Coffee Hero » Tea http://coffeehero.com Seattle's Independent Coffee Blog Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:47:20 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc An Overview of the Seattle Tea Scene http://coffeehero.com/2010/06/an-overview-of-the-seattle-tea-scene/ http://coffeehero.com/2010/06/an-overview-of-the-seattle-tea-scene/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:28:29 +0000 MAS http://coffeehero.com/?p=2967 As I stated on the About Coffee Hero page, I am an unapologetic fan of quality tea.  Tea is very much like coffee in that there is wide difference in taste between the common stuff and the high quality.  I highly encourage my fellow coffee drinkers to embrace and learn about our sister beverage tea.  The same tasting skills we use at coffee cuppings and with espresso apply to quality tea.

This post is about guiding you to the best tea resources in Seattle.

Gong Fu Tea Class – Teacup by INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero

The Big 4

If you are looking for a place to relax with friends in a comfortable environment while trying high quality tea, there are four places that stand out.

  1. Teacup – 2128 Queen Anne Ave N (UPPER QUEEN ANNE)
  2. Miro Tea – 5405 Ballard Ave NW (BALLARD)
  3. Remedy Teas – 345 15th Ave E (CAPITOL HILL)
  4. Teahouse Kuan Yin – 1911 North 45th St (WALLINGFORD)

Tea Tasting

There are a few places that will invite you to sit down and then start making little sample tea tastings for you.  These tastings allow the drinker to experience several different teas at one sitting.  The tea proprietor will guide you to the flavors you most like and suggest different teas for purchase.

  1. Floating Leaves Tea – 1704 Northwest Market St (BALLARD)
  2. New Century Tea Gallery – 416 Maynard Ave S (INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT)
  3. Zen Dog Studio & Tea House Gallery – 2015 NW 85th St (BALLARD)
  4. Seattle Best Tea – 506 South King St (INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT)
  5. Vital Tea Leaf – 1401 1st Ave & 2003 Western Ave (DOWNTOWN)

That should be enough to get you started.  I don’t know much about the Eastside tea scene, but I have heard great things about Xiu Xian Tea (15600 N.E. 8th St #O-16, Crossroads Mall, Bellevue).  As for places to avoid, I’ll save that for another post.

]]> http://coffeehero.com/2010/06/an-overview-of-the-seattle-tea-scene/feed/ 4 Improving Your Tea Game http://coffeehero.com/2009/04/improving-your-tea-game/ http://coffeehero.com/2009/04/improving-your-tea-game/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:41:45 +0000 MAS http://coffeehero.com/?p=3003 Every so often, I get a shocked response from my fellow coffee fans when I tell them I have also become a tea fan. They will mumble something about not liking tea. I always respond the same.

If someone told you they didn’t like coffee, your mind would immediately think that they just had never tried really good coffee. And if they just tried really good coffee, you could save them and add another coffee fan to our ranks.

I feel the same way about tea.

Most coffee fans have never tried really good tea. If really good coffee is better than average coffee, then doesn’t it make sense that really good tea will be better than the bagged stuff?

How does one improve their tea game? If you live in Seattle, you take part in a tea tasting hosted by a knowledgeable tea professional. Brett from Black Dragon Tea Bar hosts a Tea Tasting most Saturdays at 1 PM at Teacup in Queen Anne. Tastings take about an hour. The fee is just $2 and you can RSVP by emailing him directly.

Here are some photos I took from the most recent tea tasting.

Tea Tasting Setup Table

Tea Tasting – White Peony

Tea Leaves – No Bagged Stuff!

Sources:

Black Dragon Tea Bar – Seattle Tea Guru

Photo Gallery – Full photo gallery for Improving Your Tea game

Teacup – Seattle Tea shop at 2128 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

]]> http://coffeehero.com/2009/04/improving-your-tea-game/feed/ 0