A Cup of Tea with Kathleen Kern
All the tea in the world comes from the exact same plant, Kathleen Kern informed me when we sat down to chat at the Rookwood location of her business, Churchill’s Fine Teas. I find this hard to believe as I survey the options available: The whole wall of the shop is devoted to a menu of more than 250 loose-leaf tea blends – green, black, oolong, and more.
When Ella and I arrived at the shop, our host suggested we share a cuppa as we chatted. I could tell something special happens in this room, where there was so much to read and so many blends to smell and try; it felt like she had so much to share. We covered Kathleen's tea journey up to this point, but it was clear that she has an exciting journey still ahead.
Interview by Laura Leavitt. Photography by Ella Barnes.
Could you tell me about your interest in tea and where that came from?
Initially, I started the business because I couldn’t find good tea. Back in 2003, it was just the mass-produced tea bags. I grew up in England and always had good tea, so it was a number of years before I realized, “Why don’t I start a tea company?”
I thought I really knew about tea, but there was a lot to learn. We moved to 4th Street and had a tea room there for six years.
Once we left that location, we took a six-month break to find out where we should move. We were shopping at Findlay Market, and my daughter said, “Why don’t we start the tea shop here?”
We decided to inspire people on a tea journey. That motto was what kept us going.
It worked out, and because of the size, we gave up the tea room side and decided to focus on retail. That’s when we really expanded. There wasn’t really the market yet, but we decided to inspire people on a tea journey. That motto was what kept us going.
What is it about Cincinnati that makes it work?
One of the things is that we cover all demographics. A lot of people used to think of older ladies at afternoon tea, that type of thing. But we buck that trend: 52% of our customers are male. A lot of it is because women bring men in, and then men become customers.
There’s also a large international population here. We have a lot of international companies, so people may come to visit for a while or for a few years, and they bring their tea preferences with them.
When we were on 4th Street, we did more “afternoon tea with a three-tier tray,” a traditional English tea, so people came for special occasions. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, grandmothers would bring children. That had a different connotation.
We do still have a children’s customer base: 7- or 8-year-olds who come in to pick out their teas. I recently did a child’s tea party: They were 7 to 9, and their whole demeanor changed when they sat down with a real china cup. They adjust to it. It really surprised the parents. I really enjoyed that because I hadn’t done it in a while.
How has the palate of Cincinnati evolved along with your journey?
It’s amazing. Not only the palate, but when people come in, there’s a whole atmosphere. People are very polite, or they recommend teas to one another. It’s really remarkable.
We had a good experience down at Findlay Market for 10 years, and when we first came to Rookwood, it was a pop-up; then it became bigger, so we stayed.
How does having the whole family as part of the business work out for you?
My daughter, Katherine, is based in London, but she works behind the scenes. My son and my husband are in the business, too; we are very family-oriented even though it was initially my drive to start it. They’ve all jumped aboard, and it’s become a real family business.
I hope one day Katherine will transition to running the whole thing, but right now it works really well. We push and pull, which is a good balance.
Tell me a little about your tea journey: what you liked at first and how it has expanded.
Growing up in England, it was always a strong black tea with cream and sugar. Over the years, I’ve exposed myself to all those other teas, so now I don’t take cream and sugar; I prefer the taste of the tea.
I’ve included oolong as my go-to tea, but about half the people who come in are interested in herbal teas as a caffeine alternative or saying, “I have a sore throat.” One segment is there for the beauty and the flavor and the elements of the tea, and the other segment is there for the health benefits.
Tell me a bit more about the different tastes of tea.
Black tea is the bolder tea, strong. If you are transitioning from coffee, you go to black tea. There’s certain elements of black tea in oolong teas; the flavored black teas are all over the place, including many different fruits and spices. If you’re only used to regular mass-produced tea, that’s not really tea. What we offer is full-leaf tea; this is what has the flavor and the benefits.
At least 50% of our conversations are about education. Some will say, “I really like green tea, but it tastes bitter when I make it.” That bitterness is from the brewing. I can help them enjoy that tea more just by sharing with them different brewing techniques. It may seem complicated to begin with, but doing it a couple times makes it second nature.
What is the process of getting a particular tea to your shop?
Katherine does the traveling, going to tea gardens around the world: Japan, China, Taiwan. She was in one of the gardens when she discovered Moringa tea. We thought that might be a trend because of the health benefits, and we now blend it into some of the teas we make.
I want to share tea with everybody, but it didn’t start that way.
Katherine had just come back from a tea event where there was a great new tea from Taiwan. It was developed into a light, medium, and strong brew to taste the differences. It’s a nuance, but it can change the flavor of the tea. So, all tea comes from the same plant, but the way it is dried and oxidized creates the different categories. So it’s white tea, then green tea, then oolong tea, then black tea, and all the variations between. Herbal tea is sometimes added to black teas to create the flavors.
Are these combinations you create yourself?
You get the base tea at the gardens, but all the nuances, you add in a blend. All the staff is involved in tasting the teas, and they help decide whether we should offer that tea. We have local restaurants where we’ve created custom tea blends. It’s a lot of fun.
What did you do along the way to inspire passion in your staff?
We’re not traditional retail: It’s a very engaging association with the customers. Most of them have had some tea in the past. We worked with one young lady out of college who has a little tattoo of a tea leaf! As much as we have to interact with the customer, it really is important to have a passion for tea. If they have a ready smile, that’s the other ingredient.
What was your business background?
I’ve been in executive search for 25-plus years. I’d been in my first career a long time. I helped develop the market for it, and I started a Cincinnati office. Churchill’s wasn’t my plan to be my business. It was more of a hobby rooted in a desire to search and source good tea. But then it started to grow; the customers grew and the market grew. Now, I want to share tea with everybody, but it didn’t start that way.
Over the years, what have you done to maintain work-life balance to make sure the business doesn’t take over everything?
You don’t completely get to do that. It’s difficult to separate it. I go to London if I need to really get downtime. Otherwise, you really are on call 24 hours a day. Fortunately, I have good staff and I can feel comfortable leaving.
I do love to go to the museums; I spend time there to get away. It’s a different thought process. It’s as good as rest to just think about something else. I have many things in Cincinnati that recharge me, like going to the zoo.
Really, I don’t look at this as work. It does consume me, but it’s not something where I think, “Oh, gosh, I have to do this.”
Do you have dreams for the future that you’d like to talk about?
We’re working on getting these two locations to where we want them, so it really just depends. We definitely will expand further, because there are a lot of people out there that still need to have a tea journey.
How do you work with the rest of the Cincinnati community?
I do a lot of partnering; when we started, we’d partner with companies to help elevate us. Now we’ve transitioned to partnering with others to help elevate them. That’s a great feeling. We partner with companies like coffee and beer companies for collaborations or tasting events.
Tell us about an influential woman in your life.
Probably the one who inspired me the most was my own mom. I often quote her saying, “You can’t be in two places at once.”
I also love reading about Margaret Thatcher and others, a lot of strong women who I took for granted when I was experiencing them, but with a question like this, I reflect back.
And now, though, it’s Katherine and the customers: because we are so engaged with them. Collectively, I’m inspired by a lot of women that I encounter!
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