The Mill City Times Interview: Northeast Tea House Offers Haven from Daily Stress

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Northeast Tea House opened its doors on August 24 and the sense of Zen upon entering its doorway is palpable. We spoke to Simon Parish, founder and head tea master and David Parish, co-founder, about the inspiration for the tea house and plans for the future.

Q:  Congratulations on your new business! Please tell our readers about your tea house.

A:  Thank you! Northeast Tea House is our vision of a refuge from the anxieties and frenetic pace of modern life. We’ve put a lot of effort into creating a space that is extremely beautiful and calming, and most conducive to mindful engagement with friends and traditional tea culture. We provide customers with everything needed to engage in their own tea ceremonies, known as gongfu brewing – a meditative process of tea steeping and drinking that is very relaxing, and that gets much, much more tea from the tea leaves. This process, combined with the beauty of NTH, cannot help but create calm.

We also mill fresh matcha in-house. As far as we’ve been able to learn, we are only the second place to do so in the country. The difference in flavor and texture of freshly milled matcha is incomparable, and entirely unlike the matcha one can find in a store or even online.

In addition, we have a rotating menu of 35 or so seasonal teas, sweet and savory snacks, tea ware and, once it is safe to do so, events and classes.

Simon Parish 

Fresh-milled matcha

Q:  Can you tell us more about gonfu brewing?

A:  Gongfu is the traditional method of tea brewing that uses a higher leaf-to-water ratio and shorter brew times. Typically using a gaiwan, or lidded bowl, one brews their tea leaves for a short time, strains the tea and drinks it, then repeats the process multiple times with the same leaves. Each infusion yields slight differences in the flavor, and observing the changes in the tea lends to the naturally meditative quality of the process. The tea also tends to be much more flavorful, and one can get a lot of tea out of the same leaves.

Q:  What’s the inspiration for your shop?

A:  Culturally, we take a lot of inspiration from China and Japan – the cultures that grew up with tea and developed the calming methods of brewing it that we think are so effective. Personally, engaging with tea via these cultures has provided enormous benefit to my own mental health by giving me a reliable method for relaxation and appreciation of the present moment even during challenging times. My love for the intricacies of tea coupled with is meditative qualities inspired me to provide a space where other could benefit in the same way. Especially now, when anxiety is the norm, the role for a tea house such as ours seems even clearer.

Q:  Are you offering classes?

A:  We absolutely will once we can host larger events in a post-pandemic world. In the meantime, we are trying to find creative ways to provide tea education and experiences to customers, and are able to host smaller, distanced groups at our community table. Class topics will range from the simple enjoyment of the meditative process of gongfu, to tasting subtle variations in similar teas from different years, provinces, etc.

Q:  How might we follow your news?

A: We are fairly active on Instagram, and update our website regularly. One can also subscribe to our mailing list via our website, and keep up-to-date on the latest offerings, deals, and events. Finally, we have an in-store rewards program for frequent visitors and will be reaching out to that group with specials just for them! Come see us at 224 E Hennepin Avenue. We’re open from 10a-7p daily - please call with any questions, 612-321-8215.

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About Becky Fillinger

I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.

One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.