Tea Shops - The Scented Leaf

Hi there!

I recently made a day trip.  Roughly two hours south of my Phoenix home lies Tucson.  Home of the University of Arizona, numerous tea shops, and the Rialto theatre.  I drove out there with my sister to attend an event at the Rialto.  Since we were going to be down there I insisted we check out their tea scene.

From what I could discover, there are three tea shops.  Seven Cups is world famous for their incredible selection of orthodox tea.  The Scented Leaf and Maya Tea seemed pretty standard tea shops from their websites.

When we got into town our first stop was The Scented Leaf.  We had to park in a nearby parking garage since, being within walking distance of the Uni, it was so busy.  Inside was the same situation.  I think it was the busiest I've ever seen a tea shop, it was very starbucks-esq.  It was a pretty spacious store with lots of outdoor seating and I think every table was full.  The counter was pretty small and there were a lot of employees bustling around making drinks.

My sister and I mentioned we'd never been there and the friendly girl behind the counter gave us the rundown.  Roughly 50 teas, mostly flavored.  They had a bunch of teas somehow coming out of a draft pull tab apparratus that was intriguing.  My sister tried a sample of some orange cream conconction that the barrista pulled from it like a draft beer. Crazy!  I so badly want to know how it works.

But I digress, my main purpose in visiting was to check out their Green Mango tea.  I've had a long time love affair with a Sencha Mango that has since been discontinued, and I was extremely curious to see if it was similar.  I asked the friendly barista what kind of green tea was in the green mango and she was a bit stumped.  She said a Chinese green tea and my heart sank.  But then she smiled and said, "let me double check."  She got another man (the owner? manager?) involved and he said that it was indeed Sencha.  Huzzah!  I explained my predicament, and he offered to contact a previous employee of the tea shop that discontined my Sencha Mango.  I admitted that I work there and that it wasn't necessary.  But still!  That was very much above and beyond of what he needed to do and the store got much more tea cred (for me at least).

Overall I was very impressed with the place.  The Sencha Mango of course was delicious.  My sister got Lemon Ginger Snap and also really liked it.  Another interesting tidbit, the barista made sure that we tried the tea while at the counter to make sure we liked it.  I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't.

The bad?  Not the place for hardcore orthodox tea drinkers, as they have just a few standards.  A caveat to that though, he is in the same city as Seven Cups.  It would be really tough to compete with that so I appreciate that he decided to cater to a different clientel.  The only other downside was it was so busy.  Not a Tucson resident, I'm not used to the crouds that I'm sure are constant and every where; so that was a bit of a turn off.  We got our brewed teas and left.  However, if I was a student doing homework it would probably be heaven!

If you're ever in the Tucson area and want some draft (though not really) tea the Scented Leaf is a pretty sweet place!  Definitely worth another visit the next time I'm in the area. This post got too long so stay tuned for my Seven Cups adventure!

Palate Training Troubles

Tasting words are HARD!  At least they are for me, a life-long picky eater and new-ish to the nuances of orthodox tea.  My palate is severely underdeveloped.  This is a big disadvantage for someone with a strong desire to drink ALL the teas.  :(  Reading about tasting words is one thing, my tea journal has a very handy list of the most common aspects of color, body, aroma, and taste.  But sometimes reading the definitions of the words doesn't transfer to the actual taste.  Is this tea naturally astringent or is it bitter because I steeped it too long/ too hot?

If I had an unlimited amount of funds and time (thanks homework and house cleaning) I would love to sit down and develop an easy tasting flight that showcases prime examples of the most common tea aspects.  In my head it's similar to that scene in French Kiss where she tries some wine, smells some herbs and oils, tries the wine again, and can taste so much more in it.  (French Kiss is an awesome movie, you should go watch it)  :D

I'm sure someone in the tea world out there has done this already but I can't seem to find it.  Have any of you come across something like this before?  If so let me know, cause tea is awesome but tasting words are hard.  Luckily, tea is still amazingly delicious so tasting them over and over isn't too brutal.  :D