TeBella Tea Company, a small, family-owned tea boutique specializing in loose-leaf teas and tea accessories, recently expanded to a new Rosemary District location in November. Owner Abigail StClair first founded the company in Tampa in 2010. Although she has had a store at University Town Center in Sarasota for several years, she says she had always hoped to relocate to an area that better suited the vibe of her store.

“While it worked out and was financially very successful, the mall atmosphere just never really suited our brand. The timing was right to relocate to a regular old brick-and-mortar street-side store, and the Rosemary District just has tons of charm,” says StClair. “We love the surrounding businesses, and we love the proximity to downtown and this beautiful building that we found, it is just so charming, so much natural light. We're right on a corner, and as for the building, the second I laid eyes on it, I knew it was the one.”

The newly opened TeBella Tea location features more than 100 different teas, sourced from across the world. StClair sources the tea herself and focuses on finding high-end, orthodox-grade teas, meaning they are premium and hand-harvested blends. Although TeBella is primarily a retail store, it also features a tea bar. “Any of our teas can be cupped and made to order, either hot or iced. So you can actually come in and choose one for us to prepare for you on site,” says StClair. “We have a collection of pre-curved lattes as well that we've designed ourselves.”

Current popular offerings include matcha, a lavender black tea, a blueberry pomegranate green tea and a Florida orange blossom green tea. At the tea bar, TeBella favorites are the London Fog latte, a salted caramel latte and seasonal flavors offered throughout the fall and holiday season. “We rotate our menu all the time to reflect what's popular and what's new. We get fresh harvests almost weekly, if not monthly, from different regions which harvest teas at different times of year,” says StClair.

As TeBella Tea adjusts to its new location, StClair hopes that the added charm and space bring the opportunity for the brand to grow organically and open a second store in Sarasota. With the current store, she hopes to share her own love for tea with the community. “I've loved tea since I was a little girl, and for me, it's always been about the ritual of tea, the experience of making a perfect cup of tea and enjoying that ritual,” says StClair. “Tea has always kind of been part of that relaxation ritual for me. We’ve introduced a lot of people who didn't know they loved tea to our brand.”

591 N Orange Ave, Sarasota, 941-376-5019.