La Tienda Del Té

We spent last weekend in León, Spain. Apart from a small but really interesting market (at least for those who like meat and charcuterie), we tend to shop at a local tea shop whenever we visit the town. However, since Covid the tea shop only opens Monday-Friday and I hadn´t been able to go there last time we stayed in León in 2021. This time, we would be leaving on Monday afternoon, so a visit was long due.
The shop owner is very knowledgeable and I really like the pu erh blends she sells, but this time I wanted something different, with a black tea base. And I picked this blend, where lavender doesn´t stand out too much, where the lime doesn´t make it too citrusy, and where the mint gives a fresh touch to balance it all. Refreshing and elegant, to be enjoyed also by people who are normally not into black tea.

Fortunately, I went to León 1,5 month ago, before the city was closed off because of Covid19, and so I could make a visit to my favourite tea shop there. Unfortunately, they didn´t have my favourite pu erh blend with Belgian caramel…but they recommended this other pu erh blend, with almonds! A wonderful treat, combining tea and marzipan w/o the calories that normally implies ;-) …I already had a brilliant almond green tea (from Kusmi, if I remember correctly), but I think the pu erh base makes it even better. As I probably won´t be able to travel to my home country Belgium for St-Nicholas´day and/or Christmas, I´ll enjoy plenty of cups of this tea, I think. And I can now order more online (this is a real advantage because of covid19, I must admit) as well…

When I returned to León (northern Spain) last year, I needed to return to the wonderful tea shop “La tienda del té” there as well. Apart from the pu erh caramelo belga I bought this other pu erh, recommended to me by the teashop´s owner.
In nose the orange is quite subtle, while the strawberry gives a gentle aroma. Once brewed, the aroma´s are less fruity and more biscuitty, and in mouth this pu erh is quite similar to the caramelo belga version, minus the caramel sweetness. I definitely prefer the caramelo belga pu erh, but this is a balanced and easy drinking afternoon tea.

In September I returned to León and so, I returned to the wonderful tea shop near the market, and bought myself another packet of this tea. This meant also that I could finish the first packet I had bought last year ;-) (as I had kept a bit, just in case the shop was closed)…and in meantime, I´ve already tried the second packet.
The instructions were slightly different from the ones indicated on the first packet, and maybe brewing it like this now, the tea is slightly stronger in taste, but it still combines perfectly the sweet touch of the caramel with the taste of a solid pu´erh tea…just perfect for a cold autumn day!

Recently, I went to León (north of Spain) and I had some time to spare, so I wandered a bit off the busy streets of the city centre, and so, I discovered a wonderful tea shop. The person in charge is very knowledgeable about tea, and when looking through her loose tea inventory, I saw quite a lot of pu erh fruit blends (which I see more and more often in Spanish tea shops…it must be the hottest thing in tea around here!). BTW, in Spain pu erh is called “red tea (té rojo)” while I associate the – falsely named – red tea label to rooibos teas. I recently bought a mango pu erh, which I like but nothing in comparison to some pu erh tea cake I tried out some time ago, so was more intrigued by a pu erh blend with Belgian caramel, especially because I´m Belgian and more so because Belgium is more associated with chocolate than it is with caramel, I thought.
As soon as the loose leaf tin was opened, I knew I needed to get this tea : the caramel is coming through strongly, but in a “salty butter” way (more than an overly sweet way, if you know what I mean). As soon as I got home (after some holidays), I tried out the tea and was even more impressed : it´s intense, both in aroma´s as in taste, and it reminds me of one of my favourite teas, one they call “marco polo” in France, a black tea with caramel…but even better. Steeping time is short, and it could be steeped a second time, I was told, but it was great the way it was now. So glad I tried it, and certain to get a new bag next time I´m in León.