How do we build a community around another beverage that has innate healing qualities?
Dobrá Tea heads west
Dobrá Tea will soon join the booming scene in West Asheville. Befitting of a company that draws inspiration from the change of seasons, the new location at 707 Haywood Road is slated to open on June 21, the summer solstice.
Wu Gong Fu Tea to lead meditations on tea and sound
Every Sunday this month, Wu Gong Fu Tea will host a Tea Meditation and Sound Journey workshop that will pair a traditional tea service with live music. Charles and Jenny Wu will lead participants in two hours of meditative reflection removed from the chaos of modern life.
Small Bites: Mountain Cooking Club
Cooking classes in Clyde, new management at Stonebowl, big changes for Tupelo Honey and a Whole Foods event celebrating a favorite Italian cheese.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding campaigns
Crowdfunding platforms make it possible for individuals and organizations of any size to harness social networks and raise startup capital for projects that might otherwise fail due to lack of funding. This week: self-reliance through chickens, new adventures at Firestorm Books and a re-published Tarot classic.
Web Bites with Gina Smith: Aphrodisiac tea with Marc Williams
Asheville ethnobiologist, herbalist and educator Marc Williams recently joined Xpress in the test kitchen at Selina Naturally in Arden to discuss herbal teas and ways certain herbs can help us nurture love in our lives.
Small Bites: Asheville Truffle Experience
Asheville celebrates truffles, Oskar Blues partners with King James Public House, Asheville’s French Quarter celebrates Mardi Gras, a chili cook-off in Fletcher,
plus January tea events.
Gemstones and tea: a pairing for the new year
Gemstones and tea might seem an unlikely combination, but to local jewelry designer Jen Aly, they make perfect sense together. “They are two of my favorite things,” she says. Aly decided to combine them for her workshop Gemstones and Tea: Set Your Intentions for 2015, which will be held at Dobra Tea on Sunday, Jan. 18. Aly, […]
Firestorm Café and Books finds a new West Asheville home
Firestorm Café and Books is coming back with a bang — revamped, refurbished — and in West Asheville. Soon to be located at 610 Haywood Road (formerly home to Pro Bikes), Firestorm Café and Books originally opened downtown in March 2008 in the Commerce Street space now occupied by the new Ethiopian restaurant Addissae. In April 2014, […]
Small Bites: Peaberry Press brings coffee, smoothies to River Ridge
A new coffee shop is open in East Asheville; Dough closes for remodeling; Hopey & Co. announces downtown expansion plans; Asheville Mardi Gras plans a Cajun Cook-off and
Asheville: Brunch City, U.S.A.
Walking through the streets of downtown Asheville on a chilly Sunday morning, it’s hard not to be tempted by the smell of fresh-roasted coffee wafting from inside cracked doors. Outside, eye-catching rows of sandwich boards line the sidewalk. “Lobster omelette; local eggs,” reads one. “Fresh-squeezed pomegranate mimosa,” reads another, adorned with a colorful chalk-drawing of a tasty-looking […]
Small Bites: Holiday market, winemaking evaluations, Tea Time and more
News on indoor holiday markets, a winter community potluck, evaluations for amateur winemakers and a free tasting of Alpine cheeses.
Single origin, double quality: Asheville gets Honduran coffee
Praline, caramel and buttery notes co-star in the latest small-batch brew available from City Bakery and Dynamite Roasting Co., and this is one buzz you won’t regret in the morning. Certified organic single-origin coffee from Honduras’ Finca La Esmeralda farm — expertly grown, carefully selected and recently transported — has made its way to Asheville, […]
Buskers and bells, tea in town
I live in Weaverville, and we Weavervilleans have pretty firm ideas about coming to town. “Town” here refers to Asheville as we consider ourselves an idyllic little village just outside of town. In many ways, we are idyllic. Our neighborhoods have sidewalks that busy themselves with bicycles and baby strollers, our big trees boast swings […]
Coffee journey
Great coffee is no different from any other art form: The quality of the final product depends both on material and process. “We can make really great green coffee taste terrible; we can make really great green coffee taste great. But we can’t make bad green coffee taste good: We can only work with what […]
Fall Equinox Communi-Tea Festival welcomes autumn
Summer was bid farewell and lady autumn was greeted with open hearts by tea fans of all ages who gathered at Dobra Tea in Black Mountain on Sunday, Sept. 21, to celebrate the change of seasons. Dobra Tea and Panther Moon Tea Co. united to host the inaugural Fall Equinox Communi-Tea Festival, an event filled with music, […]
Counter Culture Coffee, Burial Beer brew up a collaboration
Burial and Counter Culture are at it again. This Thursday, Aug. 28, the two will host a collaborative coffee and beer tasting 4-7 p.m. at Burial’s taproom, 40 Collier Ave.
Asheville hosts 120 hungry bloggers
Ashevilleans, more so than residents of many other cities, know where their food is raised, grown or picked and can often participate in the process with little effort. This reverence for cuisine afforded Asheville the honor of hosting Food Blog Forum’s 2014 conference, a three-day networking and educational event for 120 food bloggers from across the nation.
Whole Foods Market to set up mobile kitchen on Tunnel Road
Upscale grocer Whole Foods has planned a week of mobile kitchen feasts in anticipation of the grand opening at its 4 S. Tunnel Road location. The campaign kicks off with a “community giving day” on Aug. 18, at which nonprofit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue will be the sole beneficiary of all food sales.
Ben’s Tune-Up brings new convenience store to South Slope
“Everybody needs sodas and cigarettes and snacks,” says Ben’s Tune-Up co-owner Meg Alt. Now, individuals who work and play downtown have an expedient means to get these items. Ben’s Penny Mart, Asheville’s newest convenience store and hangout, is scheduled to open on Friday, Aug. 15, at 195 Hilliard Ave. adjacent to Hi-Wire Brewing. The hours […]
Chai love: Asheville embraces India’s ancient healing drink
When ordering a chai in the Western world, a customer may receive any number of concoctions. A simple black tea with spices is one possibility, but it is significantly more likely that the beverage will be prepared with a powdered mix of sugar and corn syrup solids, with tea nowhere to be seen on the ingredient list. Fortunately for Asheville residents, local businesses are taking the making of chai back to the basics.