" Crossed Eyes & Dotted Teas "

Here are some pictures of Richmond's FIRST optical / tea shop !!!!!!!!!!!

Come check us out, our holiday hours are 10-7 Mon thru Sat & 12-5 Sunday.

3506 W. Cary ( 2 doors down to the left on the other side of Burgers & Fries)

We are getting our signs in tomorrow, for now there is just a sign for Carytown Optical but we ARE here!!

A view from the window.

Changing some bulbs to brighten the space up.

Doing what we can to spice up a drab building.

I actually really love the neon glasses, at night it gives everything a soft glow.

New tea pots!

The optical shop is getting along pretty well, Cynthia is getting new inventory every day.

Neon lips that were once in a "business of the night".....

Stay tuned for the Tea Party/Fire Sale, awesome tea (duh), Designer frames for CHEAP and awesome local art and jewelry.........oh, and tea infused alcohol and wine!!!!

Fresh Off The Boat !!!

Just got in this morning and just finished blending...Yerba Mate !!! YAY!!!!

Now We Have..

Green Raw Mate

Roasted Mate

Tupa Mate

Lemon Ginger Mate

Carob Mint Mate

IN STOCK NOW !!

Today is the first official day that we are open in the temporary space (3506 w. cary st. / 2 doors down from the tea shop) with Carytown Optical.

While we are here the hours will be...

Tue-Sat : 1-7

Sun-Mon : CLOSED

Our teas are trickling in so not everything is blended but if you let us know what you cant live without we will put that at the top of we are getting there!!!!

This is what we have

In Stock

BLACK

Assam

Decaf Ceylon

Kenya Milima

English Breakfast

Irish Breakfast

Palm Court

Richmond Blend

Supreme Breakfast

Apricot

Black Rose

Chocolate Lover's

Chocolate Mint

Cranberry Autumn

Decaf Earl Grey

Earl Grey

Earl Grey Supreme

Ginger Peach

Hot Cinnamon Spice

Mango

Mistie's Blend

Paris

Patricia's Blend

OOLONG

Wuyi Oolong

GREEN

Sencha

Decaf Sencha

IZU Matcha

Dragon Pearl Jasmine

CHAI

Masala Chai

ROOIBOS

Green Peach Rooibos

TISANE (herbal)

Sabdariffa Hibiscus

Fire Ginseng

Strawberry Kiwi

Red Clover Blossoms

Peppermint

Egyptian Chamomile

AND DONT FORGET!! We have tea pots, infusers, mesh balls, etc...

The Aftermath...

Here are some of the pictures I took right after we got the go ahead to go back into the tea shop.

They really don't do it justice. It was too dark in the back of the shop to actually see any of the fire damage.

Our main problem is the smoke damage..it REEKED in there..every day I got home I had to wash my hair 3 to 4 times and it would still have a slight smoky smell.

It was horrible knowing that we had just the night before, finished blending all the teas and had the shelves totally full and ready to rock.

When we opened up the tins they all smelled like smoke, ironically, the Lapsang Souchong which is supposed to smell smoky, had absolutely no smell to it whatsoever.

Fortunately the company that specializes in fire and water damage arrived ASAP and I just talked to them yesterday and all of our furniture is smoke free and like brand new.

The shop , as of Wednesday is smoke free and now we are just waiting on the contractor to paint the walls and put the new ceilings in.

Again, thanks to everyone for the support. When we re-open we are going to break the shop in right, with a PARTY !!!!

Love you all, you are the bees knees!!

Ah, the smell of burning tea...

On Wednesday October 6th around 8 in the morning the building connected to CaryTown Teas went ablaze.. destroying CaryTown Optical and Appointments Salon which resides on the second floor. CaryTown Teas sustained major smoke damage along with minor fire damage...

The optical shop and salon have extensive structural damage that will most likely take a couple months to repair, in the meantime you can still get ahold of them by calling their business numbers and also temporarily, Cynthia, owner of Carytown Optical is occupying the space directly above CaryTown Teas.

The tea shop is already undergoing repairs and is scheduled to open sometime in the next two weeks. We have already started to get fresh teas in from our farms and we are blending off site as we speak, so if you need your tea fix you can still purchase through our website .

When the store front opens up we are planning a big re-opening party for all of you lovely folks that have been so wonderful during this trying time...You Guys Are Awesome !!!

.........In the meantime I hope you all enjoy this lovely picture of Patricia from the CaryTown Teas Archives....

The Shop

Sometimes I forget how pretty the shop is, I am so lucky that I dont have to report to a cubicle every day....

Lazy Dayz

Just wanted to share this adorable sight......wish I got paid to do that. When Tartine is sleeping is the only time she isnt getting into trouble...dont let this cutepicture fool you....