Every town needs gathering places. Places people can join together for entertainment, for information and to share good times. Places that make you feel welcome.
When the Philosopher’s House opened almost two years ago, the plan was to become one of those places. The plan worked.
Ren Allen, house manager of the downtown tearoom, says she and her staff are focused on “cultural education, being a third space, a community space for people to gather, to build community, to give people access to cultural programming and liberal arts programming that might be harder to get to in the region. For example, we have multiple different language classes, art classes, crochet groups, book clubs – people meet, hang out… it’s kind of that third space that’s a calming, very welcoming space for gathering with friends or maybe doing some remote work… reading a book… things like that.”
“Welcoming space” is a very apt description. The Philosopher’s House is comfortable, from the seating to the decorations, to the smaller, separate seating rooms and the wonderful people you’ll meet while you’re there. During your visit, the friendly staff is open and willing to walk you through the tea options, which can be daunting for a neophyte such as myself. Take the time to hear what they offer, you may find yourself trying something new or revisiting an old favorite you forgot about.
“We have over fifty teas from around the world,” says Allen. “We try to represent different regions, even the most popular hot beverage from a region, perhaps, like Rooibos from South Africa. It’s not actually tea, or camellia sinensis, but it is the most popular hot beverage there, so we want to try to represent different regions of the world. We offer a Gongfu Cha service, which is the Chinese daily way of brewing, and in China, of course, tea and tea culture has been around for 5,000 years, so they’ve really perfected steeping styles, accoutrements, all of these things that are best suited for their teas.”
“And then in Japan, the teas that they grow, cultivate and produce, they have the best accoutrements and steeping styles for that, it’s in a Kyusu pot. And then we have the more familiar British tea service with your teapot, your little candlelight warmer, sugar cubes and cream on the side if you want them and your fine china teacup. So, all different styles from around the world and of course, you can always come in and just get a mug of something and hang out. We try to make it very accessible.”
There are food options as well, with cracker and dip assortments, breads and pastries, and a rotating list of baked goods. But it’s the tea that brings people in and keeps them coming back.
“Our most popular tea,” says Allen, “is the Willow Tree Thai named after the Willow Tree music venue and coffeehouse located downtown, which we all loved dearly. When that was lost to the community, it created somewhat of a vacuum for a gathering space and we like to think that we have filled that space, but we wanted to honor the Willow Tree and it was their Chai Latte that they served, so it was the same formula, the same drink. It is our most popular beverage. It’s more creamy and sweet and familiar.”
There are drinks for coffee lovers as well. Teas from around the world. Friends from down the street.
Whatever you’re looking for, there’s a good chance you can find it at the Philosopher’s House. They have live music on weekends, presentations throughout the week, Classes on the regular and opportunities to learn at every visit. It really is one of those places that makes you feel at home the moment you walk in.
As Ren puts it, “If you’re feeling a need for a little bit of a respite, maybe at the beginning of your day, we are open at 10 a.m. Some people like to come through at the end of the day to unwind after work and ‘pause’ before they go home. It’s a wonderful space to step into. Like Jesse, one of the owners likes to say, ‘your shoulders kind of drop, you breathe a little deeper.’ There’s plants and books and once a month there are cats up in the cat cafe. It’s a place to pause, a place to gather and just step away from the busy-ness of life for a minute.”
So, if you have a minute and you feel like you need a short pause in your day, visit the Philosopher’s House. You can find it at 117 West Fairview Ave. in Johnson City, or visit them online at thephilosophershouse.org.
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