I met my college advisor/mentor at a local coffee shop yesterday and was floored to discover that they carry loose leaf tea as well. I plan to go back when I don’t have a meeting to ask the friendly baristas more questions. The one thing that I’m very concerned about is that they have their teas in glass jars. Yes, they’re near the back of the shop, but still I’d like to think that they’re UV resistant. I also want to find out if they’d let me bring in a gaiwan to use instead of their cup and strainer-thingy. And water temps, and yeah, I’m trying to spread out my questions over time so I’m not that customer. ;)
Anywho, I was pleased when one of the guys raised his eyebrow and asked “have you had this tea before?” And I got to explain that I’ve had many lapsangs, but not this specific one (I need to find out who their supplier is as well). He laughed and told me some funny stories about customers’ reactions. The tea itself was fine. It wan’t the best and it wasn’t the worst. Not a lot of depth, but I still got the nice “plantiness” that underlies some lapsangs. It did its job and I enjoyed the cup. NE
