Tipped

Amazing Tea

August 28, 2008

I used to drink a lot of coffee, like a lot a lot. That was until I wandered into Tea Smith and found myself a whole new world of awesomeness.

To start with they have some of the most helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff that I have ever encountered in any shop or restuarant or bar ever.

In the front of the place they have a tea bar which can probably sit around 6-8 people - on the waitress' side of the bar there's like this drip tray thing that runs the length of the bar, this is where the tea server lady pours tea from one cup to another to another to get the temperature just right, because as you soon learn different teas respond differently to different temperatures. Watching your tea being prepared like this is awesome but the best bit is that all the while I was in there the tea lady was telling us all about the teas and where they came from and whether it was roasted or just dried or whether it was long or short leaves (these are not tea ladies like you used to have at school or in fusty tea rooms in the cotswolds like in Withnail and I, these are 'I think I'm in love will you marry me' tea ladies).

There's something awesome about people that are extremely talented, knowledgeable or passionate and the people that work are all of the above. I now know the difference between a snow flower white tea and a long tip oolong and I have got my own little tea diffuser mug that sits on my desk looking smugly over at my co workers vulgar starbucks coffee cup. Plus I've been drinking way less caffine although I haven't completely eliminated it as many of the green and black teas they sell do have caffine in them.

Anyway long story short this place is awesome, you should go there and try some tea and then you should buy a tea pot and take some tea home with you and drink it. Trust me, you life will be better.

Tags: tea, oolong

Tea Geniuses

August 18, 2008

As part of my new “healthier lifestyle” movement (officially started today, see my Talk post) I’ve decided trade in my afternoon coffee for afternoon green tea. I knew this day was coming and also knew when it arrived I’d go to TeaSmith for my tea.

So I went today to buy some tea and ended up there for an hour tasting tea and learning about tea and a few other interesting things like: they have master classes every Thursday, that chocolate and tea go v-well together, that you shouldn’t make green tea in a traditional Chinese teapot (only teas like Oolong or darker), if prepared properly you can get 3 or more infusions from a single serving, etc. I think they might know everything there is to know about tea.

We discussed teapots (or should I say tea making equipment) for a while. I was keen to buy a cheap cafetiere because they seem so simple, but they “advised” against it, said you need to get the water away from the leaves as soon as the infusion is over or you ruin em. As I said these gals know what the they’r talking about! So I took there advise and bought a simple combination of clear glass teapot and ceramic strainer designed for single serving, is brilliant and beautiful, cost £21.

For my tea I’m starting with a Chinese green tea called Bi Luo Chun which is mild green I guess, cost £4 for 20 grams. I also got an Oolong (not roasted) called Teguanyin (Anxi), guess this has more caffeine than roasted Oolong which was why I chose it, £5.50 for 20 grams.

Strangely we didn’t discuss at all the health benefits of green tea which is why I went there in the first place.

Pure Tea Heaven

June 21, 2008

Tea Smith is a lovely little store on the side of the new Spitalfields Market (lamb street)

The teas are all pure plant teas (No milky english teas found here!)

Tea smith is half store/ half tea house. there are only about 8 stools around the tea "bar" So its very quiet and nice for a quiet cup of tea with a friend or on your own for a little relaxation.

The preparation is lovely and I love watching the teas brew...and flowers open up. The staff will keep refilling your teacup while telling you about the tea your drinking.
This makes the 3.50- 5.00 pound per tea price definately worth it.

In the store they sell tea infusers, glass teapots and special infusing tea cups.

Tags: herbal teas, tea house, spitalfields