Owners Amber Sunderland and Paul Sunderland launched the craft tea company T Totaler in 2012 after travelling to tea plantations around the world and experimenting with their own blends. The Australian-grown tea specialists opened their first store in Newtown and their apothecary-style tea jars and test tube packaging has been spotted in local cafés and at markets like Carriageworks Farmers Market and Marrickville Organic Markets.
Sunderland says tea should be enjoyed and savoured, and so their second retail store on the ground floor of the Galeries offers takeaway hot drinks like tea lattes, French Earl Grey-infused hot chocolates and sparkling teas.
They’ve got Australian ingredients like native sticky bush chai for $5, or a mustard-coloured savoury turmeric and matcha latte that’s more like a warm soup for the soul, $4.50. The most popular choice is their pink fairy floss-topped French Earl Grey tea hot chocolate. It’s smooth but more watery than a milky hot chocolate and far sweeter than the matcha blends.
In addition to the hot drinks, they have a slab of chocolates made by Bakedown Cakery. The marbled treats are made with tea and native botanicals from the T Totaler range, which are also available to purchase in store. They’ve got more than 30 loose leaf blends, including Daintree black, rosy mint and lemon and ginger. Plus, a limited gift range of ceramic tea pots, spoons and handmade chocolate bars.