Saying Goodbye to Chesser Roe, Home of Truly Remarkable Teas
Chesser Roe’s storefront inside of Harvest Market.
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by Cole Goodwin
White Salmon will soon have to say goodbye to Chesser Roe, which is home to some of the most truly remarkable teas and boba in the Columbia River Gorge. The locally owned and handcrafted tea shop will close up shop in Harvest Market on Saturday, March 18th, 2023 at 5 p.m.
For four years Chesser Roe has served medicinal, botanical, foundational, and downright delicious teas, boba, pastries, brownies, and ice cream to the White Salmon community.
From the moment they opened I was enchanted.
They sparked something in me, almost like a memory.
Something about their handcrafted teas, cute bunny logo, and the quiet, thoughtful man behind every handcrafted tea, who was known to hire a special cuckoo clock repair man to care for the shop’s hand carved heirloom clock just won my heart over with it’s fairytale like charm
Now, I am a fairly avid and indulgent tea lover.
So, over the last four years I have tried a large portion of their menu, and I have to say that I have enjoyed every. single. sip. I’ve had their tea. Thinking about it now, I feel nostalgic already.
Four teas in particular made their way into my regular line up:
Matteccino
A close up look of the matteccino tea blend from Chesser Roe in my kitchen.
Matteccino is my daily morning drinker.
This tea literally changed my life.
This hand blended tea has all the flavor, richness and uplifting power, of a cappuccino minus the jitters, making it an instant favorite. It has a beautiful tasting profile consisting of yerba mate, soothing chamomile, cacao bean and carob for sweetness. What I like about this tea is that it meets all the criteria I need from a morning cupp’a: energizing, relaxing and decadent enough to get me out of bed in the morning. The tea is so sumptuous that it’s almost intimate. And it’s so comforting that it’s almost meditative. It boosts my mood, and helps me regulate my stress levels at the same time. This artfully balanced tea has been a true ally to my life and has become a part of my daily morning routine.
Moon Tea
As you can see from this picture depicting almost a full pound of tea, I have resulted to buying Chesser Roe’s teas in bulk both as a sustainable practice, and as a way to save both me and their business money.
Okay, so Chesser Roe hasn’t actually officially named this tea yet, but I have been calling it Moon Tea because it is a tea specifically handcrafted to alleviate symptoms associated with menstruation…and it works like freaking magic.
I’m not kidding.
The number of times I’ve offered this medicinal tea to friends complaining of menstrual related ailments and gotten to witness their demeanor completely change in the span of minutes has left me floored. People I’ve shared this tea with have repeatedly expressed gratitude and relief after even just a few sips.
And it’s really no wonder why, because the tea is packed with supportive and comforting herbs that traditional healers have used for thousands of years by to treat menstrual related ailments like cramps, pain, moodiness, depression, and anxiety.
The tea has provided me and the people I love with so much support. I am truly sad to see it go because in my opinion, no menstruating person’s tea collection is complete without it.
Unfortunately for readers, this tea is not actually currently for sale on their website or on the shelves of their shop. However, if you go to Chesser Roe and ask Adrian for some “Moon Tea” before he closes this Saturday, he’ll definitely be able to set you up with some to take home.
Fruitcake
A look inside Chesser Roes, fruitcake tea blend.
This tea is like a fruity island vacation celebration in a cup. It brews into a beautiful pink color and is a lively, sweet, and sumptuous fruit tea made of pineapple, coconut, hibiscus flowers, rosehips, lemongrass, and calendula petals. It’s easy drinking that can enchant even the most reluctant tea drinker.
Rose City Black Milk Tea
OMG, all I can say about Rose City Black is that I am DEVASTATED that this tea is no longer going to be available in White Salmon…but I am looking forward to hopefully getting to taste it again when Chesser Roe reopens in the “Rose” City. (I just hope that the City of Roses recognizes what a gift they are about to receive. Yum.)
Chesser Roe’s Rose City Black Boba Tea has ruined me for other milk teas. This sweet, creamy, rose-y, black tea blend is just— perfect. Chesser Roe makes this tea specifically to serve in store as an artisanal milk tea and it shows because the result is just…as I said before—perfect for a pick-me-up any day of the week, but especially on errand day in the spring or summer.
In fact taking one these boba teas to the beach was one of my favorite memories from last summer.
These teas have become a part of my self-care routine and my supportive daily habits.
So, of course I was devastated when I heard that Chesser Roe would be closing this Saturday, March 18th. I also quickly began panic buying all my favorite teas in bulk.
Adrian Chesser in March of 2021.
But tea drinkers be advised, Adrain Chesser, the Owner of Chesser Roe, and the man behind the tea counter, has assured me that he is considering reopening again at an undetermined time and date in Portland…be first, he says he needs to take a break over the summer to catch up on some get some much needed rest.
In the meantime he plans to focus on rekindling wholesale relationships that suffered during the pandemic and on boosting his online sales.
I can tell from his face that it hasn’t been an easy decision.
“There’s just not enough critical mass for it to be what I need it to be,” says Adrain sadly, “It needs to be able to pay me.”
As the saying goes “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Adrain’s struggle is a familiar one to small business owners the world over. As a small business owner myself I can deeply sympathize. (At CCCNews the majority of our owners pay themselves last with whatever is left over once the bills are paid…only sometimes there isn’t much or any left.)
All this is to say that I, for one, will sorely miss this small and truly remarkable tea shop that helped me rekindle my love of tea and that has brought me so much pride in our community. I’ve felt truly lucky to have such an amazingly creative tea artisan right here in downtown White Salmon these past years.
Still, while of course I hope Adrian get’s what he needs, change is never easy…for anyone involved and I for one am going to miss my favorite tea shop.
Adrain too was feeling the vulnerability of goodbye, while we talked.
Adrain says he’d like to thank the entire community for their support over the years and through the pandemic and encouraged them not to be strangers once he has his new place up and running.
“I have the utmost gratitude and love for this community. It's been really amazing. Just how open everyone is in this community is really really special,” says Adrain. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone on this deeper level, and I think that’s partly the nature of tea, but I also think it’s the nature of this community.”
“It’s been really awesome. I don’t regret a second,” says Adrain, “Just got a big thank you for everyone.”
One of my favorite Chesser Roe baristas: (besides Adrian of course) Carlos, posing with his favorite tea: Fukamushi Sencha.
On behalf of myself, and the many tea lovers in our communities: thank you Adrain Chesser! And than you to the whole Chesser Roe team. I’ve really enjoyed talking your ears off about tea these last few years. And I wish you and your business the absolute best of luck!
I’ve no doubt that the Rose City will find your teas to be just as truly remarkable as we have.
Also does anyone want to help me bulk buy some Matteccino before they leave? I literally need it.
So…maybe leave us a one-time donation and send us an email at news@cccnews.com to ear mark it: Cole’s Office Tea Fund? Yes? No? Maybe?…Well, I can dream, can’t I?
Much love to our supporters!
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