If You Are a Tea Lover....!

[TrueNorthTreasures]

I am visiting Halifax for a few weeks. So great to be home again! Yesterday, I dropped into an absolutely lovely place called Sawadee Tea House. They sell over 250 kinds of high quality loose teas, as well as imported teapots and cups, brewing accessories, incense and a few wood carvings from Thailand. I think that is where the owner is from originally. She wasn't there yesterday. She travels frequently to buy teas and inspects the places her tea is sourced from.

I spent two hours there looking at everything. It was in the middle of the day, and quiet, and the girl who worked there kept bringing me different blends to smell. Wow. So nice. I chose small sizes of a few different ones, including an almond rooibos called Almond Rocker purely based on the way it smelled: heavenly! Like marzipan in a cup. Also a chocolate mint black tea and a vanilla chai blend. I had never tried white tea, so sat in their little sitting area to enjoy a cup of it (an intermission between sniffing half the blends in the shop!). I liked it so much (it's called Cloud Forest Rainbow White Tea), I ended up buying it. Light and fragrant.


Their website is here, and they are also on Facebook. http://www.sawadeeteahouse.com/

Most of their teas are listed on their site. The 50g bags (what I bought) are $6.50, the 100g bags $12. Some teas are a bit more expensive if they are rare or organic. It seems there are no taxes charged, either. The 50g size is perfect for hostess gifts and stocking stuffers, so I plan to load up for those occasions!

I am so looking forward to going back next week. I have taken orders from friends in BC who want me to bring back blends for them. This time, I am going to try their Kyoto Cherry Rose tea, which smells beautiful. If you're looking for something different and want a strong, kick-in-the-pants/wake-me-up-in-the-morning kind of tea, you might want to try one of their smoked teas. I didn't know such a thing existed until yesterday. The sniff test was something else. *L* I have brought home a sample to try!

If you are a tea lover or have friends who are, I encourage you to visit Sawadee Tea House, especially if you are in Nova Scotia. If you live elsewhere, they do mail order, and there is free shipping on orders over $50. It would be wonderful if people would support this independent business.

If you have already visited the shop, I'd love to hear what your favourite teas are. There are so many to enjoy!