The Rendezvous With Tea Christmas Tasting

Last Monday afternoon, Dec. 5th, I attended a Christmas tea tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea in Grosse Pointe, MI.  

The tea shop is beautifully decorated for Christmas, and Naszreen [the owner], graciously allowed me to take photos.

The Rendezvous with Tea is celebrating its 4th anniversary.  The shop, located at 20792 Mack Avenue, carries 235 teas.

The tasting began at 2:30 p.m. and we sampled eight teas - three whites, three greens, and two oolongs.

We began with Tea Urchins, a white blooming tea ball, followed by three green teas, Ebony Springs Classic, Tea Petals, and Cloud and Mist.  [As a Christmas gift Naszreen gave each of us a blooming tea ball - Lovers 3 Flower, green tea with Jasmine and Lavender.]

 [Naszreen preparing  tea]

Next were two oolongs, Tung Ting Orchid Oolong, and Da Hong Pau.  The 7th tea was my favorite, a White and Black Darjeeling from India, and the last tea was Golden Tips, a Ceylon white tea.

[Darjeeling Tea]

Following the tea tasting, Naszreen prepared some delicious food for us.  While tea is center stage at the tasting, Naszreen's culinary skills are a wonderful accompaniment, and some of her recipes are tea infused.  

We began with a caramel dessert with a shortbread crust garnished with Japanese Gyokuro tea leaves.

~ Brie and Caramelized Onion Quiche ~

~ Tomato and Mushroom Tart in Phyllo Cup ~

Almond Cake infused with Deck the Halls Green Tea with a dollop of Mincemeat, Butterscotch Ganache, and Peppermint Matcha Ganache on the side.  

~ Eggnog infused with Deck the Halls Green Tea ~

Naszreen has recently begun carrying compressed Pu-erh tea cakes, and she showed them to us. My palate hasn't yet acquired a taste for Pu-erh tea.  

While at the tea shop I stocked up on sachets of Magical Motown Tea [Naszreen's best seller], and Michigana.  I also bought 50g of 2016 Holiday Tea Blend - Deck the Halls, and two sachets of one of Naszreen's newest teas - Pearl of the Indian Ocean - Ceylon Silver tips White Tea with Coconut Flakes Essence, and Jasmine Petals.

For the first time ever, I purchased Matcha Tea [Peppermint], and a Matcha spoon [I already have a bamboo whisk.]  Since I've never prepared Matcha, this will be a learning experience, but I'm looking forward it.

For local readers who want to give tea for Christmas presents, stop by The Rendezvous With Tea. There's something there for every tea lover!

Tea Tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea

This past Monday [8/22] I made my way over to Grosse Pointe Woods, MI for a 2:30 p.m. tea tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea.   It's the first one I've attended since last December. Naszreen, the owner, now hosts them by invitation only.

The tastings are always held at the back of her shop, and she was ready and waiting for the attendees to arrive.

We tasted 8 teas - 2 herbal, 1 white, 2 green, and 3 black.  The teas were specifically blended for Naszreen when she visited Sri Lanka earlier this summer.  She said tea plantations were severely impaired by the high rainfall and flooding this year.  Even teas that had been plucked and processed were destroyed as they sat in flooded warehouses.  

We began with Sunrise in Bali - an herbal infusion of Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Persimmon, Turmeric, Hibiscus, and Vanilla.

Second Pearl of the Indian Ocean  - a white tea with Coconut, Almond, and Jasmine.  Very good!

Third, Pyramids at Giza - a green tea with Peppermint, Rose Petals, and Golden Chrysanthemum.

Fourth,  Elephant Walk - a green tea with Murraya Koenigii [curry leaf], Lime, Bamboo leaves, and Moringa.

Fifth, Out of Africa - Rooibos with Ceylon cinnamon, Cardamom, Pineapple and Ginger.

Sixth, Blue Saffhire - a black tea with Cornflowers, Blueberries, and Violet Essence.

