Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

A week before Christmas, my husband and I visited the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder, Colorado to enjoy lunch. The teahouse is located along Boulder Creek in the Central Park area of Boulder.  As the teahouse website states: "Completely built by hand without the use of power tools, the teahouse was constructed in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as a gift to their sister city, Boulder. It was disassembled, crated up, and sent halfway around the world to be rebuilt in Boulder as a symbol of friendship and cultural exploration. The elaborate and creative teahouse now sits as a reminder to the citizens of Boulder to value cultural diversity, global cooperation, and international friendship." You can read the entire history of how the teahouse came about on this link. The teahouse has become one of the city's most attractive and popular tourist destinations, as well as a place locals enjoy for good food, tea, and atmosphere.

We love the drive north to Boulder for the wide-open views we see of open space and mountain ranges, although the tremendous population growth along the Front Range of Colorado has resulted in more and more roads being widened and express toll roads being installed, and this route is no exception.

The Davidson Mesa Scenic Overlook, along westbound US 36, just east of Boulder, has postcard-worthy views of both the city of Boulder and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

The teahouse was busy the day we visited for lunch, and since we did not have reservations we had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated.

The wait gave me time to go outside to admire the outside eight handmade ceramic tile artwork panels that represented the "Tree of Life," and peruse the menu board. Click on all photos in this post to enlarge them for easier viewing of their details. The menus for breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner are also on the teahouse's website.

As we walked up the walkway we could see the winter dormant rose bushes that the Boulder Valley Rose Society maintains in season.  You can see photos of how the roses look in the teahouse gardens on their website at this link.

Next to the teahouse, ice skaters were enjoying the winter weather on an ice rink.

Time to go in...

One of the first things one notices when entering the teahouse are the twelve intricate hand-carved cedar pillar supports. Each one has different carvings, and they immediately cause you to look up at the equally intricately and colorfully painted ceiling that they support!

It is hard not to be amazed by all the traditional Tajikistan folk artwork that was painted onto the ceiling panels and to admire all the beautiful designs.

The other object you will immediately notice is the "Fountain of the Seven Beauties" in the middle of the teahouse.  There are seven hammered copper sculptures created by the artist Ivan Milosoich. The sculptures are based on a 12th-century poem.

There is also artwork and scrolled screens and tiles throughout the teahouse, and a beautiful bar area that sells all the popular teas that the teahouse serves.  The teahouse offers a large selection of white, green, black, oolong, and herbal teas. You can see information on these teas on this link on their website.

We chose a tangerine cinnamon herbal tea that we both enjoyed very much!

The teahouse's menus feature international cuisine for lunch and dinner, including Moroccan, Indian, Persian, Malaysian, and traditional Tajik dishes that change seasonally.  Everything we had for lunch was very flavorful and delicious!  There is also a traditional afternoon tea service with sweets and savories served in a three-tiered tower.  Reservations are required for afternoon tea.  

By the time we finished our lunch and tea, the winter sun was going down behind Boulder's iconic Flatiron Mountains in the distance.   We really enjoyed the break from pre-Christmas preparations and we have decided to go back again in summer to see the roses in the garden and enjoy one of the formal teas. I'll bring you back with us when we do! 

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