I am not a big tea drinker. Yes, I like my "Arnold Palmer," a half and half of iced tea and lemonade. And, yes, I like mint tea and a few other kinds of tea -- once in a while. I just am not a huge tea fanatic. I have friends who are, including one who is a true aficionado (if one can use that word) and expert on Japanese tea.
I am not a tea person. And yet, I have discovered a tea place I like a lot. I came across it for an irrelevant reason, doing errands for someone else, and was hooked. (A hint on what I was doing in terms of errands can be found here in a blog post from Happy Earth's Niraj Lama here.) The people are amazingly nice, the teas tasty, and the interactions I have had have been filled with both generosity and information. I am grateful.
Happy Earth Tea is located in Rochester and they also have a tea bar. I, however, have only been to their Eastview Mall location -- and can attest to the fact that it is both a soothing locale in a mall I am not terribly fond of, and that they have really lovely products. The place is called Leaf. They have black tea, green tea, tisanes, and etcetera. I have had multiple black teas -- a breakfast blend and a Himalayan tea. The former is a bit heavy and dark for me and the latter quite light and beautifully colored. Both are caffeinated. And, I had had two herbal blends: holy ginger is a mix of holy basil and dried ginger -- and it may rank up with the best things I have ever had to drink - and a second blend which is focused on turmeric and ginger (though it has additional ingredients). The latter is marred, to my tastebuds, by the licorice in it, but is also tasty. I suspect they all help when you have a sore throat, but every tea -- and tisane -- I have had from Leaf has made me a little bit happier.
In some ways, these teas feel like a local purchase because the company is local, but of course the tea itself is from elsewhere - usually very far away. So, a kind of tweak on locavore. In sum, this place deserves a lot of support. And, I hope to see their teas in Geneva one of these days.
No, I am not a tea convert (though I do love Laura Childs tea mysteries and am likely to soon read another book on tea discussed here ) but I can say this: I will drink more tea now!
