Teafarm

I tried this last night. It’s a loose tea, and I may have added too much (2 heaps teaspoons to 2 cups water), and also brewed too long. The white tea was a bit strong/bitter – will add less tea and steep for less time next time. Definitely very lavender – wow! I wonder if adding a few dried mint leaves would mellow out the lavender just a touch. Nice though :-)

I love mint (for tea) and fennel, and enjoy a good black tea. I get mint mostly, but that’s okay. I brewed about 1 1/2 heaping teaspoons of the loose tea in 2 cups of water, for about 6 minutes. I really like it – the black tea isn’t as noticable, but then, that’s good if I want a herbal-tasting tea with the “wake-up!” perk of a black tea. Very happy with this blend. Plus, it’s a local tea company, and I love supporting local :-)

When I saw this booth at the Sidney Nightmarket, I thought it was just another artisan tea blender taking advantage of tea’s growing popularity. Colour me surprised when I discovered that apparently we grow tea on Vancouver Island!

Being born in the year of the boar, and having a soft spot for all things vanilla, I settled on this tea in their selection to see if it was any good.

The tea brewed is darker than most standard green teas, but the first sip tastes like lovely toasty greens in the Japanese style. It has a smooth finish thanks to the vanilla, which allays some of the bitterness I find Japanese greens can have. All in all, a relaxing cup.