Tea houses are usually not my cup of tea, especially if I am a first timer in the place and don’t know what type of tea to get. The other day I happened to have a work meeting at Tomás. To be honest I wasn’t very psyched about it and I thought to myself I will probably order a tea blend I will end up not liking, as usual.
Well I had a really pleasant surprise, not only did I love the place I loved my frappe green tea! Tomás is a tea house with two different locations in Mexico City. I visited the one in the Condesa neighborhood in a remodeled mansion.
I had the opportunity to meet Eugenio Larrinaga, one of the owners of Tomás who talked to me about the overall concept of the place and the teas they sell which are imported from countries like China, Japan and India.
Why is it called Tomás? The name of Tomás refers to a remarkable character of modern and commercial history of tea: Thomas Sullivan. Settled in New York, he put the tea leaves into small silk bags before distributing. This new presentation became a new habit to countless people, leaving behind the idea of an elitist concept for tea consumption.
What I found most unique about this place is that it allows customers to experience their diverse tea offerings in a didactic manner. In each tea container they use a format where three numbers are placed on the label to recognize them. The first number is used to label the type of tea or tisane, the second number is used for the predominant flavor and the third number is to label the type of Tomás edition to facilitate customers choice. This numeric coding makes the experience more personalized and easier for the customers to choose when ordering.
You can order your tea either hot, cold, frappe or as soda (with bubbles). The latter being the first of its kind in the country and a much healthier choice than a regular soda can! All their tea varieties can be bought in bulk to be consumed at home. To complement the experience Tomas offers desserts such as scones, tea cakes and chocolates. If you are a tea lover and enjoy trying different spots this is a place you must try in Mexico City!
