I have always loved tea to the point that at times I may have gone a little overboard. Trying teas and new tea shops has been a passion of mine for years and after enough testing, here is a tea guide on where to start or continue your tea journey.
Master Tea Blenders
This is a great tea shop for both beginners and avid tea drinkers. They have really well sourced tea in the moderate pricing selection as well as tea blends for those that are more avid tea drinkers with varieties that are hard to find elsewhere. I almost exclusively get their loose leaf tea, and use compostable tea bags. Another benefit is on their tea tins they have instructions for brewing temperature and length of steeping for each different tea. Over the years I have probably tried 40/50 different teas from them and I have listed my favorites below.
Price Range: $8 – $20 (For the 4oz Tin that will last for 40/50 cups of tea)
Recommendations:
Supreme Earl Gray – For a strong cup of black tea in the morning. Best with milk and honey.
Paris – A floral black tea that can be enjoyed alone or with milk and honey. Brew a little longer or shorter to control the strength. Also comes in a decaf option for those late night cups of tea!
Dragon Pearl Jasmine – By far the best jasmine tea I have had for the price point. It is both sweet and floral and if stepped at the correct temperature has almost zero bitterness. I would highly recommend if you dont have a jasmine tea in your collection.
Chamomile – This is a great nighttime tea. If you have trouble sleeping having a small cup of chamomile tea always helps. It is the perfect balance and its also a gorgeous tea with all of the Egyptian chamomile flowers mixed in.
Victorian London Fog – If your like me and you love a London Fog latte, this just makes the whole process easier for at home. The vanilla and lavender balanced with the black tea is by far the best at home London Fog blend. Combined with some steeped milk and honey, this is the perfect afternoon tea or morning pick-me up.
Janes Garden – To round out my recommendations Janes Garden is a light floral tea paired well with heavier pastries like sconces or cookies. It is a blend with dark green tea leaves and bright rose petals making it a beautiful tea to look at. If you are more into herbal teas this is the one for you, since its not to strong but definelty doesn’t lack in aroma or flavor.
Sophisticated and Modern Tea
Beyond the fact that P&T has beautiful locations across the Berlin area, it is also has incredible high quality tea. A quick visit to their About Us section shows their vision, concerns, and message. With notable press from ABC Home, Cool Hunting, Pen Magazine, Refinery 29, and the Financial Times they are making big waves since their 2011 inception. I found them through a third party store and after trying their Chai tea for the first time I was hooked and have since tried so many of their tea offerings. One thing to note is its hard sometimes with the international delivery but you can find third party suppliers if you know the tea name!
Price Range: $10 – $20
Recommendations:
Hariman Classic Chai No718 – A absolutely perfect blend of chai tea. For those that like a chai with a little more spice this is the full bodied chai you need to add to your collection. With tasting notes of malt, cinnamon, cloves, and in my opinion cardamom I have given this tea to numerous guests and I have always been asked for where I got it and where they can buy it.
The Perfect Day No719 – A floral light tea with heavy notes of apricot and elderflower. This is the tea you bring to the park, you drink at a sunny café, or you have with friends and family at home. Its a crowd pleaser and truly a unique tea than other white and green tea blends on the market.
San Francisco
Song Tea is a smaller tea shop that has outstanding small batch teas, and gorgeous ceramics. Every year they assemble and curate a collection of teas from China and Taiwan with a ton of industry knowledge and complexity. Even going to their site and looking at the teas you can see the care they have for their product. With their teas they give you the full background of where it is from, when it was handpicked and how the drying process is carried out. Truly a place worth giving your business too.
Price Range: $18 – $40
Recommendations:
Gold Peony – For my recommendations I would start with their gold peony tea. Their website gives an extremely thorough background but to summarize is has notes of cucumber, rice milk, and jasmine. It is a lighter tea with a short brewing time that gives an extremely complex flavor for a seemingly normal looking white tea. If you have never hard white tea I would suggest this as a first introduction.
Wild Tree Yunnan Red – To start I will say I am normally not a red tea person, but this one has thoroughly changed my mind. It has a deep flavor with notes of vermouth and honey that really gives an earthy and natural flavor without being overbearing. Producing this tea is a labor of love, it has to be hand sorted with only the smallest leaves making it to your cup.
Farm Fresh Teas
Sometimes it can be hard to find really well blended Indian teas in the US. With unique flavors, aromas and tasting notes some of my favorite teas are from Vahdam. They are handpicked in India with a mission to cut out the middle man. With more than 80 years of experience it is rich with roots and new ideas. If you are looking for fresh and beautifully blended tea I would highly recommend checking them out.
Price Range: $20 – $50
Recommendations:
Assam Exotic Black Tea – Assam tea can sometimes be tricky to do. It can be a completely different experience both aromatically and taste wise depending on the brand. Vahdam does a fantastic job. Its a great introduction to those that have never had this black tea, and for those that have it is a great addition.
Double Spice Masala Chai – Love this chai tea for its more simple and fresh taste. It is not overly spiced but gives a good balance, notably would also recommend the Earl Grey Masala Chai. Both have somewhat of a similar taste profile.
London 1886
Whittard of Chelsea is a household name in England and has some amazing staple teas and well as some really interesting tea blends. Besides its rich history and really great packaging Whittard really has that more family feel.
Price Range: $5 – $15
Recommendations:
English Rose – One of the best rose teas on the market. It is not overly sweet or floral and makes for a great afternoon cup of tea. A great one to enjoy both chilled in the summer or hot in the winter curled up next to a good book.
English Breakfast – If you are similar with P&G you know their famous morning black tea is a staple. This English Breakfast tea by Whittard has that same run out the door, morning wake me up tea, but so much more enjoyable. Still offering quite a bit of complexity it can quickly become your go to morning cup. Would highly recommend with milk and honey.
This rounds out my first tea recommendations, much more about tea to come in the future, but please leave me a comment if you have tried any of the above places or if you have any other recommendations to add! Thank you.
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