Jason Cooper's Road to Velvet 48
HOW A SON HONORS HIS MOM WITH WINE
A Cup of Tea for Everyone
Inspiring more than feel-good tea blends
Fancy sipping a cup of passion-fruit-laced Gone with the Wind or antioxidant-rich Josephine Baker? Inspired by classic films and celebrated jazz singers, Leland Tea Company owner Wil Otero crafts unique tea blends after legendary namesakes at his Burlingame tea house.
Of his house blend, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, he says, “I imagine Audrey [Hepburn] coming through the door wanting a nice cup of tea, and I’m thinking, ‘OK, here’s a powerful being who’s soft and subtle.’ So I make a super strong black tea that’s easy on the palate and doesn’t bite you back.”
Tucked behind bustling Burlingame Avenue, Leland Tea is a welcoming refuge. Signs posted around the shop with folksy sayings like “enter as strangers, leave as friends” and “drink tea—you’ll live longer” set positive vibes. A communal counter inside and cozy tables on the covered patio are relaxed options for taking tea. Soothing jazz music, Édith Piaf to Louis Armstrong, lovingly envelops guests as a hot pot of tea quickly materializes to warm from the inside.
Otero dips into the perfect tea recommendation from his deep catalog of 80 tea blends. An impressive tiered dessert stand with an assortment of triangular tea sandwiches, green salad, freshly made scones, madeleines and shortbread cookies pairs perfectly with any pot of tea. Once tea is served, the relaxing ambiance and good company are the key incentives to linger longer.
The San Francisco California Culinary Academy alum grew up in the restaurant business, where hospitality is second nature. Otero’s nearly 90-year-old mother Carmen Ortiz owned three restaurants and helped him turn his passion for creating tea blends into a business. Leland Tea Company was founded in 2005 in San Francisco. The San Francisco location closed in 2014, but the Burlingame location has been going strong since 2011, carrying it into its 20th year.
“No matter what a person is going through, they’re OK coming here, and they’re welcomed from all walks of life. Young, old, nothing matters here. Sexual orientation doesn’t matter. Color doesn’t matter. What matters is that you come to a place and you’re enjoying a cup of tea. I like to think I built that.”
Otero’s large family of sisters, nieces and nephews help him serve guests and organize special events, some inspired by their Puerto Rican heritage. For Otero, being kind is the main ingredient for excellence in customer service, and he instills its importance in his helpers. “People come here because they like the way they feel, and they like the way we make them feel when they are here,” he says.
Guests can also feel good about the food they are eating. Otero sources local ingredients from the Burlingame Fresh Market and San Francisco’s Alemany Farmers Market, the oldest farmers market in the entire state, also known as “the people’s market” due to its key role in establishing direct farm-to-consumer markets since 1943. Otero and his baker mother make healthy substitutions and use smaller amounts of certain ingredients. Their chicken salad recipe is light on mayonnaise so as not to overpower the chicken flavor. Their scones are made without egg and butter and have sugar dusting on top for sweetness. Otero scales way back on sugar in his berry jam, adding Mexican vanilla for a creamy, sweet undertone.
Leland Tea blends are sold online (lelandtea.com) and at the Burlingame tea house. A display wall rack of spice shakers filled with tea blends makes it easy to see and sniff the teas. Loose-leaf tea varieties: black, green, herbal, oolong, red, white, and pu-erh come from organic and fair trade suppliers. Otero creates custom herbal and dried fruit blends for customers or they can choose from one of his legendary performer-named creations. Maybe it’s the Billie Holiday, a jasmine green tea with rose, or the Rhett Butler, a black tea with aromatic lychee fruit that’s perfect to enjoy at home on a winter day.
Eva Barrows is a San Francisco Peninsula freelance writer and developmental editor for fiction and nonfiction books. She writes about San Francisco food destinations on The Walks Blog and outdoor travel for Kampgrounds of America. Eva is currently writing a historical novel. See more of her work at evabarrows.com.
Paulette Phlipot is a renowned editorial, commercial and fine-art culinary photographer known for her vibrant and narrative imagery. She encourages readers to eat fresh, local and in season. Paulette is a featured contributor and cover artist for Edible Silicon Valley. Her photography can be seen in national and regional publications, cookbooks, as well as her esteemed “Food as Art” collection and acclaimed fine art exhibitions.
Related Stories & Recipes