Tea Tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea

On May 23rd I wrote a post about a tea shop that recently opened in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.  The name of the shop is The Rendezvous With Tea, and you can read the post here.

A friend and I returned to the shop yesterday for a tea tasting.  Naszreen, the owner, likes to hold the tastings on a Monday, for a maximum of ten people.  Today was the second tasting she's held, and more are scheduled for future dates.  

The tasting area was all set up when we arrived and we were told we'd be tasting eight teas.

Naszreen began by sharing tea's history.

Then the tasting began.  A delicate white tea was first - Silver Moonlight Wild White. The dry, unsteeped leaves were passed around in a dish so participants could see and smell them. It was a light and delicious tea. 

The second tea was a Kenilworth black, orange pekoe tea from Sri Lanka [where Naszreen was born].  It was a smooth, full bodied tea.

The third tea was Buckingham Palace Garden Party - a black tea flavored with Bergamot and Jasmine.   It was medium bodied with a coppery color.

The fourth tea was Ti Kuan Yin [Iron Goddess] Oolong from Fujian, China.  

The fifth tea wasn't really a true tea since it didn't come from the Camellia Sinensis plant.  It was Peach Rooibos, from the red bush in South Africa.  

The sixth tea was a herbal tisane called Orange Grove Vanilla.  Its ingredients were Apple, Rosehip, Orange, Sunflower, Hibiscus, Red Thistle and natural flavors.  The tisane was used as a palate cleanser before tasting the last two green teas.

The seventh tea was Green Snowy Mountain Jian, from the Wuyi Mountains in Yunnan China.   It was very light without a strong vegetal taste.

The eighth and last tea was an artisan flowering Ginseng Lily tea.  The long hand tied green tea leaves unfurled into a beautiful flower as it steeped.  It was very good.  The last two teas were my favorite at the tasting.

When we finished the tasting, Naszreen served a tea sandwich and cupcake.  The sandwich had three layers - the top layer was beets, the middle layer carrots, and the bottom layer cucumbers.  She said it's a popular tea sandwich in her homeland, and because it is red, yellow, and green it's referred to as the "Traffic Light" sandwich.

The cupcake was made with Lavender Green Tea and Almond Meal.  It too was very good.

We selected one of the eight teas from the tasting to drink with our food.  I chose the Snowy Mountain Jian green tea.

The tasting began at 11:00 a.m. and concluded at 12:30 p.m.  Thank you, Naszreen!  It was a lovely experience, and my friend and I are looking forward to returning for the next tasting in July.