Sipping Streams Tea Company

About Us

Our mission is to bring together a community of diverse culture and age. We believe in the best quality of life for our mind, body, and soul. And our goal is to open a safe environment where people can come together and grow to know who they are.

Fairbanks, the largest city “Farthest North” in Alaska, finds long days drenched in dusk and bone chilling cold in the winter months. The community finds one of the season’s best comforts in hot, comforting concoctions, and a modern, serene environment to gather. Tucked in a cozy and inviting environment with fresh, unique, and tempting treats, Sipping Streams Tea Company delivers on demand to a culinary niche.

Customers enjoy an unhurried space with free Wi-Fi for meetings, afternoon Victorian tea, or social events hosted by the tea house. Sample the “tea of the day”, or request any of the twenty-five high quality teas in one-ounce bags to try at home or buy in bulk. All tea blends are handcrafted and some use Alaska’s handpicked herbs, such as “Boreal Solace”, a Fireweed based blend, and “Northern Serenity”. The “Masala Chai” received high praise from Interior Alaska’s re-deployed military personnel and travel aficionados who crave an authentic, custom-blend of Indian Chai only available at Sipping Streams. All teas and herbs are imported direct from the country of specialty to keep strict quality control. Tea ceramics and chinaware are available in modern or traditional patterns.

Nosh and nibbles include traditional Chinese “dim sum”, appetizers eaten for brunch or “tea time”. Steamed buns, glazed baked buns, egg custard tarts, rice congee soup (called “Jook”) and lotus-leaf sticky rice casseroles are available daily. Traditional Western tea goodies include assorted finger sandwiches, fresh salads, Butter Tea Cookies, Chocolate Black Tea cake, Lavender Cake, and a Sipping Streams original: Japanese Matcha Green Tea cupcakes. The menu also includes gluten-free and vegan items like gluten-free and vegan Lemon Poppyseed Cake, gluten-free Chinese Almond Cookies, and gluten-free Rice Cake.

Owners, Jenny Downer-Tse and Steven Downer, conducts monthly tea classes at the shop, or at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Participants learn about the origins of tea, differences in tea qualities, the complexities of tea flavors, tea pairing with food, and the medicinal qualities of tea. Similar to a wine-tasting class, tea is the new art in beverage consumption and the answer to otherwise bored coffee drinkers looking for a new indulgence –just don’t call the tea house a café!

Owner of Sipping Streams Tea Company's Journey

Fairbanksan studies leaves, lives affected by tea

By Mary Beth Smetzer

Published Friday, February 29, 2008

Tea has taken over Jenny Tse’s life.

Not only did Tse switch from drinking coffee to drinking tea, but she started her own tea business — Sipping Streams — selling teas and tea accessories, teaching a class about tea and staging tea events. In May she will be leading her first tea tour to Guangxi Province in China.

Tse’s interest in tea as more than a relaxing, nourishing drink started a few years ago. After returning home to Fairbanks from Boise State University where she had made the transition from coffee to tea, Tse sat sipping tea and pondering how to relate to her hometown community once again. As she looked around her family’s home she realized her family members were tea drinkers too.

That’s when the dialogue began with her parents.

“They started sharing their experiences of drinking tea when they were younger and growing up in China,” Tse said.

Tea drinking inspired the conversations and excited Tse as she learned more about her parents’ past lives and Chinese culture.

She also noticed that as she drank tea with others, they began sharing stories about drinking tea with grandparents and other inter-generational tea drinking experiences.

Developing community around tea drinking is important to Tse and is one of the reasons she is pursuing her business part-time and is substitute teaching part-time.

Tse’s business name was inspired by a song with the line, “Dip your heart in the stream of life.”

Tse has taken tea classes and continues to study the history and culture of tea around the world. She will be teaching a class on tea in April at the Tanana Valley Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Last summer, Tse visited Guangxi Province in southern China to learn more about tea and the people growing it. On May 11-25 she will be leading a tea tour there. Visit www.sippingstreams.com to learn more.

Owner steeps new Fairbanks tea shop in family's history

By Rebecca George

Published Sunday, April 5, 2009

Jenny Downer-Tse, left, and her husband Steven Downer speak with customers Friday evening, April 3, 2009, during the grand opening of their new tea house, Sipping Streams Tea Company.

Photo by John Wagner

Jenny Downer-Tse, left, shows off a tea leaf to customers Josh Brewer, center, and Charella Fullinck on Friday evening, April 3, 2009, during the grand opening of Downer-Tse and her husband Steven Downer's new tea house, Sipping Streams Tea Company.

Photo by John Wagner

FAIRBANKS — Jenny Downer-Tse, owner of the new Sipping Streams Tea Company, loves to talk tea.

After traveling through Guangxi province in China, Downer-Tse has become a certified tea specialist and has opened a business with her husband to share her knowledge about the health benefits of tea.

Off the top of her head, she can list almost every variety of tea, its origin, how to brew it properly and its health benefits.

“Whenever I get really interested in something, I always feel the need to share it with someone,” she said of her new-found passion.

Downer-Tse, who is in her mid-20s, has worked as a physical education teacher, an athletic trainer and a certified hedgehog breeder.

Her latest venture stems from what she calls a “cultural identity crisis.”

After giving up her daily $5.28 quad-venti-carmel-inverted-macchiato coffee drink at Starbucks to save money, Downer-Tse said she struggled to keep the social lifestyle of sitting in coffee shops with friends.

“Tea was the cheapest thing on the menu, so I started to drink that instead, and it brought back memories of my grandmother and grandfather and how they used to drink tea every day,” she said.

Downer-Tse was born in Hong Kong and raised in Fairbanks.

“My family used to tell me I wasn’t Chinese enough, and my friends always told me I was very Chinese. So it was a confusing time for me when I started to question my identity,” she said. “But the more I studied about tea, the more my family started communicating about the Chinese culture and their own history. It opened up a whole new world for me.”

The new tea house, located under Wok N’ Roll next to Gulliver’s Books, is meant to serve as a cultural hub for Fairbanksans, Downer-Tse said.

“I want this to be a place where locals come to share their culture and learn from each other,” she said. “Fairbanks is such a diverse place with a rich cultural history, and I wanted to create a place that celebrates that.”

From Chinese tea ceremonies and Victorian tea parties to poetry readings, music lessons, lectures and tea-tasting, Downer-Tse said she wanted to create a place that emphasizes a healthy, simple lifestyle.

Downer-Tse’s mother even added a few Chinese tea delicacy foods to the menu along with savory sandwiches, tea cakes and other edible goodies.

“This whole venture is not about a profitable business,” she said. “It’s about creating a place that encourages the community to share their talents.”

Sipping Streams Tea is sold in several art galleries and shops in Fairbanks and North Pole.

The Sipping Streams Tea Company opens at 11 a.m. daily and is located at 3535 College Road, Lower Suite B.

More information about the health benefits of tea, the new store and other tea news can be found on the business’s Web site, www.sippingstreams.com.