MILWAUKEE — A new herbal tea house opened on July 19 in Milwaukee that focuses on healthy and locally sourced teas.
“In my experience, most herbal teas didn’t taste super flavorful, so my idea was to create, you know, healthy herbal teas with bold benefits - but also bold flavors," Nick Nowaczyk, owner of Urbal Teaat 3060 South 13th St., said.
Nowaczyk makes his own tea blends. There are around 25 of his own creations that he offers. Many of his ingredients are locally sourced from around Wisconsin.
"And so herbal is a play on words. It's herbs meet urban, so I want to bring more herbal health to the urban society and get more of the masses interested in healthy alternatives."
He says that these teas, if taken consistently, can have a long-lasting impact on a person's health.
"Traditional medicine, you know, it goes back centuries, of just taking plants, whether it's the raw material itself and different parts of the plants, and that's how we prepare and create medicines."
The journey to opening his storefront started in 2012. He began by selling his tea blends at farmer's markets. After some initial success, he reached out to grocery stores. Now, his teas are sold in stores in Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Illinois. The next phase was opening a store.
With the help of the local business improvement district, he opened a storefront on Milwaukee's south side.
“A lot of coffee shops [there], but nothing like us with a tea focus.”
While his teas have a positive impact on our bodies, his building is impacting the neighborhood as well.
“The business owners around here saw this as sort of an eye sore for the area, and eventually it was shutdown, and stayed empty for several years,” he said of the property where his business is now located. “There’s not really a spot in this area where people can come hang out, so we want that to be the spot.”
Get a fresh cup there or take some home with you. Urbal Tea is open 7 days a week starting at 9 a.m.
