Local gay tea purveyor achieves prestigious certification

If your own knowledge of tea ends at sweetened vs. unsweetened, Kyle Stewart can probably teach you a thing or two.

Stewart and his partner, Phil Krampetz, own The Cultured Cup at Preston Center, an emporium of fine teas, coffees, chocolates and other gourmet treats. (Stewart is the tea tsar; Krampetz, the coffee king.) Last month in Las Vegas, Stewart was awarded the title "Certified Tea Specialist" at the 2009 World Tea Expo (yes, there is such a thing).

To put this achievement in context, Stewart joins only 22 other men and women from around the world to be so honored by the Specialty Tea Institute — and the only Texan ever so recognized.

In addition to their Preston Center location, The Cultured Cup provides its specialty brews to restaurants including Stephan Pyles and Seventeen Seventeen inside the Dallas Museum of Art.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 12, 2009.