It’s tea time for two Detroiters

Until recently, Detroit was a city with 100 coffee shops but possibly not a single spot focused on tea. Soon it will have two.

Several weeks ago, Detroiter Kimberly Elise opened Lily’s and Elise Tea House on Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion and returning customers are already showing up.

“We have regulars, which is fun, because I couldn’t imagine having regulars,” said Elise.

And soon, another Detroit woman, Katrina Anderson, will open her own tea shop in the West Village neighborhood on Kercheval and Van Dyke, called CommodiTeas.

Together, the tea shops are filling a gap in a city saturated with coffee shops. Detroit is now up to 100 coffee shops with more planned. But a tea cafe in Detroit was a rare find after SocraTea closed its storefront location in Midtown last fall, switching to online bulk sales. 

“I’ve had a lot of support from within the community, people who have heard the story or supported us during our pop-up phase, so it’s been a lot of fun,” Elise said about the first few weeks of operation. 

In March 2020, Elise signed a lease to open a shop to up a tea house on the Avenue of Fashion that would offer European-style afternoon and high tea. But complications from COVID-19 set back the opening; at one point Elise resigned herself to it never opening. faced never opening. But in 2022, Elise received a $45,000 grant from Motor City Match to help launch and  open the brick-and-mortar.

It’s been a long road for Anderson, as well. 

After a decade of e-commerce and rotating pop-ups, CommodiTeas will locate permanently  at 8100 Kercheval Ave. Previously, the location was a sandwich shop called Frenchie’s, and before that, La Bohème. The CommodiTea owner envisions creating a space for residents to be able to relish drinking tea. 

“I want to give Detroiters a place to celebrate their passion for tea,” said Anderson. 

“Our culture (in Detroit) is coffee-centric; it can be difficult to create memorable tea experiences. CommodiTeas solve problems for tea drinkers with quality beverages and teaware,” she said by email. 

Previously, CommodiTeas operated storefronts in Corktown and the Fisher Building in New Center. 

Anderson said she chose West Village because it holds decades of history for her family. 

“When I was a young girl, my father pastored a church a few blocks away,” she told BridgeDetroit. Her husband also grew up within walking distance of the location and several family members still live nearby, Anderson said. 

“I am excited to get anchored into an energetic community,” she said. 

Similarly, Elise said she chose the Avenue of Fashion because growing up, it was the spot she visited for fashion, food, and other amenities. 

“I’m a Detroiter and I didn’t want to go to an area, you know, that is ‘new Detroit.’ I wanted to come to the heart of Detroit, and to me, that’s what Livernois is,” she said. 

Where to buy tea in Detroit: