Osondu Books and Tea

Osondu Books and Tea is set in the heart of the mountains of Western North Carolina.  The bookshop has been in existence for well over 25 years here in Waynesville, NC, evolving through three different owners to what it is now.  Since opening the current store in 2004, owner Margaret Osondu has worked to weave a love of reading into the very fabric of this mountain community.  In fact, fostering the love of reading is the mission of this bookshop and its staff.

Margaret Osondu, is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and like many that have settled here has found that the beautiful mountains and temperate climate attract people from all over the United States.  Margaret is a voracious reader and lover of tea, and is in a near constant state of bliss with both books and tea always available.  Formerly a psychotherapist, but now turned bibliotherapist, she offers good reads to customers based on their particular interests. 

To Foster the Love of Reading

Why reading?  Through reading a person brings their own perspective to a book allowing for an interaction that can lead to both creativity and enrichment.  There is a power in reading, and in the written word.  Reading can instruct, intrigue, and invite.  Reading can elucidate, elevate, and electrify.  Reading can transport one to lands far away, to adventures, and to places in history in ways that no other medium can.    

Osondu Booksellers focuses on reading as a way to understand the world around us by recommending books, selecting books, and bringing in community conversations.  Authorless events are offered each weekend whether it is a talk by a local scholar or an event for kids led by our young people’s expert, Allison, the readers are engaged in the process of literature and literacy. 

Authors are frequent visitors to the bookshop.  We bring authors to town to read, sign, discuss books and offer workshops.  The mountains of Western North Carolina are muse to many authors.  Charles Frazier, native of western Carolina, is author of Cold Mountain.  Wayne Caldwell, Joan Medlicott, Celia Miles, Vicky Lane, and Lee Smith, are just a few of the authors who have found their work taking them to these mountains.  Several of these writers and many others have come to share their work in the bookstore and in the surrounding community. 
There is always something going on in the bookshop.

Newly added tea and reading room

The Tea Room opened at Osondu Books and Tea in 2007.  It features a tea and wine bar and a cozy café for customers to socialize with friends or relax with a good book, something to nibble on, and one of the more than 50 varieties of tea or a glass of fine North Carolina wine.  The Tea Room, while in its relative infancy, has already established itself as an outstanding attraction on Main Street through its program of live music, tea and wine tastings, game nights, community discussions, and other assorted events. 

Scott Osondu, Margaret’s husband, is the tea aficionado.  You can drop by on a Saturday evening and Scott usually will be there serving up fresh steaming brews of tea, yerba maté, and tisanes.  Whenever he can he’ll give you a short course on the health benefits of these brews.  If he has been successful you will have enjoyed the fragrances of a variety of teas and found at least one you must try.  More than 50 teas are available in the tea room along with an assortment of tea pots and other brewing supplies to keep you well “tea-ed up”. 

Why Tea?

Tea, it easily can be argued, is the most popular drink in the world.  Besides the fact of the great taste, there are many other factors that elevate tea into the stratosphere of the “really good to drink” beverage realm.  Tea is purported to help decrease weight, help control blood sugar, help lower cholesterol, help to calm jittery nerves, help fight cancer and illness and assist you in staying healthy in many other ways.  Tea is now recognized around the world as one of the healthiest beverages in the world.  Green tea, for instance, has hit the official “craze” level of popularity as judged by the world wide sales of green tea extract.  You can also find other tea extracts or components sold as supplements such as L-theanine extract, Theophylline, and different antioxidant polyphenols (tea catechins). 

The tea, yerba mate, rooibos, honeybush, redbush, and other tisanes (herbal/floral infusions – “herbal tea”) available in the tea room are mostly 100% organic and “fair trade” in origin, and come from all over the world.  Whether hot or cold brewed, these blends are not the run of the mill product found in your local grocery.  In fact, Scott enjoys assisting customers in learning and experiencing the vast differences between the tea they’re likely used to and the tea at the Tea Bar.  The fragrance alone alerts one to the quality and freshness.  Then the depth of the flavor and richness of color let one know that these are no ordinary teas.  In fact, these teas are more than likely blended and packaged just a short time prior to purchase.  We work hard to find the best artisan hand-blended teas available in the industry.  They are truly the best teas we’ve ever tasted.  Check out the calendar of events to find out when the next tea tasting will occur, and then bring a friend or two for a sampling! 

Whether it is for the taste, for the health benefits, or the Zen of it all, come sit at in the Tea Room at Osondu Books and Tea for a fabulous cup of loose leaf organic and fair-traded tea or buy it in bulk to brew at home.