I decided to see what would be considered worthy enough to be sold in a high class store. To Dean & Deluca I went.Â
On a nice spring Sunday in Georgetown, a notoriously wealthy neighborhood, my friend and I walked along M Street until we found the small store and it’s striped awnings. As soon as we stepped in, my friend remarked “I’m not wealthy enough to breathe in here.” I could certainly see how this store, with its white walls and chrome shelving, could be perceived as pretentious and bougie. There weren’t too many people shopping while I was there. I saw a few individuals, who seemed to be college aged or older, buying a handful of items. At one point, a group of what looked to be high school girls stopped in and quickly turned around and left. Apparently this store is not for the unprepared.Â
A quick scan seemed to reveal that most of the items in the store were in simple, non-flashy packaging. With no signs to be seen, I was preparing myself to have to look closely to spot the tea. Luckily, on the right side of the store, under a window was a table proudly and clearly displaying a few varieties of tea. I imagine this display was set up specifically for the tea that had “delicate flavors of cherry blossoms”, as it was cherry blossom season when I visited. To the right of this table was a shelving unit with honeys and jams and to the right of that was a shelving unit with more tea.Â
The tea being sold was either Dean & Deluca’s own brand, the brand Palais des Thes, or one Mariage Freres variety that was a Dean & Deluca blend. The Mariage Freres option came in a sleek black box with no price tag, and I’m not entirely sure if it was loose leaf or bagged tea. Maybe the mystery of it all is part of the appeal. The selection was fairly limited, but still covered the bases of green, black, and mint tea, with some flavor varieties in between. The options were mostly loose leaf teas sold in tins, with a handful of bagged teas. You could also purchase a “Cooking with Tea” set complete with a small recipe book and small tubes of tea, for $45.Â
Dean & Deluca seemed really focused on the place of origin of their teas. Every package was written in both English and French and one touted the “French art of teaTM”. France isn’t really the first place I think of when I think about tea, but sure. For the bagged tea options, shoppers could chose between one tea from India, one from China, one from Japan, and one black tea variety called “Big Ben” that suspiciously did not display where it was grown.
This store may challenge the idea that the labels “organic” and “natural” are used to raise prices. While none of the packages claimed to be organic or natural, the cheapest option was $10.50 for a tin of peppermint tea. The larger tins were around $40 each. I kind of wish I had bought some tea, to see if it was worth it. On the other hand, I value my bank account too much to do so. Maybe one day.Â
