Peter and Manelle Martino joined the Charlottesville community this summer with the opening of their seventh Capital Teas location in the Stonefield Plaza. The pair started its tea business in 2007 in Annapolis, Maryland and have since expanded throughout Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Capital Teas has thrived in towns with historic character and a strong university presence — in part as a response to the shifting demographic of tea drinkers, skewing evermore toward millennials in recent years. This made an expansion into Charlottesville a natural choice, the couple said.
“College students tend to be really strong [proponents] of Capital Teas,” Peter Martino said. “They are also a good part of our work force. We have the opportunity to bring a product close to those who want to buy it and help employ college students.”
To highlight its local commitment, the establishment introduced a Jefferson Tea at its Charlottesville branch.
“We have blended the tea using one of the teas that was thrown over in the Boston Tea Party … [creating] historic character with a modern flair,” Peter Martino said. “I think that it is appropriate that we introduce a tea with historic character and inventiveness in the name of Thomas Jefferson.”
Capital Teas also aims to educate its customers about tea — and with 54 teas to choose from in-store and more than 200 available online, there is a lot to learn about their hand-picked product. The company even offers tea varieties that can be mixed with smoothies or alcoholic beverages.
“Our job is simple — we infuse well-being,” Martino said. “When we infuse tea, we provide a sense of well-being through the teas, atmosphere and overall environment.”
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