Voted Best of the East Bay
Best Reader’s Choice
East Bay Express
2003
L'Amyx Tea Bar
Cafe Sweets
January 2003 Vol.22
Voted Best of the East Bay
Best Reader’s Choice
East Bay Express
2002
L'Amyx Tea Bar - Oakland, CA
The Cafes of San Francisco
2002
L'Amyx Tea Bar: A Tranquil Lounge for Tea Lovers.
digitalcity.com
2002
"Just when you thought is was impossible to escape the java-centered, caffeine rush of the East Bay, the Lam and Amyx families come to rescue those who crave an exotic mix of tea leaves, tranquility and tradition. Their monkey logo comes from the ancient tea-leave myth of the Chinese Chekiang Province, which claimed that in return for peaceful treatment of the animals by the local monks, the monkeys would actually pick and collect the best tea leaves for elite brews of China’s primary beverage. In keeping with this tradition, L’Amyx imports the majority of its teas from around the world to create international loose-leaf fusions, which are served up as hot or cold as your taste buds can handle. The monochromatic ambiance is overwhelmingly comfortable, so you might easily lose yourself into the plush couches pushed into the back and side corners of the tea bar. Accessories, candles and lifestyle books are also available in the front." by Fay D. Smith
If Coffee Isn’t Your Thing, Try a Tea Bar
Chef Magazine
April 2002 issue
“If you are looking for a tea bag in a Styrofoam cup, the L’Amyx Tea Bar on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland, Calif. is not your destination. In fact, you will have difficulty finding a tea bag in this establishment. You will find hand-rolled pearls of white supreme jasmine tea steeped in a traditional Chinese style. You will also find some 60 other tea varieties of white, green, black, oolong or chai from countries that include Vietnam, Japan, India, Taiwan, Nepal and South Africa.
L’Amyx Tea Bar is not a white-lace-Victorian “ladies only” tearoom. Rather, tables in tall front windows and background strains of jazz lure pedestrians into a comfortable room decorated with original art and fresh red tulips…
Owners Cinda and Scott Amyx are passionate about tea. Just consider their motto: “It’s not just tea. It’s a lifestyle.” And considering that Americans drink approximately 7.4 gallons of tea per year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, many tea lovers share their sentiment…” by Carol Sebilia
Two Leaves and a Bud
The Monthly
February 2002 Vol. 32, No.5
“Passing the Intermediate Tea Exam is compulsory for all staff at Piedmont’s L’Amyx Tea Bar, as are eight days of “tea training.” Husband and wife Scott and Cinda Amyx finish each other’s sound-bite sentences as they passionately explain their community-minded mission…
The L’Amyx operation is slick. Gallery lighting illuminates furniture pulled from hip magazines…
“We could make money selling pet food online. But we wanted to go into something that had meaning and purpose…” begins Scott. “…Something that has heritage, culture, and history…” follows Cinda.
At L’Amyx I also try pu-erh (pronounced “poo-urr” in Mandarin and “bo-lay” in Cantonese, the dominant language in San Francisco’s Chinatown) tea, sometimes considered a fourth classification of tea.
These teas merit some elaboration. Pu-erhs are aged teas ranging from one to 60 years old, and the leaves are typically pressed into the shape of small balls or bricks. Pu-erh teas were not readily available in the U.S. until recently…” by Jim Kravets
L'Amyx Tea Bar
Print Magazine
To be published in September Issue 2001 of their Design Annual.
Wilmer Fong & Associates wins national design award for L'Amyx Tea Bar logo from Print Magazine, one of design industry's prestigious journals.
L'Amyx Tea Bar
Evening Magazine Channel 5
Aired June 13, 2001
L'Amyx Tea Bar was featured on the Evening Magazine show on KPIX channel 5.
http://www.eveningmagazine.com/the_cube/
Soothing To a Tea
Diablo Magazine: The Magazine of the East Bay
June 2001 Issue
"As the coffee craze reached its apex in the mid-90s, few Americans could resist the freshly brewed potion... The craze isn't over, but if you're no longer inspired by those double no-foam lattes, tea has come to save your soul.
The East Bay is enjoying its own tea renaissance. Who wants a teabag when you can have the fresh leaves? Unlike coffee being whisked off in those To-Go cups, the advent of teahouses asks us to sit down and savor. Can we handle that? Try a sweet tapioca tea or a South African rooibosch and be the judge.
L'Amyx Tea Bar, 4179 Piedmont, Oakland; (510) 594-8322." by Colette DeDonato, Associate Editor
It's Pouring
Express
March 30, 2001
"...L'Amyx Tea Bar on Piedmont Avenue, and now he and his staff - TEAchers, he calls them - serve more than a hundred types, hot and cold, amid armchairs and a radiantly blond bamboo floor.
He's not selling beverages, Amyx says with the soft precision of the well-brought-up, his clothes looking as though they were made specially for him. He's selling a lifestyle." by Anneli Rufus
Trendy Tea Drinks Soothe the Nerves of Frazzled Folks.
Popular Beverage May Displace Coffee
Dispatch.com
Wednesday, March 21,2001
"It's only a matter of time. Whereas coffee seems to quicken the day, tea stretches it out.
Take a whiff of Dragon Phoenix -- a fine green tea scented with jasmine -- and put a month into a moment.
It may be only a matter of time before tea displaces coffee as America's drink of choice. Frazzled adults are discovering the joy of premium teas, while a younger set is turning on to trendy tea beverages.
But tea is in no hurry. It's been waiting centuries for us to wake up to its charms.
Coffee purveyors have new reasons to be jittery, however. Fine restaurants have taken space from the espresso station to make room for making pots of brewed whole leaf teas.
And green tea, hailed for its healthful properties, is hot -- it was the ingredient de rigueur in all sorts of products at this year's Fancy Food Show in San Francisco...
The aim at L'Amyx is to offer a little of everything: marry young with old, hot with cold, male with female. Even their wall menu, evenly split between ancient blends and sweet, bubbly concoctions, conveys this yin-yang approach.
"We wanted to change the image of tea,'' Cinda said. "It knows no gender. The general perception for men is it's not a macho thing. It's consumed when you're sick, it's for grandmas. But a tea bar -- that's fun."
Part of the fun is the ritual. Whereas drinking a cup of coffee is fairly mindless, true tea -- not a bag of Lipton in a Styrofoam cup -- encourages mindfulness... " by Nicholas Boer
The Shattered Ceiling
Q&A with Scott Amyx, of L'Amyx Tea Bar
AsianWeek
March 15-21, 2001
"AsianWeek: Why did you decide to start your own business?
Scott Amyx: I made a lifetime goal to myself to start a foundation and honor my deceased foster father, David Amyx, to provide fellowships to bright minorities and economically disadvantaged youth, to help them pay for graduate and doctorate and post-doc studies. That's the fuel behind everything.
AsianWeek: Why the tea business?
Scott Amyx: The nice thing about tea is that it allowed me to share my values with the local community. Having gone through that process, I feel I have to give back. That's a real big thing with me, giving back not only to the Asian American community but to society.
When we were starting this, that was when dot-coms were very hot. For me, that wasn't an extension of my values. Coming from a finance background, I felt the industry was an over-valued speculation with little or no net present value, and that at some point the bubble would burst. In the end, I thought, the dot-com founders would win big, but it would be the small investors that would assume the losses. In other words, I thought it was a win-lose game situation.
I wasn't about to participate in something like that, whereas in tea, I found 5,000 years of history. I found it was the second favored drink after water. I found that it had amazing health benefits. More importantly, you can fit its philosophy into your everyday lifestyle: slowing down enough to ask why are you in such a rush, rekindling old friendships, strengthening family cohesiveness. We have mothers with infants breast-feeding; dads with their children coming in to have a drink. We want to promote social and human interaction.
The way we set up the tea bar is we try to facilitate intellectual debates - political, social, and foreign issues. We hire really bright people. Most of them are artists. We are very much into freedom of speech and expression, in the form of poetry nights. We want to support local authors by hosting book signings and other displays of creative energy." by Joyce Nishioka, Editor-in-Chief
Love That Leaf: Interest in Tea Runs More Hot Than Cold
The Times
March 14, 2001
"....it may be only a matter of time before tea displaces coffee as America's drink of choice. Frazzled adults are discovering the joy of premium teas, while a younger set is turning on to trendy tea beverages.
L'Amyx gives the bubble tea a mature edge by using quality brewed tea rather than powdered flavorings, and by serving them hot, like lattes. They've even given iced tea panache with their Cornucopia blend - full of citrus peel and flower petals. Scott says the store's main seller is premium teas, but their other teas, while classier than most, might appeal to a younger crowd who wouldn't think - at first - of stopping by to linger over a pot of tea.
The aim at L'Amyx is to offer a little of everything: Marry young with old, hot with cold, male with female. Even their wall menu, evenly split between ancient blends and sweet, bubbly concoctions, conveys this yin-yang approach.
Many patrons treat the tea bar, with its circular tables and Asian grace, as a gathering place - a respite from demands of home and work. Quite a contrast from drive-through espresso stands.
Mellowing out or perking up with tea is hardly a novel idea, but bringing so many elements to the table is. By blending Asian traditions and trends with the spirit of the British pub and tea house, L'Amyx might be a model for the "Cheers" of the future." by Nicholas Boar, Food Editor
A New Leaf: Americans Embracing the Pleasures of Tea
The Oakland Tribune
March 14, 2001
"...L'Amyx Tea Bar in Oakland is a cozy spot that encourage people to sit, relax and enjoy some of the best teas in the world, many of which are just now being introduced in the United States.
Among the special teas are jasmine rosettes, hand-stitched rounds of tea leaves that open into a flower shape in the cup; thumb-sized half-spheres of camel tea, a tea invented by travelers along the Silk Road; and jasmine litchi, large seed-like pods that open into anemone-like flowers.
Every customer who visits L'Amyx gets a mini-education on tea and tea ceremonies. "We wanted to create a haven for tea lovers where they could learn about tea and share it with their friends," says Cinda Lam Amyx, co-owner with her husband, Scott Amyx
Other tea ceremonies require even more education. Amyx pulls out a tiny brown teapot, and places two small, doll-sized cups in front of himself and his guest. He warms the teapot, scoops in a handful of dry green leaves, then pours hot - not boiling - water over the top. Instead of serving the tea, he pours it out, fills the pot again, then serves. "You don't drink from this cup," he instructs. He picks up his own cup of tea, pours it into his second cup, then leans back in his chair, rolling the empty, vial-shaped clay glass between his hands. He enjoys the aroma, then tastes the elixir. Before the cup is empty, he makes a new pot, using the same leaves. "You can do this 20 or 30 times," he says. This is the Chinese ceremony. It is best shared with a friend." by Jolene Thym
New Hot Spots
San Jose Mercury News
January 10, 2001
"L'Amyx Tea Bar, 4179 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, across from the Piedmont Theater, serves up premium teas, specialty bubble tea drinks and tea snacks. Tea ceremonies from around the globe also are demonstrated regularly. Enjoy such treats as Krystal Kiwi (fresh kiwi juice, tea and tapioca pearls), Rise 'N' Shine (black tea served up like a latte), and fine teas such as Silver Tip Jasmine and White Peony..." by Carolyn Jung, Food Editor
Tea for Two - and Everybody Else on Piedmont Avenue
The Montclarion
November 17, 2000
"With the opening next week of their new store on Piedmont Avenue, the owners of L'Amyx Tea Bar are blending the new economy with the traditions of tea. Their motto: "It's not just tea. It's a lifestyle."
To present this new lifestyle, partners Marcia Lam and Scott and Cinda Amyx have concocted a new version of the coffeehouse.
At their store and tea bar across the street from the Piedmont Theater, "tea tenders" will mix drinks behind a bar. Ten college students have been practicing making the tea drinks and doing cocktail routines with shakers.
The three partners also have developed a Web site, at www.lamyx.com, and hope to begin selling products over the Internet early next year. The Web site includes a history of tea, a tea education section and a narrative with photos of Lam's journey to the Far East.
The store will feature free tea service demonstrations for the next month and begin charging $5 thereafter for patrons to take part in the ceremonies. The demonstrations will feature tea services from China, Korea, India and Russia..." by Matthew S. Bajko
Tea Bar Earns Permission to Move into Piedmont Avenue Location
The Montclarion
August 18, 2000
"...Having received the city approval they needed, company founders Scott Amyx and his sister-in-law Marcia Lam are set not only to serve and sell premium teas - they also want to educate people about the art of serving tea.
The tea bar's logo of a monkey invokes a myth about how humans discovered tea nearly 5,000 years ago; it is symbolic of the company's goals as well. The legend says that, in return for allowing them to ear pears from trees at a monastery, monkeys brought the monks bags filled with tea leaves from plants inaccessible to humans.
Lam will travel to Thailand and mainland China this month to procure different teas not normally available to American tea drinkers..." by Matthew S. Bajko
