Backlog from waaaaay last week.

Oh. My. God. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to find linden tea in Toronto? It’s not in the tea shops. It’s not in the health food stores. It’s not in grocery stores.

The only reason I have this tea is that I decided, on a whim, to go to Honest Ed’s last week. I’m rarely in that part of town, the store is going to be torn down in a few years, and it’s a Toronto landmark and icon. Why not go?

People, they had not one, but two varieties of linden tea there. Granted, it was the cheap bagged stuff, but it will have to considering the relative rarity of linden tea on this side of the Atlantic.

Unfortunately, it’s not the greatest. I’ve tried Harney and Son’s Tilleul, which has gotten nearly universal negative reviews, and this tastes similar. To really get the good authentic linden tea experience, you’ll have to try it with whole leaves and flowers, like my uncle’s family back in Macedonia does – they dry it by hand from the rafters.

Anyways, this will stay in the cupboard out of nostalgia. My mom will probably enjoy the rest of this.

Indigobloom

What exactly IS Linden tea?

Christina / BooksandTea

Linden tea is made from the flowers of the linden tree (and I think some of the specialized leaves that occur when the tree blooms). Lindens bloom in the GTA in late June/early July, and they smell magnificent when you stand under a tree in flower.

It’s also known as lime (but not the citrus type of lime) and basswood. You’ve probably seen such a tree without knowing what it was: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Lime_tree.jpg

Michelle Butler Hallett

Linden ROCKS. I had some in a big old assortment box once, and the linden age were the first to go.

Michelle Butler Hallett

Stash’s Chanakara No 7, White Lotus, has a fair bit of linden in the blend, if you’re interested. Linden, chamomile, chrysanthemum, and white lotus. http://www.stashtea.com/Chanakara-White-Lotus-Herbal-Tea/dp/B005DM5DUM

Michelle Butler Hallett

Sorry — linden age = linden bags

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Indigobloom

What exactly IS Linden tea?

Christina / BooksandTea

Linden tea is made from the flowers of the linden tree (and I think some of the specialized leaves that occur when the tree blooms). Lindens bloom in the GTA in late June/early July, and they smell magnificent when you stand under a tree in flower.

It’s also known as lime (but not the citrus type of lime) and basswood. You’ve probably seen such a tree without knowing what it was: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Lime_tree.jpg

Michelle Butler Hallett

Linden ROCKS. I had some in a big old assortment box once, and the linden age were the first to go.

Michelle Butler Hallett

Stash’s Chanakara No 7, White Lotus, has a fair bit of linden in the blend, if you’re interested. Linden, chamomile, chrysanthemum, and white lotus. http://www.stashtea.com/Chanakara-White-Lotus-Herbal-Tea/dp/B005DM5DUM

Michelle Butler Hallett

Sorry — linden age = linden bags

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Bio

Updated March 2016:

I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!

In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes

Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.

Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.

Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.

Still need to do my research on: matcha

I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:

100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.

Location

Toronto, ON, Canada

Website

http://www.booksandtea.ca

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