The exterior of Tea With Thee by Victoria in Madison. (CONTRIBUTED)

By Aldo Amato

Staff Reporter

MADISON — Nestled in the Hughes Plaza shopping center in Madison, residents can find the perfect mixture of elegance and charm.

Tea With Thee by Victoria is Madison’s newest addition after just over a year in the works. The tea room is the brainchild of resident Vickie Barlowe and her late husband, both former pastors.

“Every time we would travel, I would take him to these tea rooms,” she said. “He didn’t enjoy it at first but he ended up really loving it and so last January, we decided it was time to pursue our dream and that God gave us the go ahead on it.”

Business owners who are active in their dream often neglect research. That is certainly not the case with Barlowe.

“I went to tea school in Kentucky along with the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas,” Barlowe said. “So after all that, this is where we ended up.”

The tea room doubles as a prime lunch location for Madison and Huntsville residents along Hughes Road, Old Madison Pike and Madison Blvd. Though parties and reservations look to be the most common type of business Barlowe expects to see, she said casual lunches are absolutely welcomed and that the business already has regulars in just over a week of being open to the public.

Tea With Thee offers over 40 teas from across the globe yet so far the most popular tea is one made right at the store.

“We have our own blend called ‘Victoria’s Blend’,” she said. “When we served it at our grand opening, people bought almost all of the stock we had to brew at home themselves.”

Most of the teas are loose leaf, meaning customers create their own tea bag when they are prepared to brew the purchased grains of tea. Some of the teas come with chunks of fruit and even white chocolate depending on the flavor. Barlowe said she will special order teas if they are not available at the room.

The though of a tea room may sound intimidating or exclusive to others, but Barlowe said all are welcome no matter what they are wearing.

“We’ve had people come in workout clothes before,” she said. “We are totally non-exclusive and we are here to serve every single resident of Madison and we want them to relax by having lunch or sipping on a blend of tea.”

Tea With Thee is located at 181 Hughes Road in Madison. For more information, call 256-656-3776.