The Tea Garden

Got caught up with work and forgot about the tea. Ended up steeping it for about 25 minutes…a little on the bitter side, oops.

This is the second bag I received from the greatest person on earth, coming in the form of a subtle white tea from The Tea Garden. The leaves have a very powerful floral aroma, like taking a stroll through a greenhouse. Good greens and browns on the leaves with the petals nicely interspersed. The tea gives you that same floral smell and taste, with just a nice hint of sweetness to keep it from being overly fresh and earthy. The delicacy of the rose and the white tea work well to make a balanced and extremely refreshing experience. Great for relaxing and lounging on the couch after a hard workout earlier today.

Another pot, a little less strong but still tasty. The leaves hold up well to multiple infusions.

Just got a bag of this from the greatest person in the world so I’m giving it a shot. The loose leaf has a rich, deep, and earthy coconut aroma. Not like regular processed coconut, but one that you’ve found on the beach and cracked open raw. Every now and then you’ll catch a little glimpse of the fruity aroma coming through, but the coconut remains dominant. This makes sense because it appears that the slivers of mango in the loose leaf are far outnumbered by those of the coconut and black tea.

The liquor is a rich golden brown and has the same earthy coconut aroma as the leaves. The coconut carries through the aroma and into the flavor quite strongly. It is supported by a quality black tea flavor but still maintains the spotlight. You get hints of mango every now and then, but I would consider this mostly a coconut flavored tea (which I’ve had before and really liked). Lingering after the liquid is gone is the coconut flavor, which has taken on an almost malty chocolaty taste, very interesting. Overall, an enjoyable experience. Besides for the lingering coconut flavor, I’d say this is one of more consistent teas I’ve had, from aroma of the loose leaf all the way through to the last sip. Good stuff.

If you’re from Minneapolis definitely check out the Tea Garden in Uptown. One of my favorite tea joints. My favorite is the lychee or peach green tea with pearls!

Excellent when I need to relax after a frustrating day.
A comment on The Tea Garden itself, though: I am unimpressed with how a professional tea store stores their teas in glass containers and packages teas that customers have bought in bags with plastic windows. Customers can store their own tea however they want, but a store that makes its business out of selling teas should be protecting them properly from light, not just air.