Seventh, Temasek Splendour - a black tea with Pomegranate, Raspberry and Hibiscus.

Eighth, 10 Downing Street - a black tea mildly flavored with Bergamot.   The teas were all good, but this was my favorite, and was the one I chose to drink with my refreshments, as well as a purchase to take home.

Naszreen always serves a homemade savory and delicious sweets at the conclusion of the tea tasting.  At this tasting we had Artichoke and Dill Quiche...

A Chocolate Chip tea infused cookie... 

Gluten-free Orange and Almond Cake [Delicious!]

A glass of Berry American Herbal Iced Tea

And my tea of choice, 10 Downing Street.

Thanks for another tasting of wonderful teas and yummy refreshments, Naszreen!

For local readers, Naszreen's shop is located at 20792 Mack Avenue.  She carries over 350 teas, so there's something to please everyone's taste buds.  Some of her Magical Motown black tea, and Michigana green tea were purchased for the participants of the upcoming Michigan Tea Tour.  I wish time would have permitted a tea tasting there, but this is the next best thing.

Congratulations to The Rendezvous With Tea!

I stopped by The Rendezvous With Tea on Monday to purchase some teas, and was delighted to learn the shop had just won the Best of 2015 award for Specialty Food Stores in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI.  Congratulations to Naszreen, the owner!

The front window is beautifully decorated for Christmas in hopes of winning the 'Deck the Store Front' competition sponsored by the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce.  

I was at the shop on December 1st for a tea tasting, but I'm just now blogging about it. 

[Naszreen, owner]

There were ten of us present to taste eight teas.  The first was a full-bodied black tea - Kiruwanaganga FBOPFEXS #1.  Trying saying that three times fast!  ;-)  The FBOPFEXS is the grade of tea which stands for Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings Extra Special.  It was a whole leaf tea with long tips, grown in Sri Lanka.  I wrote on my tasting notes that it was a good, robust tea.

The second tea was Yunnan Royal Gold Tips, grown in the Yunnan Province of China. It is made entirely of gold buds.  It was not as robust as the first tea, but was very good.

Third was Monkey Picked Oolong.  Legend has it that ancient Buddhist Monks trained monkeys to gather the youngest leaves from the tip of wild tea trees for this special Reserve blend.  This oolong tea leaned toward the green spectrum.  It had a mild perfume-like taste, and the printed notes described it as having an orchid aroma, so I'm wondering if my sense of smell influenced my taste buds??

Fourth was Thunder Supreme - a Chinese green tea that was very good.  

Fifth was Gyokuro Gold - one of the most expensive types of sencha available in Japan.  It actually had flecks of gold in it, and no strainer was used to pour this tea.  Any tea leaves that made their way into the cup were consumed.   The tea had a vegetal taste, but was good.

Sixth was Oriental Beauty Oolong, named by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1960's due to its fruity, smooth deliciousness.  It is also called White Tip Oolong.  It was on the green spectrum, and was very good. 

Seventh was Silver Tips [also called Virgin White Tea] - a rare white Ceylon tea with the finest buds.   I didn't take any photos of this tea.

The eighth and last tea was Golden Tips.  A rare Ceylon tea made from the finest young buds that are silvery white in color.  This tea is highly prized for its rarity.  It is the most expensive tea The Rendezvous With Tea sells.   It was a mild tea, and very good.  [Sorry, no photo of that tea either.]

Food was served at the conclusion of the tasting.  I had a medical test scheduled the following morning, so I couldn't eat it, but I brought it home to my hubby and he was happy to eat it for me! He declared everything delicious!

  

Naszreen made a tea eggnog with a Ceylon black tea called Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Unable to drink it at the tasting, I bought some of the tea to make the eggnog at home. Isn't it an elegant looking Christmas beverage?

Thanks for another wonderful tea tasting, Naszreen.  I'm looking forward to returning in February, 2016!

September Tea Tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea

Today I had a 11:00 a.m. reservation for a tea tasting at The Rendezvous With Tea, something I always enjoy.  Naszreen [the owner] said only one new tea was going to be introduced at this tasting, and the other seven would be teas we've already tasted.

