It's like Louis XIV Cognac - You know it tastes great because it is so expensive. (or Cancer, Blindness, and Dodging the Fuzz)

SUN! GLORIOUS SUN! After nearly 2 weeks of drizzle, the skies turn blue and the sun shines through. There can be only one way to celebrate: A good long walk and a nice cup of tea.

I have walked past a shop up at Yonge and St. Claire every weekend after catching the Liverpool matches at Scalliwags, so I figured I would wander up and see if House of Tea is any good. At first I was disappointed. This was neither a house, nor was it made of tea. Mmm... House made of tea. Hot summers rain, perfect cup of tea fresh out of the gutters. Although cleaning the leaves out of those gutters would be a perpetual job.

I love the smell of a good tea shop, but this is something else. It is like a humidor, but without all the cancer. There is a tiny woman standing behind the counter. She is very nice, but informs me that they don't steep the tea on site, and while you can buy an electric kettle while you are there, they won't let you fill it up and boil it in the shop. Something to do with insurance or some such nonsense. She shows me a selection of black teas and I decide to go with the East Frisian Blend.

I was FLOORED by the price. I'm sure it is great, but 'struth that's absurd. She very kindly picked my eyeballs up from the counter and handed them back to me after she rung up my selection. As if having my eyes pop out of the sockets wasn't enough to let her know I was shocked, the look on my face when I put them back must have clued her in. She went on to explain that this was very rare tea and the importation and blah blah blah... She had lost me at $52.00/100g. So confident in her product though, she offered me a sample and strict instructions to only use warm milk, or the world would end on Saturday. I slipped the dime-bag of tea into my breast pocket and slipped out the door, hoping the rozzers weren't standing outside.

After the long walk home I'm eager to bust out my score and see if it really was the good stuff. I heed the prophetic warning and warm up the milk, and good LORD this is some excellent tea. I can't describe it other than to say this is absolutely amazing.

If you are a black tea fan, you absolutely must go and try to score a free sample. If you aren't a black tea fan please PLEASE go and try to score a free sample, and then give it to me.  If you have money coming out the wazzoo, buy me a bag; and a bottle of Louis XIV, that stuff is class.

Assam Banaspaty #150 (or A Tea Drinker's Guide to Surviving the Rapture)

What is with the rain?  You'd think either we were in the UK right now, or that the evangelicals are right about the coming rapture.  Bearing in mind the torrential downpour, and what happened last time God purged the Earth of all evil living things, I kept my trip local.  Wouldn't want to be caught out in that mess!  You guessed it, David's Tea.  See what risks I take to get you sorted with a good cuppa?

Today I feel like a staple, a go to tea that is refreshing and tasty.  Back to the black teas then, but with a twist.  Instead of a classic Orange Pekoe or English Breakfast, I'm trying Indian today - Assam Banaspaty(#150):

"From India's famed Banaspaty estate, this fair-trade Assam has a malty body and impressive, full complexity."

Bit of a vague description, but sometimes simple is best.

Served warm with milk, but there is still a hint of bitter to it.  This is probably the purest black tea I've ever had.  Lingering taste, refreshing, warm, and brown.  Love it.  And with the end of the world aproaching, I have only one thought:  Get to high ground, call your family and loved ones, and have a cup of Assam Banaspaty.  It isn't wild or fancy, but then God shows mercy on the pure, and if he is taking this cup of tea to heaven, I'm not letting go!

*note: I am not an evangelical, nor do I believe the world is coming to an end.  I do not suggest you quit your jobs and run around the streets naked.  Well, don't quit your jobs anyway...  If you are concerned about the end of days, just treat every day as if it were your last and you'll never be disappointed.  Unless they don't have Tea in Heaven.*

Coffee?? I thought this was about Tea!! (or Converting the Heathens)

  Now I know what you're thinking: "Why is he about to write about coffee? If I wanted to read about espresso, I'd head over to the Blogspot Archives and see what's what!" But stick with me, would I let you down?

My girlfriend is a coffee drinker, I am a tea drinker.  It may be the only thing we fight about, and it can get heated at times, but I think I may have solved the conflict.  Enter David's Tea - The Decaffeinator:

"Kick caffeine with this rich, roasted chicory tea.  How? Replace a bit of your coffee or black tea with it when brewing or steeping.  Then up the amount each day.  It's deliciously painless.  Caffeine-free."

I actually tried this tea a few weeks ago, and absolutely loved it.  I was interested to see what a non tea drinker would think of it though, so this morning instead of brewing up a cup of joe, I slipped my unsuspecting victim a cuppa char to see if she'd notice.

The first thing she said when she came in was "Wow, what is that smell? It smells so good!"  Sadly she was not talking about the goats cheese and asparagus omelet that I was making for breakfast, but she was right.  Just brewing one cup filled the room with a hint of maple, vanilla and spiced rum.  Or that could have just been from the Banana's Foster that we made up the night before.  Never mind, she just confirmed it's the tea.

Without letting on, I set her "coffee" out and waited to see her reaction.  She noticed something different, but assumed it was just a different blend.  After about a half of a cup and several guesses she asked what I added to the coffee and I revealed my secret.  She wasn't as bewildered as I had hoped she would be, but she enjoyed it none the less.

Served with milk, this is a perfect substitute for coffee.  It is rich and smooth, and the chicory root is a natural sweetener.  I wouldn't imagine this would taste particularly nice over ice, but on a lazy, cold, dreary Sunday morning it works just fine piping hot. I think there may be a future partnership with The Decaffeinator and some alcohol as well, maybe Baileys or Jameson.  We'll get back to that...

While we may still have our differences when it comes to our hot beverage of choice, David's Tea has given us a middle ground with The Decaffeinator.

David re-writes Billy's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' (or The Rise and Fall of Proculous the Usurper)

In the year 280, Proculous rose up against Emperor Probus (heh) in what is now Lyon, France.  He led an unsucessful uprising and was executed. But that's boring, and has nothing to do with tea...  Or does it?

I'm on a walk through the city on a quest to find mulberries. After wandering around the St. Lawrence Market and Kensington I find myself on Queen Street. David's has released their new summer collection, so I pop in to see what all the fuss is about.

Of their new selection I pick Midsummer Night's Dream (#280 see what I did there?):

“This citrusy-mint tea is refreshingly magical, with sweet apples, cool spearmint, tart gooseberries, orange oil, and petals of marigold and rose. Some say it's a bit of a love potion. Ice it and see. Caffeine-free.”

First thoughts? The scent of spearmint and citrus is almost overpowering. I smelled 3 other teas before this one, went back to smell them again after and couldn't smell anything, the aroma from Midsummer Night's Dream clung to the inside of my nose like the ivy along Burwash Hall at U of T, and almost as beautifully.

After letting it steep the fragrance settles a bit and you can begin to pick out some of the individual ingredients. The orange is still very prevalent, but the marigold and rose starts to come through.

Taking the weather into account I'm having this one hot. Judging by the smell I would expect the flavour to be more citrus, but with the lid on you really taste the gooseberries and apple. Take the lid off though, and the flavours change dramatically. Inhale while you take a sip and you get smacked in the taste buds with the orange and a crisp after taste of mint.

Just about finished now and no, I couldn't find any mulberries; but that's ok – I found something better.

Well hello!

Like tea?  Yeah, me too... 

I'll be wandering around Toronto and sampling different shops and blends, letting you know what I think as I go. 

Got a reccomendation?  Let me know!  Know a hot spot? Give me a shout.  Want to join sometime?  Well I don't see a problem with that!

Check back, I'll get to the reviews soon!