The Cultured Cup Launches an Updated Website!
For customers who order from The Cultured Cup's website, we have great news! Our website now offers a more extensive selection of merchandise and an easier to navigate atmosphere! We focused on
your feedback comments targeting navigational structure, search capability, and product availability and selection.
The whole site has been redesigned to improve your shopping experience. Tell us what you think of the new site.
Existing and New Customers will need to register on the new site. We have changed our support vendor and were unable to export our existing customers data to the new system. We will be migrating your accounts to insure you retain your customer loyalty points.
Larger Selection - All of our Mariage Frere Teas, coffees and many of our most requested accessories are now listed on the site for your browsing and purchasing. We are also offering some of our other favored customer items - Cookies & Biscuits, Sugar & Honey, Books, Magazines, Carafes, Mugs & Pump Pots.
Free Shipping for all orders over $100
Improved Navigation & Searching
• The left side gives easy navigation to the products we offer and lists our top sellers or features of the month in the main area of the website.
• The Search Box allows you to search across the products by title and descriptions.
• Quick links on the top and bottom of the site provides answers
> About us tells more about our business and what we offer
> Contact us gives you a listing of all the ways you can reach us
> News keeps you current on the great things going on at The Cup
> Location gives you a map and directions to our store
> Resources gives you our most commonly requested information,
instructional guides and helpful links to our great event partners.
> Shipping gives our shipping options, pricing and a US map for predicting your order
arrival times
> FAQs helps answer your inquiries on the processing of your order
Wish Lists
With our new Gift Registry, you can register and select products that you would like to receive as a gift or search for others gift list to get ideas on what you might select for them.
Improved Order Processing & Inventory Availability
The site is now integrated with our in-store software. This speeds the processing of your orders and streamlines our ability to quickly update any inventory changes.
And we are not done.
We will continue to develop the site to be your favorite place to visit for tea, coffee and chocolate. Our plans into next year include further developing the Resources area to include more instructional guides to help you enjoy your beverage experience. We want to increase the depth and variety of products offered from the web. We also envision our TCC Community area as a place for our customers to share their experiences, knowledge and questions with each other. This could be a forum for ideas for parties, discussions on particular products, tea room visits and more.
The Best Iced Tea Contest
After a two-year absence, The Best Iced Tea Contest was held in June! The event is now named The Plaza at Preston Center 's Best Iced Tea Contest. The celebrity judges were:
• Scott Murray : former Channel 5 sportscaster
• Cathy Barber : editor of the Taste Section in the Dallas Morning News
• Lee Garcia : editor of Tea in Texas magazine
• Mike Castellucci : Channel 8's the Why Guy
• James H. Holmes III : honorable Mayor of the City of University Park
The event represented over 40 retail shops and restaurants! Grand prize was an all-expense paid 7-day Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Cruise Line offered by American Express Travel at Preston Center. Two customers of The Cultured Cup won the cruise: Steve & Ellie Ziegler - congratulations!
Winners of the Plaza at Preston Center Best Iced Tea Contest were:
• Judges' Top Prize: Fat Straws Bubble Tea : Passion Fruit Jasmine Tea
• The Peoples Choice Top Prize: Craft - Dallas : White Peony Tea
Madhatter's Tea Party
We prepared tea for 650 guests at the April Madhatter's Tea Party, which raises money for the Women's Garden at The Dallas Arboretum. If you need guidance making tea for a large group, contact us.
T-Bar
The Cultured Cup now has a tea club, the T-Bar. Devoted to friendship and learning about tea, T-Bar meets the first Friday of each month at The Cultured Cup. It's already a huge success! Some members are tea connoisseurs interested in sharing their tea-related experience and knowledge; others are just beginning to enjoy the pleasures of tea.
Sotheby's and The Cultured Cup
Sotheby's and The Cultured Cup hosted a magnificent Christmas at The White House Tea at Arlington Hall. Linda Faulkner, who was social secretary to the Reagan White House, was the speaker. An anonymous friend of The Cultured Cup graciously lent her antique White House china for display at the event. Sotheby's provided an expert to discuss the significance of these plates from the Rutherford B. Hayes presidency.
