After water, it’s the No. 1 drink all over the world–except here in the U.S., where it ranks No. 7. But Sunyatta Amen, N.D., a naturopath and belly dance and yoga instructor, is determined to improve tea’s U.S. standing. She’s off to a promising start in Washington, D.C., where 18 months ago she opened SiTea: The Spice Boutique (www.siteaspice.myshopify.com). “It’s unapologetic about being infused with magic,†is how this fifth-generation master herbalist describes her space. Amen also feels it’s an expansion of her family’s legacy. Her Caribbean-born parents owned two side-by-side businesses: a sporting goods store, and one of the first juice bars and holistic health stores in Harlem. Amen is looking forward to opening her tea boutique in cities across the U.S. “I feel like this is a re-imagining of what my father started: the belly dancing and yoga studio on one side, and the tea shop.†Only sexier, she adds.
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