9/12/2008

I love England, I one day hope to live there, I do have an issue with one major aspect of their culture and that is the obsession with tea.  I don't really get tea, it doesn't wake you up and it doesn't taste very good, so why would I drink it?  I do have someone who is very close to me who drinks tea on a daily basis, which is why when I want to get her something special I go to the Tea Emporium.  The Tea Emporium is exactly what you'd expect it to be, they have a great deal of tea with a wide range of prices, but they are not exceptionally high if you like good tea. I personally usually go for some variation of their Darjeeling teas, but I am no expert and I think that experimentation is the best way to find the tea you like. They also have a wide range of tea paraphernalia, such as tea pots and tea strainers.  I would recommend the Tea Emporium to anyone who is looking for something more from their tea, but I would not recommend it for coffee drinkers, because well, we're above tea.

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3/16/2010 2 Check-ins Here

I really like tea. Tea bags. Loose leaf. Blooming. Bubble. lol... I was really bummed to come up to a new place without my loose leaf teas & my Teavana Teamaker. *I was afraid the border agents might think the tea was... you know... drugs, and I'd get onto some international travel watchlist... So I have a few shelf-fulls of tea waiting for my return to NorCal.

Lord knows I was excited to see a shop like this @ Hazelton Lanes. On two occassions I've come in and asked for a cup of tea. I was pleasantly surprised by the first tea I tried there, but not so much with the second. What threw me though is that the first tea I had was a white tea (thurbo white tea)... and the second I had was a rooibos (rooibos strawberry)... and aside from the strawberry-ness of the rooibos, I didn't pick up much of a difference between the two. It tasted like hot water and sugar. And idk... it just wasn't my "cup of tea". Maybe my taste buds were burned... but I can usually tell the diff.

Did I not steep it long enough? Did they not give me the right tea:water ratio? Idk...

And... I wish they would just allow the tea to steep & pour it out into a filterless cup for me. They basically put the hot water & tea leaves in the paper cup & let me have at it. I would think that they would want to prepare it correctly so that myself or even an new tea drinker or anyone would get the full taste & satisfaction of a properly-steeped tea... without worrying about the leaves. At least that's how Teavana does it. Maybe they want to give us the opportunity to resteep the tea leaves if we want... but from the lightness of the two i've tried, i don't think this tea would reinfuse well.

Needless to say, I'm not particularly keen on Tea Emporium's tea, but they have lovely tea accessories, so shop away! (I can't believe i said "keen"... maybe I just don't want to be too mean in this post)

And maybe this is a premature review. Maybe I'll come back & get a different person & get the perfect tea & walk out totally content... Or maybe I'll just buy some tea & make it myself...

Maybe.

2 stars - "meh. i've experienced better"

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