Saturday, August 9, 2008

It's going to be a good winter

This past week, I have discovered a new tea house. Surprisingly to me, it is a fairly large chain with its own standard blends.

This is surprising because so far in my experience, it has been the small tea shops that have delivered the tastiest tea (Savouré in Eugene, Capitol Teas in Annapolis, and Timeless Teas in Boston) and not the chains (Tealuxe and Teavana). But, I'm willing to give each tea shop its fair chance, so I stepped inside Whittard of Chelsea. It didn't hurt that when I was looking online for a good tea shop in Boston, their "Sticky Toffee" tea kept popping up on everyone's "where can I find?!?" list.

Now, I'm both a snobby tea drinker, as well as particular. I've tasted some really bad teas that are - uh, really bad. But I've also tasted a lot of high-quality teas that I just don't like. And I've discovered that while viewing and smelling the teas are a good start to finding a tea I love, one's nose is not a sure-fire way to find a favorite tea. Thus, I've begun to resolve that I will not buy a tea without tasting it (Sticky Toffee being the exception).

But back to Whittard (take note Americans: singular, pronounced Whit-TARD).

Off and on over the spring, I have gone into Whittard, and while I'd tried several great teas, I hadn't found anything that would get me moving out the front door and through the blustery streets to the Green Line train stop. Which was all right - I have Lemon Sorbet Rooibos from Savouré to fill that place in my life.

But last week changed all that. I came across a perfect tea - one that I do believe I could drink every morning as I walk to the train. It is Almond & Orange Chai Rooibos. Doesn't it just sound wonderful?

A little spicy, a little sweet - it is a perfect blend of, well, almonds, orange peel, coriander, peppercorns, and rooibos. And it's beautiful too:


It's what I'm going to be drinking this winter. You should too. Only, you'll have to come visit me to get your hands on some - Whittard stores are only in Boston and England. (And who wants to go to England?)

2 comments:

Melanie said...

I'm wrong - I just found out they've also opened two stores in Southern California. But again: who wants to go...

Sarah said...

Sigh. This makes me really wish I liked tea.