The Cultured Cup at Local Restaurants
When was the last time you had a good cup of tea at a restaurant? The Cultured Cup is now supplying several of the best restaurants in town with tea:
- York Street Restaurant: Led by Chef Sharon Hage, a four-time James Beard Award nominee, York Street 's menu changes daily and reflects the seasons and availability of the freshest ingredients from small, owner-operated suppliers. Supporting sustainable and responsibly raised food lies at the heart of what York Street does best. Gourmet Magazine named this restaurant one of the Top 50 Restaurants in the nation. 6047 Lewis Street , Dallas TX | 214.826.0968
- Stephan Pyles Restaurant: Legendary Chef Stephan Pyles introduces New Millenium Southwestern Cuisine - a global tapestry of tastes, flavors, aromas and textures from Texas , South America , Spain , the Middle East and the Mediterranean . All foods, including breads, are prepared on-site with an emphasis on organics and freshness. 1807 Ross Avenue Suite 200 , Dallas TX | 214.580.7000
- The Club: an elegant urban restaurant and lounge offers handmade pastas, kobe beef burgers and Caesar salads done tableside. Chef Vincenzo Indelicato, European trained, uses deft touches to dazzle your culinary expectations. Managing Director Enam Chowdhury, formerly of Hotel Cipriani and the Mansion on Turtle Creek, handles service needs. 3102 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste. 110 , Dallas TX | 214.526.3100
- The Cultured Cup will soon supply tea to:
The Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas
Kathy's Blend Coffee, created by The Cultured Cup to memorialize Kathy Wilkos and raise money for melanoma cancer research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has raised $1,000 since introducing this blend in 2005.
In Need of Quiet Location?
When you need a quiet location for a small business or social meeting, consider having it at The Cultured Cup. We serve the best coffee, tea, and chocolate drinks in town and have delicious butter crisp or shortbread cookies to complement your beverage. And what about ending your meeting with an assortment of artisan chocolates by Leonidas? Call ahead to reserve the sitting area.
England's First Lady of Tea comes to Dallas
This past March, Jane Pettigrew , "England's First Lady of Tea" and an authority and worldwide speaker on tea, led a lecture on tea etiquette at the Dallas Hilton to benefit the Women's Council of The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, an organization that supports and promotes the interest in and growth of the facility. The Cultured Cup was an event sponsor and provided tea. Jane, author of over a dozen books about tea, visited The Cultured Cup, bought several books she hadn't seen before, and of course had a cup of tea.
High School Employee Alumni Updates
During the holidays, we are always happy to see our high school employee alumni return to say hello. Last December we were thrilled to see Lauren Zelman , who is an actor living in Hollywood ! In tow with Lauren was her roommate Ashley Simpson .
Here is an update of several of our other high school employee alumni:
• Lauren Dreyer: Recently completed her Master's Degree in Social Work from UT - Austin
• Karey Ferguson: Graduated from Texas State University - San Marcos and is now a teacher in the Frisco School District
• Christine Stella : Junior at Occidental College
• Kim Klocek : Junior at The University of Miami
• Hannah Lust : Sophomore at Brandeis University
• Elena Dufner : Sophomore at University of Texas - Austin , Plan II
• Epiphanie Eyocko : Freshman at Richland College
• Ben Allen: Freshman at New York University
• Lindsey Pryor: Freshman at Bates College
• Rachael Reichenbach: Freshman at George Washington University
2nd Annual Best Iced Tea Contest
Did you know June is National Iced Tea Month ? To commemorate this Southern tradition, The Plaza at Preston Center is hosting its Second Annual Best Iced Tea Contest in June of 2008 to find the best iced tea in the Metroplex. Come taste recipes from participating Dallas-area restaurants to determine the best in Dallas - whether it's a "mom and pop" shop or a prominent Dallas restaurant. The public's vote will determine the People's Choice Award and a panel of celebrity judges will hand out the Judges' Award for the best version of this classic refreshment.
For the second year, The Best Iced Tea Contest benefits the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas (EFNT), a nonprofit organization that assists emerging companies in building philanthropy into their business plans. All proceeds will benefit EFNT. Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas is a designated fund of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT).
