Tea Tasting at an English Cottage Tea House

I always try Golden Monkeys when tea rooms offer them. Generally always a bit disappointed, but I always try. :) The caramel oolong might be a good compromise for you who likes tea and them who sometimes enjoy tea.

Unless I’ve been to the tea room or know they steep in a decent manner, I usually avoid greens since they are frequently steeped at really high temp and for too long. But, that said, Moroccan Mint is often a safe choice. :)

Thanks for the input :) Golden Monkey was absolutely in my top 2. The other I was curious to see about was the Darjeeling. However, I feel like the Darjeeling might be risky for the same reasons you listed with the green tea. The caramel oolong was in the top 4 or 5 as well. Perhaps we have similar tastes/thoughts.

How funny. I steer away from Darjeeling in tea shops for the same reason. :) Enjoy your visit!

edit – I see from your profile that you haven’t swapped much and are interested. Take a browse through my cupboard if you want. I’d be happy to send you some teas.

Oh awesome! I’ll do that later tonight when I get back. Thanks! For now, on my way to drink some tea!

So, tonight, she (the host) had a Vanilla Wafer green tea and an Earl Grey tea for us as her two choices. The green was slightly bitter but the scent on this one was so intoxicating that it covered/made up for the bitterness fairly well. Those two teas were to compliment the citrus theme she had going with the scones, appetizers/sandwiches and desserts. My wife and sister both had me pick one from two they were debating on. So my sister ended up getting a Sugar Cookie black tea. This was actually really good both plain and with milk and sugar. I think it tasted very much like a Ceylon base because it had a bright citrus note. It was smooth with no bitterness. My wife ended up getting the Caramel Oolong. That was nice. Pretty basic but good. I went with the Golden Monkey. It was good but it had a slight bitterness that probably came from a slight over steep or even perhaps that tea likes just below boiling.

I ended up buying 2oz of the Darjeeling, her last Orange Blossom White, and my wife wanted a Pineapple Ginseng green. It was a fun experience. The teas aren’t exactly high end but they were good and the snacks/desserts complimented the whole thing really nicely, especially when it was full service. Sometimes it is nice to sit back, have someone serve you tea and snacks, and be able to talk to you in a knowledgeable way about all of it.

Sounds like a really nice time! How nice that the host pairs the teas with the food. j

Tea rooms I’ve been to aren’t usually high end on their teas, but it isn’t the focus of a tea room so when they are at least steeped decently I count it a win. Nice that the host had enough tea knowledge to be able to speak with you about it. Sometime you don’t even get that. :)

Now I wish there was a tea room here…

Yeah! I was kind of expecting her to not be able to keep up with the tea conversation, considering I don’t think I’ve ever connected face to face with someone who can. But, she was very knowledgeable in most areas. Michigan also doesn’t have hardly any tea houses or shops really. I had to travel an hour to get to this one. It is right by my sisters house though so she has been multiple times.

I also did research while I was there in that I really want to start something close to that. I am already starting a tea book club at my house with some friends called Steeply Scared. We focus on Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy and I try to pair a tea with each book. None of them are on the same level as I am with tea obsession so they are going to have some eye opening looks at tea, especially with the first one I am pairing. Bwahaha.