The wide selection of plants offered at Potted on a display wall.
Eli Casey |Marlin Chronicle
Tucked away in Selden Market, about 15 minutes from campus, is a hidden gem of cafes, Potted. Founded six months ago by Travis Diperna and Michele Berkhimer, Potted is a cross between a bubble tea store and house plant emporium. Featuring a soil bar, a selection of specialty loose leaf teas with free smells, tea accessories, houseplant growth kits and delicious drinks.
Despite entering the industry in May, Potted has all the makings of the next national sensation. Diperna and Berkhimer are committed to making Potted a place, and brand, that people recognize. “Big picture, we are going to be a national brand,” Diperna said.
What separates Potted from its potential competitors is its depth: Potted offers something for everyone. Whether you’re a budding tea enthusiast, a beginner plant aficionado or anything in between.
Immediately upon walking in, there is a whole rack of Potted specialty loose leaf tea available for free smells. Some of their smellable loose leaf teas are variations on classic teas like chamomile or lavender. Some coax you to smell them because it’s not often you’re face to face with Blue Mango or Foxtrot flavored herbal tea.
According to Diperna, making new regulars is his favorite part of his job. “It’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job … whenever you do see someone who enjoys it, it really makes it worth it.”
Potted sells a plant in a cute pot.
Eli Casey |Marlin Chronicle
The idea for Potted came about thanks to a vacation Diperna and Berkheimer took together. “We were in Denver, and I found this place called Dandelion Cafe, and they were a little tiny local house plant cafe, and I was like ‘this should be in Hampton Roads, people would love this,’” Diperna said.
It seems like they do. Since starting out at farmers markets in October, eventually opening in May, Potted has grown a loyal customer base. When creating a community, “the biggest thing is education . . . knowledge is definitely one of the keys to our future success,” Diperna said.
One of the unique challenges to Potted is also what makes it special: its nature as a business. Instead of specializing in just bubble tea, plants or loose leaf tea, Diperna and Berkeimer have to be ready for all kinds of challenges.
According to Diperna, the nature of running Potted is like juggling. “You need to know which one of these balls that you’re juggling is glass and which one is rubber, you have to know which balls you can drop and which ones that if you drop, they’re going to be devastating,” Diperna said.
For instance, the plants have to be stored at very specific temperatures, and all of the tea has to be cared for – humidity is very important. “It’s not easy, it’s a lot, but that makes it worth it,” Diperna said.
Another of Potted’s draws is its soil bar. If you purchase a plant from Potted, you can bring it back and re-fill its soil with high quality soil at their specialty soil bar.
At the soil bar you can find options that work for plants of different locations and sensitivities that can be purchased at Potted. For instance, Diperna’s favorite plant, the Boobie cactus, is really difficult to propagate, but Potted offers soil and solutions to that problem.
Potted’s large variety of teas and accessories
Eli Casey |Marlin Chronicle
Potted offers a plethora of options for all of its customers, be it those looking for plants or a caffeine fix. Diperna’s personal recommendation is the Cinnamon Toast milk tea or one of Potted’s signature drinks, the Ube Dooby Doo.
The Ube Dooby Doo is a specialty purple milk tea that uses ube instead of taro. Taro is a Korean sweet potato and ube is a Filipino sweet potato. Both are a type of sweet yam, but ube is a purple sweet yam and taro is a white yam. Taro has a much lighter flavor compared to ube, which is very nutty and reminiscent of vanilla.
Customer Izabell Grimes recommended the Mermaid Bubble Tea. “It’s a really good mix of flavors that just blend amazingly together,” Grimes said.
The Mermaid Bubble Tea features coconut-pineapple milk tea, with lychee jellies and dragon fruit popping bubbles. It has a very pleasant taste with equal parts of the tangy pineapple but also the smooth and refreshing coconut. The jellies and popping fruit bubbles also add a new dimension to the drinking experience, making it highly enjoyable.
Potted is open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Tuesday, perfect for a midday study snack.
By Eli Casey
emcasey@vwu.edu
