From China Black to blue Butterfly Pea, new Troost tea cafe offers 54 choices

Since she was a teenager, Nika Cotton found tea to have a calming effect — from the process of making it to holding a warm cup in her hands.

Two years ago she opened a collective and self care gift store on Troost, selling items handmade by local women of color. But she shut that location down to concentrate on tea. In mid-July she opened Soulcentricitea as a cafe with a small retail area, taking over the former Blip coffee roasters space in The Wonder Shops + Flats at 1106 E. 30th St., with an entrance on Troost Avenue.

“With all of the chaos in the world right now it is a very simple way to center yourself,” she said. “Soul-centered. The calming quality of tea. I want people to come in and feel unburdened.”

The menu features 54 loose-leaf tea offerings including Turmeric Golden Chai, Moroccan Mint Green, Orange Spice, Rose Congo, China Black, Butterfly Pea, Botswana Honeybush, and Fruit Blend Herbal.

The teas also come as hot and cold drinks, including smoothies, lattes, bubble tea, and milk tea. Other offerings include coffee drinks from Blip, pastries and herbal lemonade.

While she searched for a new spot, Cotton had been hosting tea ceremonies and had a mobile tea business for office clients and children’s parties. With the pandemic she has put that part of her business on hold.