A look at Cha House, Birmingham’s new tea + community experience [Photos]

Last month, I had the chance to sit in on one of the weekly Cha House tea experiences at Gaia Florals in Forest Park. Guests were invited to learn more about each other, try their hand at origami and—of course—drink special teas.

Visit the Cha House website and follow Cha House on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events!

What is Cha House?

Founded by Cierra Lober, Cha House is a one-of-a-kind tea house experience here in Birmingham. Cierra had the idea for Cha House while visiting with a friend, who took her on a tour of several tea houses in Oakland, CA.

“I loved seeing how the tea house experience naturally brings people together in new ways, and I knew it was something Birmingham was missing. After that, I started studying and learning as much as I could about tea in order to start Cha House.”

Cierra Lober, Founder, Cha House

On Thursdays, Cierra hosts a Cha House event called “Tea &”, where the “&” varies each week. Cha House partners with local people and organizations to include some type of interactive activity, such as yoga, meditation, belly hop classes (belly dance + hip hop), origami lessons and more. No two “Tea &” events are the same!

Visit the Cha House website and follow Cha House on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events!

The weekly events are hosted at Gaia Florals, a local flower market near Forest Park. With an open, bright room and floral decor, Gaia Florals lends itself perfectly to Cha House events.

In addition to “Tea &”, Cha House hosts open tea house hours every weekend at Gaia Florals! Stop by and sip a personal pot of tea Fridays 2PM—8PM and Saturdays 11AM—4PM in July. Free live music every Friday evening & pastries from Last Call Baking every Saturday.

Here’s the tea ☕️

At each Cha House event, Cierra offers multiple different categories of tea for her guests to enjoy. That’s right, Birmingham—sweet tea isn’t the ONLY type of tea out there.

“I’m focusing on serving traditional Chinese teas at Cha House. One type is Pu’er, a dark fermented tea that has been really popular with my guests. It tastes earthy and smokey, almost like a Scotch or a cigar.”

Cierra Lober, Founder, Cha House

Cierra serves her tea in a varied collection of beautiful vintage tea cups—and no two are the same.

“Most of my tea cups were donated to me from people in the South who inherited them from their parents, grandparents or extended family. Many of them are in a vintage, Southern debutante style. It’s an eclectic mix to serve traditional Chinese tea in these Southern tea cups!”

Cierra Lober, Founder, Cha House

Join an upcoming Cha House experience

Cha House has several exciting events lined up through July, including open houses on Fridays and Saturdays. Upcoming Cha House events include:

• Tea & Belly Dancing — Thursday, July 6 from 6PM to 8PM
  • Join lebanese belly dancer Jessica Bostany for a bellydance class + tea service with Cha House. Come discover the goddess that you are, enjoy delicious tea and learn Bellydance techniques and choreography in this special 60 minute class followed by an hour tea service.
  • Gaia Florals, 701 37th Street S #4, Birmingham, AL 35222
• rEVOLVEr Market — Friday, July 7 from 6PM to 9PM
  • Hosted by rEVOLVEr Resale, this event will feature music by DJ YANA, vegan food by @thefuturisticvegan, nonalcoholic cocktails by @deangelosdaiquiris (and folks can bring their own liquor for them to have made-to-order drinks). rEVOLVEr Resale has a Summer Lovin’ pop up at Vinegar Projects, also located in the Highlander Building. Cha House will be popping up in Gaia Florals space serving tea.
  • Highlander Building, 701 37th Street S #4, Birmingham, AL 35222
• Oolong Tasting — Sunday, July 9 from 2PM to 4PM
  • We will sample a variety of oolong teas in a traditional tea tasting format.
  • Gaia Florals, 701 37th Street S #4, Birmingham, AL 35222
• Tea & Guided Intuitive Movement Meditation — Thursday, July 27 from 6PM to 8PM
  • One hour of connection between mind and body through guided movement cues followed by an hour tea service with Cha House. Explore the correlation between movement and emotion to promote your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Relax, let loose and learn how to move your body freely.  Jessica will give voice cues to incorporate many different approaches to movement, ranging from subtle, everyday movements to improvisational dance depending on the needs and abilities of the student. Each class will start with a warm up and stretch followed by the movement portion and end with a cool down / tea service with Cha House. Movement encourages our bodies to let go of physical tension that contributes to disease and express feelings, to develop self-awareness. In this class you will bypass the conscious mind and bring unconscious tendencies (both emotional and physical) to light.
  • Gaia Florals, 701 37th Street S #4, Birmingham, AL 35222

Stop by and sip a personal pot of tea Fridays 2PM—8PM and Saturdays 11AM—4PM in July. Free live music every Friday evening & pastries from Last Call Baking every Saturday.

Visit the Cha House website and follow Cha House on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events!