Infusions and Frivolity

Apothica Teas in Niles, Michigan, promising “infusions and frivolity,” is many things to many people. Spend a little time in this Victorian Steampunk—themed salon and you will see a steady stream of customers of all ages, running the gamut of human expression.

Laura Hollister, who owns the shop with her husband Shane and runs it with the help of many of their six sons, has purposefully created an accepting, inclusive space. “It’s so much fun to let people be themselves,” she says. “It’s nice to see people read that correctly.” She recalls looking around the shop and seeing “customers from 7 to 90 years of age, with four different colors of bright hair, a table of ladies in pearls and hats and one of young people with multiple piercings.”  

The ritual of tea and baked treats is an inclusive, fun reason to gather and offers a world of discovery. A panoply of loose tea in glass jars stretches out on the wall behind the front counter. Nearby is the “Teapot Prognosticator,” a spinning wheel of test tubes with samples to sniff and explore. 

 “Tea sommelier” Haley Crowley is the patient and knowledgeable guide to the Compendium of nearly 100 teas: black, green, white, yellow and herbal; with flavors fruity, floral, spicy or nutty; hand-rolled, smoked or fermented. On the menu is everything from Black Cask Bourbon to milky oolong, lychee peach to cherry marzipan. In a Plum Saffron black tea, “quinoa flakes round off the cup with a slight nuttiness.” Clouds & Mist green tea is grown high in the mountains, we learn, and “offers forward vegetal notes with stone fruit and a tad bit of smokiness as an afterthought.”

For Hollister, tea is a good way to get to know a culture. “Every culture has tea,” she says. Exploring it is a way of “broadening awareness—not just a hyper-local community, but our place in the global community.” Apothica regularly holds themed tastings for those interested in learning more. 

You can stop in for a quick cuppa or treat yourself to British high tea. It begins with a trip to a cabinet full of fanciful cups and saucers. Choose your pleasure, then return to the table for a leisurely service of tea and an array of house-made delicacies, including teacup soup, finger sandwiches, pastries and scones with lemon curd, clotted cream and local Sticky Spoons jams.   

A kitchen expansion this year will allow for new à la carte offerings, unique but thematically appropriate, including Scotch eggs, royal pies, Cornish pasties and American-style crumpets with ham, cheddar or potato. 

Last year, Hollister bought the vacant storefront next door and converted it into the Conservatory, with an English garden ambiance and space for larger groups and private parties. Plans to knock out the adjoining wall and connect the two spaces will triple Apothica’s seating. 

Hollister has been surprised by her venture’s rapid growth. “When I had this idea, I imagined myself sitting reading a book until someone came in. It’s wonderful to find that there are so many other people out there who enjoy this experience.” 

The pandemic slowed some of the activities Hollister hoped to host, but since opening in late 2019, Apothica has seen pop-up events with local producers, music, poetry reading, a regular writers group and multiple game nights. 

“What I’m doing is much less about selling tea, more about building community,” Hollister says. “People want to be in a place where people treat others with civility, thoughtfulness and kindness, whether they know them or not.”

Apothica Teas

222 E. Main St. 

Niles, MI

269.340.0826

apothicateas.com

Lisa Barnett de Froberville is a French teacher and translator and the managing editor of Edible Michiana.