Today we’d like to introduce you to Nasim Bell.
Nasim, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The idea of Hummingbird Tea Room & Bakery was born in our sitting room while enjoying afternoon tea with family and friends. The thought of having my own little tearoom flourished, complete with china tea cups, English tea cakes, and biscuits.
Growing up in both Zambia and England, one of our most cherished traditions was to visit friends on a Sunday afternoon. No prior invitation needed; one just dropped in. At each home, you were served a cup-a-tea with homemade cakes & biscuits – you did not serve store bought. Since Zambia was a British protectorate, there was a strong British influence, especially in our baking.
During the past five years, Hummingbird Tearoom has been a gathering place for people from all over the world. At any given time, you may hear three or more different languages and accents. Hummingbird Tearoom has been recognized as a place to get great healthy food-feeding the soul. Our unique cakes and pastries are scratch-made using all-natural ingredients, family recipes from Zambia.
Our “Take Home & Bake Scones” are now famous and extremely popular. There is nothing better than having a box of frozen scones in your freezer, popping them in the oven on demand and have the aroma of freshly baked scones fill your home. More and more of our customers have been asking for good tasting, healthy gluten-free desserts. Our gluten-friendly fresh raspberry brownies are absolutely yummy simple all natural ingredients. We have created a gluten-free brownie mix, easy to whip up & bake in your home.
Hummingbird Tearoom has been recognized as a place to enjoy hot teas from all over the world and great healthy food-feeding the soul. There is a sense of trust and honesty we have built within the community in the past five-plus years and with my dedicated and passionate staff.
Our Give-Back program is strong, a commitment to the local community and on the International stage.
I have been giving for years personally and now with the tearoom to The Fistula Foundation and to the local refugee program.
Hummingbird Tearoom is:
100% woman-owned and women run.
100% committed to quality.
100% committed to our environment.
Our motto “It’s never not tea time”.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Absolutely not! I had a naive notion that “who would not like my food” and I would have a queue outside my door. Reality has been very different.
Sometimes, I feel had I opened a franchise it would have been a lot easier. People already know the brand, the marketing, cute packaging is all done for you. There is a whole team behind the brand. Going it on your own is extremely difficult. Building the brand is a long and arduous climb. through many trials and errors.
It’s all about Social Media and keeping up with it daily is a challenge without having to spend a ton of money on it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Hummingbird Tearoom & Bakery opened it’s doors June 12, 2012, in The Woodlands, Texas. We are an English-style tearoom offering close to 100 teas from all over the world. We also carry loose leaf teas from single origin tea farms in Northern Thailand and Myanmar. We infuse the tea perfectly – getting the right leaf to water ratio and serving it at the right temperature.
Along with our teas, we also serve breakfast and lunch with a large offering of vegetarian and vegan items. We use as much organic and local as we can. Our eggs have been delivered to us by Pam who has chickens, ducks, guinea fowl along with a smattering of rabbits and birds happily running around in her yard every Tuesday and Thursday for the past five years.
We serve one soup a day, totally scratch made, always vegetarian and gluten-free. We started a #soupforhope program more than two years ago for those undergoing chemotherapy. We offer free soup for the day after chemo. We have found our nutritious soup is easily digestible and give strength to those undergoing cancer treatment.
We are now famous for our scones and our “Take Home & Bake Scones” have gained popularity. The frozen scones come in a box of 4 and we provide parchment paper, jam & clotted cream. The scones go from the freezer to the oven – bake for 30-35 minutes and you have fantastic scones. No cleanup, no preparations – nothing!
We are also known for our High Tea. Our tables are set beautifully with our fine china and a delectable treat artfully arranged on cake stands. We have had rave reviews and have been compared with fancy hotels from around the world.
In the past five years, we have seen a change in dietary requirements. More and more of our customers are opting for gluten-free. We have come up with some wonderful gluten-free desserts and now we have created a healthy gluten-free brownie mix sweetened with dark chocolate (60% cocoa) and organic coconut palm sugar. We also carry gluten-free bread so any of our sandwiches can be made gluten-free.
As a company, I am most proud of having stayed true to our foundation, We are a “Green Restaurant”, going through the certification program. Environmentally conscious, compostable to go products – never styrofoam! We are known for our scones, pastries, and cakes. It is a place where people from all walks of life, cultures, and traditions come together to enjoy good food and company. We have an international clientele and at any given time you’ll hear more than 3 languages at the tearoom.
We are the only English-style tearoom, our fresh, handmade, scones, pastries, cakes in the area. Our food is unique, fresh, nutritious. We are:
100% woman-owned
100% women-run
100% committed to our environment
100% committed to quality
What were you like growing up?
I was born and raised in Zambia. A beautiful country with deep cultural values and traditions. A culture that believes in sharing no matter how little one has. I still remember vividly in primary school a group of young Zambians sharing a biscuit ( a cookie) each having a little piece and it wasn’t “well it’s my last one”. We were surrounded by people less fortunate, and not wasting food and playing games with food are repulsive to me. There are too many hungry people around the world to find humor and entertainment in throwing food at each other.
Another incident I clearly remember is purchasing a cage full of birds from a young man and releasing them in-front of him. I do not believe in having caged birds. It is our responsibility to protect the wild birds and animals and not participate on the consumer side. I have always had a desire and deep sense of responsibility to protect the environment and wildlife.
I was always an independent strong willed-stubborn individual with deep beliefs and values. Growing up in Zambia gave me a deep sense of confidence and individuality even at a very young age and so when I went to England I was able to stay strong even though I was now in a different culture, language and beliefs.
Cooking and baking was always a big part of my upbringing and baking from scratch. Picking herbs from the garden, fruits, lemons, pomegranates, guavas, mangoes – you name it we had it in our yard. So, my love of food and trying International foods, new cheeses etc is always exciting. I LOVE FOOD!!
Pricing:
- Take Home & Bake Scones original $12. Fruit ( cran/orange, blueberry, raisin, pumpkin (seasonal) $15
- Gluten-Friendly Brownie mix _$15,
- Tin of baked Gluten-friendly brownies $25 ( 24 pieces. 48 hr notice needed)
- Whole Victoria or Chocolate Sponge Cakes – $35. 48 hr notice needed
- Hummingbird Cake – round 4- layer $52, 48 hr notice needed
- Carrot Cake – round 4- layer $52, 48 hr notice needed
- Dark German Chocolate Cake round 4- layer $65, 48 hr notice needed
- Many more pastries and cakes available at the tearoom
- High Tea $35/pp. Reservations required.
Contact Info:
- Address: 30420 FM 2978 The Woodlands, Texas 77354
- Website: http://www.hummingbirdtearoom.com
- Phone: 281-419-8362
- Email: hummingbirdtearoom@gmail.com
- Instagram: hummingbirdtearoom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HummingbirdTeaRoom/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hummingbird-tea-room-and-bakery-the-woodlands
- Other: https://www.google.com/hummingbirdtearoom
Image Credit:
Natalia Richer
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