Birch Fine Tea serves tea by the bag or by the cup. Kristen Wile/UP

The interior of Birch Fine Tea is vibrant with florals, pink, and white. Kristen Wile/UP

Sisters Alena Goncharov and Kristina Coughlin started their tea business as Alena recovered from a rare form of ovarian cancer. They came up with package design, branding, and sourcing for their products, and Birch Fine Tea became a reality. Born in the Ukraine, the women say they grew up on tea, and wanted to bring the nuanced beverage they know to Charlotte.

“Tea is really big in our culture — we grew up drinking tea,” Alena says. “Your whole day started with a cup of tea. Lunch, you have tea; evening, you have tea. You bring people over to the house to come over for some tea and cake.”

They launched an online shop for their custom blends, and took part in pop-up shops around town to build their brand locally. When they were approached by Camp North End about opening up a storefront, plans for a brick-and-mortar — which was always a long-term goal — moved up in their timeline.

Birch Fine Tea opened in the former Dupp & Swatt space at Camp North End just over a month ago, with pink-and-white walls, greenery, and delicate accents throughout the space. They serve hot and iced teas and lattes, as well as desserts Thursday through Saturday. The pastries — classic French items such as macarons, choux pastries, and eclairs — are made by Éclairesse.

The extensive by-the-cup tea menu includes classics, such as earl grey and chai; health-oriented blends for colds, hangovers, or brain function; and seasonal flavors. Heading into fall, Birch Fine Tea’s most popular flavors are apple ginger, pumpkin spice, and golden apple spice. Many of the flavors are available to purchase by the bag, as well. All are loose leaf.

Alena and Kristina plan on hosting tastings and education classes soon.

“Here, tea is primarily sweet tea, so we wanted to introduce that there’s more to it, there’s health benefits to it,” Alena says. “Sweet tea’s delicious, but it’s sugar.”

Also down the road is the possibility of adding some tea-appropriate snacks and pairing with other pop-up shop vendors to come into the store. As for Birch Fine Tea, you’ll still see them at holiday markets. —Kristen Wile