The Dow and Tea...

My favorite San Diego Tea House, Infusions of Tea, owned by Ronald and Emily...
Besides having great knowledge, and selection, of tea, they are doing their bit to help. From the San Diego Tribune:

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When Dow is down, that means it's tea time

By Penni Crabtree
STAFF WRITER

October 28, 2008

Ah, if only it were gin.

But for Dow Jones-jangled nerves – and for most these days, nerves are singing like a taut silver wire – a free cup of soothing tea might just be what Wall Street ordered.

And maybe a not-so-free scone to accompany it. Or so hopes Ronald Eng, proprietor of Infusions of Tea, a San Diego tea shop that on Oct. 15 began offering customers free cups of afternoon tea on any weekday that the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a loss of more than 100 points.

On the first day of the promotion, the Dow closed at 8,577, down 733 points. Since then, it has fallen at least 100 points on five out of eight weekdays, including yesterday's drop of 203 points, which translates into about 150 free cups of tea.

“We've been giving away a lot of free tea lately,” Eng said with a laugh. “My dad said we should have made it higher than 100 points.”

Still, Eng said customers appreciate the gesture, and while some welcome a free cuppa, people are still buying their favorite blend. The promotion ends Friday.

“For us, it's a way to show hospitality,” said Eng, who started the shop in the Costa Verde shopping center on Gennesee Avenue in 2003. “People are just down a little bit, and tea is a nice, soothing pause.”

Of course, on the days the Dow is up, the sign changes: Dow O.K., but you are welcome to come in anyway.