Wednesday 7 March 2007

Tea Heaven

I am drinking a giant mug of coconut tea right now and every sip tastes like heaven.

This past Christmas both of my sisters bought me tea from the Bayswater Tea Co. LT, also bought me a little loose leaf teapot so that I could enjoy my new teas. I have been a tea drinker most of my life and my tea routine involved a cup or two of orange pekoe in the mornings and then chamomille or decaf green tea in the evenings. All of these teas purchased mostly in bulk at the nearest Safeway.

Never again!

Now that I have been introduced to tea heaven, I will not be going back to boring old bulk orange pekoe.

My mom and I went for the first time ourselves to The Bayswater Tea Co and we had a great experience there. The owner of the shop was working and she knew everything there was to know about tea and was extremely helpful and friendly. We commented to her that there are so many teas, how do you pick one to try. She has a great system for helping you with that exact dilemma and can narrow down your options from over 100 to about 6 in minutes just by asking you questions. "Do you like spicy? citrus? fruity? creamy? Do you want decaf or caffeinated?" As you are answering these questions, she is pulling down the teas and having you smell them and helping you choose based on what you like the smell of as well.

Through this process yesterday I left with a creamy coconut black tea (heavenly), a papaya mango rooibos tea (fruity and smooth) and another rooibos named Kilamanjaro that is spicy and fruity and heavenly with a dash of milk. I also restocked one that LT had given me for my birthday that is to die for. It's called Divine Temptation and it is a creamy hazelnut and nougat tea. I actually had three cups of tea yesterday afternoon just so I could try each of the new ones that I bought.

I am going to give you the list here of what I have tried so far but everyone's tea tastes are different so you might not like what I like. It turns out I am a fan of the really bold, flavourful teas, which I didn't know before yesterday. If you are a tea drinker, I totally recommend that you visit the Bayswater Tea Co and experience tea heaven. I'll post a link at the end to the BTC.

In the black tea family
Earl Grey Provence - it is a very bold lavender tea.
Brunch Blend - this one is a nice light fruity tea, very subtle
Symphony - this one is also light and slightly fruity and subtle
Coconut - bold, coconutty and heavenly
Divine Temptation - hazelnut and nougat. This one is a very bold tea as well. It is one of their most popular blends

In the Rooibos tea family
Blue Mountain - has bits of pineapple in it and maybe lemon too. fruity, bold and delightful
Bergamot - if you have smelled bergamot before this tea tastes just like it
Papaya Mango - smooth and easy to drink. it's good with a dash of milk in it
Kilimanjaro - this one to me smells like a spa. my mom wanted to pour this one into her bath water (which apparently you can do!). It is a little spicy, floral and citrusy. It's also excellent with a dash of milk

There are different types of rooibos but I seem to like the bold and fruity ones so I haven't tried any of the others yet. The store also carries green teas, white teas, yerba mate, matcha, tea infused honeys and chocolates, teapots, mugs, and all things tea related.
It is located on Broadway at Bayswater and here is link with a bit more info like specific address, phone number and store hours.
http://www.vancouverplus.ca/home/bayswater_tea_co/1059439

Happy tea drinking!!

1 comment:

prairieox said...

K, I didn't know you were a tea girl. I am one too! Didn't know about Bayswater as well, now I can't wait to go find it. Earl Grey Provence and Coconut sounds heavenly. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.