SWITCH TO TEA IS QUICKLY GATHERING STEAM MANY TOUT DRINK FOR ITS BENEFITS.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Tea is much more for Tony Haynes than a bundle of herbs steeped in steaming water to create a warm beverage.

It's an experience.

``I sip my tea and I watch the mountain ranges and with the sun gleaming in my eye, I feel like I am at the center of the universe,'' Haynes said.

Sipping his oolong tea beside a pile of pop culture magazines, Haynes does not fit the mold of a tea drinker. He's far from dainty, sporting an onyx-colored patch over his right eye. But his deep voice seems to take on a smoother, more relaxed tone when he gets started on the topic of tea.

``Tea is made from herbs, herbs which can cure you from all sorts of ailments. Coffee could never do that.''

Haynes' tea addiction started a few years ago. At 46, he had been drinking coffee since age 3.

Tea was a last resort after three failed attempts to kick his coffee habit.

``It started to hurt my chest and make me too hyper,'' Haynes said. ``I was forced to drink tea and now have grown to love it.''

Haynes is part of a growing clientele for one of the oldest beverages in the world. In the last decade tea sales have grown more than threefold. Multiple studies have been released to tout the herbal drink's health benefits, and loyal tea drinkers are enjoying the increase in tea varieties now available.

Even in a town like Santa Clarita, where Starbucks are found by the dozens, former latte drinkers are ditching the beans and reaching for the leaves.

According to the Tea Association of USA., tea sales have grown rapidly in the last 15 years. In 1990, sales totaled $1.84 billion and grew to more than $6 billion in 2005.

Joe Simrany, president of the Tea Association, said one reason tea sales have spiked is the increase in varieties now available to American consumers.

``There is a wonderful world of tea and it's fun to find a way through it by taste-testing all the varieties,'' Simrany said.

From a variety of flavored bagged teas to popular ready-to-drink teas and loose leaf, even local grocery stores are carrying more kinds of the delectable drink.

California leads the country in specialty tea sales, with varieties specially grown in specific regions, Simrany said.

``Bagged tea combines different types of tea to maintain a consistency of flavor, but with specialty teas you never get the exact same tea twice,'' Simrany said.

An increase in tea bars and tea rooms across the country have also helped make tea social again, Simrany added.

At Michele's Pastry Cafe and Tea Room in Old Town Newhall co-owners and sisters Karyn Huston and Reva Hawk take time out from their busy days to enjoy a cup of tea together.

``There is something so soothing about tea, you just have to stop and drink it,'' Hawk said.

The quaint Euro-chic decor of the intimate tea room and bakery lends itself perfectly for tea parties, which the sisters serve by appointment to their customers with dainty cupcakes and finger sandwiches.

A far cry from your mother's tea parties, these tend to include a younger, hipper crowd and even some men.

While the sisters do sell coffee in their shop, it wasn't their choice.

``Everyone told us we had to sell coffee, so we keep a small coffee machine, but we definitely sell more tea,'' Hawk said.

Nicole Ramirez, a barista at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Valencia, says two of her best-selling items are a specialty green tea and a seasonal holiday tea.

Tiny rolled up balls of green tea leaves help to create the Japanese Cherry Blossom green tea's fragrant aroma and fruity flavor, Ramirez said.

Ramirez, who has worked as a barista at the shop for more than three years, said tea far outsells coffee at her store. Customers' seasonal favorite is a holiday tea -- coined Winter Dream -- that carries hints of orange, cinnamon and mulling spices.

``People start asking for it in July.''

The health benefits of tea have been publicized in a variety of scientific studies.

Claudia Fajordo Lira has participated in a number of studies at the University of California's Center for Human Nutrition studying tea and it's health benefits. Fajardo said the drink's health benefits should now be considered unrefutable.

``Tea, especially green teas, have high antioxidant levels which can help prevent a number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and heart disease,'' Fajardo said.

Fajardo, a food science professor at California State University, Northridge, said she credits the new popularity of tea with the public's newfound interest in general health.

But coffee drinkers don't have to leave their java just yet, she added.

``Many studies have recently found that coffee also has antioxidants in it, just not as much as tea.''

For Haynes, who drinks six cups of highly caffeinated oolong tea a day, moderation is not exactly a strong point.

It has only been a month since Haynes' last attempt at ditching coffee.

At least this addiction is good for his health.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) From left, Kodi Saver, Marsha Polston, Portlin and Reva Hawk enjoy sweet tea at Michele's Pastry Cafe and Tea Room in Newhall.

(2) A lifelong coffee drinker, Tony Hayes switched to drinking tea for his health. Hayes gets his tea at several area coffee and tea shops.

David Crane/Staff Photographer