Best Teas '97

Best Tea Selection

Coffee, Etc.
Three Locations

READER'S PICK: Choice blends of herbal, black, Chinese, Kenyan and Japanese teas in a variety of flavors for a variety of occasions; in bags or loose leaf; served in a pot, a press, a cup or by the pound; caffeinated or decaf; for high-tea purists or children's breakfasts on a cold winter morning...Coffee, Etc. covers all the bases.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Cuppuccinos, 3400 E. Speedway

A REAL SCREAM: In the blur of the café latte frenzy of recent years, people have all but forgotten tea once ruled the international market and was considered essential for a quality life. Don't forget it was an outrage over a tax on tea that launched a revolution. While the British affinity for tea is well known, Americans have always seemed to prefer their java. However, there are a few infidels among us who consider a steaming cup of freshly brewed tea, maybe with a little sugar and a touch of lemon, the ideal remedy for a gloomy day. AZ Stixx, 3048 E. Broadway, has an astonishing selection of infusions--a whole separate menu, in fact, which includes nine varieties of black tea, a few greens and oolongs, and 10 herbal blends. Infusions of passion fruit, cinnamon, peach and mango compose beverages bordering on metaphysical: Change your fate with the "tea of mystery," the "tea of inquiry" or "sky between the branches." A children's brew offers a sweet herbal blend of elderberries, blueberries, raisins, vanilla and hibiscus. Any way you read the leaves, it's high time to try the offerings at AZ Stixx.

1998 Winner: Coffee, Etc.
1996 Winner: Coffee, Etc.