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Tea master Jessica Heintzleman dunks a 6-inch tea bag into a small pot as steam smothers her white bonnet. She holds the tea bag submerged, carefully counting the passing seconds, whips it out and covers the pot with an ornate flowered pot holder.
“These are our water heaters Helga and Bertha,” she said, gesturing at two massive foiled contraptions along the wall.
The lengthy process is in the name of brewing the “perfect” pot of tea, an art two managers at the St. James Tearoom spent years perfecting.
Floor manager Olivia Gassaway said the managers steeped 52 types of tea at various times and temperatures until they found the perfect balance of body and flavor. Market cashier and UNM business student Samantha Nydoske said the process may seem long, but there’s a purpose to it.
“At first it sounds really boring, but have you smelled the teas? They smell so good,” she said. “And then there’s all this stuff about how long they oxidize for and stuff. It’s just interesting.
How long the black teas versus the green teas versus the white teas — it’s very scientific.”
The tearoom offers two-hour sittings during which customers are seated in ornate, curtained nooks and are served tiny cucumber sandwiches, fresh scones and servings of strawberry orange jam, in addition to tea. Twenties-style jazz music plays as little girls in dresses try on elaborate hats, running down the hallways lit by gaslight. The servers wear floor-length white aprons embroidered with their names.
Customers said the tea was excellent, but it’s really more about the ambiance.
“It’s just the whole atmosphere here; it’s not just the tea. It’s the whole atmosphere that they try to build — relaxation, elegance, courtesy. You don’t have to dress up, but a lot of people do. It’s just special,” said Terry Walker, a regular who has visited the tearoom every month for eight years.
Gassaway said that many other tearooms in Albuquerque have closed down, but St. James continues to grow as a business. She said people in today’s society are so busy rushing around that they forget to relax, and drinking tea can remedy that problem.
“Since its two hours set aside, it just provides a lot of time for you to build a relationship with whoever you’re bringing, or just sit and forget about the outside world,” she said. “We can provide that experience for you. People don’t realize that they need downtime in today’s society, which is so crazy, go-go-go, so when they do get a glimpse of what relaxation is, I think they really enjoy it.”
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Gassaway said the tearoom strives toward five principles: grace, civility, gentility, excellence and beauty. Each of these principles is written in ornate script on the teacups and teapots, and staff members are trained with them in mind.
“I think tea, when done right, is a very slow process, and it just makes you stop what you’re doing and focus on making something beautiful and taking the moment for yourself and whoever you’re sharing tea with,” said market cashier and UNM creative writing student Elise Mouchet.
Some people come to the tearoom dressed in suits and lace dresses, others wear jeans and baseball caps. Nydoske said she first visited the tearoom for a friend’s birthday, and decided she wanted to work there because of the atmosphere.
“I watch Disney princess movies all the time, and so people come in dressed up like that all the time, and I’m like ‘This is so cute,’” she said.
Nydoske said her work has carried into her personal life: she now makes and drinks tea at home.
“At first I wasn’t a big fan of the tea part — I just loved all the little morsels of stuff that come with it,” she said. “But now that I’ve been working here, this morning I actually thought about tea before I thought about coffee. I was with my dad in the kitchen, and I was like ‘Oh this needs more body. I’ll leave it in there a little longer.’ He didn’t notice, but I tried, I tried to sound like I knew what I was doing.”
Tea master Jessica Heintzleman has more than 30 types of tea at home, but she said they never taste as good as when she makes them at the tearoom.
“A lot of customers are like ‘It’s just not as good at home when I brew it,’” Gassaway said. “That’s how I feel too. I’m like ‘Mom, something’s wrong with our water. I don’t think this is a good pot,’ and she’s like ‘You’re crazy.’”
As empty platters and teapots are bustled back to the kitchen, a server walks around the hallways playing chimes, a signal that the seating is over. The patrons file out of the shop onto busy Osuna Road, still discussing darjeelings and jasmines and white teas as they disperse.
St. James Tearoom
320 Osuna Road N.E.
(505) 242-3752
