Tea Tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea

Yesterday my girlfriend and I returned to The Rendezvous With Tea for our second tea tasting held at 4:00 p.m.   There were 10 participants.

The tasting area was set up for eight different teas.

Naszreen [the owner, who was born in Sri Lanka] began by sharing highlights of tea history. While it wasn't one of the teas included in this tasting, she informed us that "Magical Motown," a tea that she's had blended in honor of Detroit, MI, will be arriving tomorrow. It's a black tea with apple blossoms [Michigan's State Flower], rose petals, and vanilla.  I'm so anxious to try this tea when it's available.

The first tea we tasted was White Earl Grey, Pai Mu Tan, from China.  The bergamot was very mild.  

Half ounce sake cups are used for the tasting.

The second tea was a black, full-bodied, organic tea, Los Andes, from Guatemala.  Naszreen passed around a small dish of each tea in its dry leaf form, so we could see and smell it.

The third tea was a black tea, Luponde, from Tanzania.
The fourth tea was a 2nd flush Castleton, Darjeeling. 

The fifth tea was Winter Palace Marzipan - a Rooibos from South Africa [not a true tea since it's not from the camellia sinensis plant].  Typically I'm not a big fan of Rooibos, but this one was exceptionally good, flavored with Moroccan Almond and Papaya.

The sixth tea was a premium long leaf Sencha from Hunan, China.  

The seventh tea was another green tea called Lavender Butterfly.  The tea was grown in Hunan, China, and the lavender was grown in Tibet.

The eighth and final tasting was an artisan flowering Oolong tea from the Yunnan Province of China.  All the teas we tasted were very good, but my favorites were the Oolong and the Rooibos.  

Naszreen ended the tasting by sharing a quote from Chin-Nung, the celebrated scholar and philosopher:  "Tea is better than wine, for it leadeth not to intoxication, neither does it cause a man to say foolish things and repent thereof in his somber moments."

Following the tasting, we were served a slice of quiche and a tea-infused cupcake, accompanied by a full-size teacup of our favorite tea of the evening.  

I thoroughly enjoyed the tasting, and made a reservation to return for the next one on September 8th.  Thank you for a wonderful event, Naszreen!