I arrived a few minutes before the tasting began and placed my order for 50 grams of Winter Palace Marzipan Rooibos [my 'go to' after 3:00 o'clock since it doesn't contain caffeine], and 50 grams of Bohemian Raspberry green tea.  Both are so good!

Naszreen's specialty teas - Michigana and 1600 Pennsylvania finally arrived in sachet form so I bought some of them, plus her Magical Motown tea.

The tasting area was all set up with the loose tea to touch and smell before tasting the tea.

Naszreen told us the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong has the most expensive Afternoon Tea in the world.

She also talked a little bit about yellow tea - a rare tea produced in China with processing similar to green tea, but the drying process is slower, and the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow.

[Naszreen]

The new tea we sampled today was Pu-erh Creme Caramel from Yunnan, China.  I've tasted unflavored pu-erh before and didn't care for it. It was too 'earthy' for my taste buds. I concluded an 'acquired' taste had to be cultivated to enjoy it.  But today's caramel flavored pu-erh was quite good. 

Something sweet and savory is served at every tasting, and it's always delicious.  The slice of quiche pictured below was made with Lapsang Souchong tea, so it had a wonderful, smoky taste.

The next tasting is October 12th, and my reservation has been made!  Naszreen left us with a tea quote from Shen-Nung [who is credited with discovering tea in 2737 BC] "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 sober moments." 

The Rendezvous With Tea

A friend told me about a tea shop that opened in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI in November 2013, so I stopped there on Wednesday afternoon while I was out and about. The Rendezvous With Tea not only has a website, but a Facebook page as well.

A local television station was just finishing filming the shop when I arrived.

Just inside is a retail gift area where porcelain, caste iron, stainless steel and ceramic teawares are sold.

A silver tilting teapot was beautifully displayed, but is not for sale.

I loved the set below.  The small handleless tea bowls are reminiscent of those from the eighteenth century that were designed for just a few precious sips of tea.

The shop is neither a British nor Asian tearoom where food and tea can be ordered from a menu. It is a retail tea shop selling over 200 types of loose tea, and over 75 varieties of packaged tea.  Below is the interior of the tea shop.   The style is meditative zen.

Cute little baskets are provided to hold sachet selections.  8 sachets for $5.  These teas have been blended in Sri Lanka exclusively for The Rendezvous With Tea.  Eventually there will 12 black tea selections and 12 green.   The owner is proud that there will be three black teas representing the countries where she has lived - Serendib [Sri Lanka], Malaysia Boleh [Malaysia], and Magical Motown [Detroit, MI].

~ Below are the eight sachets I purchased. ~

While the shop doesn't sell food, the owner offered me a  complimentary piece of artichoke quiche and a chocolate raspberry cupcake, with a cup of chocolate flavored black tea to sip as we talked about her shop. 

The cupcake was made with Green Bohemian Raspberry tea which she stocks, so I purchased 25 g. since the recipe will soon be posted on her Facebook page.  Not only was there a fresh raspberry garnishing the top of the cupcake, but a surprise one in the center of the cupcake. It was delicious, and the raspberry tea flavor definitely came through.

The owner [pictured below] was born in Sri Lanka and lived there until the uprising in the early 1970's when her father moved their family to Malaysia.  When asked how she came to Michigan from Malaysia, she said they have a family member who lives nearby and they liked the area when they came to visit, so they made the move here in June 2013.   Now that she has an "empty nest" she decided to open a tea shop where she can share her life-long passion for tea with others.

While I was there, a gentleman came in to purchase some loose leaf tea, and the owner said a lot of young adults also come to the shop for loose leaf tea purchases.  At present, she estimated her sales are about 50% loose leaf tea, and 50% packaged tea, with her own blends being her biggest sellers.

Best wishes to The Rendezvous With Tea for a long and successful business.  The shop is located at 20792 Mack Avenue, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236.