Adam Kemp
User's reviews
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The Steeping Room
I have been going to The Steeping Room regularly since they opened several years ago. It was the first tea place I went to, so I was hesitant to write a review because I had little else to compare it to. However, now that I've learned a lot more about tea (mostly due to The Steeping Room itself) and been to a few other places, I feel more able to write a good review. One thing that becomes clear when you visit The Steeping Room is that they know tea very well, and as a result they cater well to people who also know tea well. Thus their tea menu doesn't just list a few types of tea (like 'yunnan') and let you guess about the quality. Instead, they tell you where the tea is from, whether it's a single-leaf or single-estate tea (and if so, which estate), what year it is for pu-erhs, whether it was naturally aged or artificially aged, and so on. If you know what you're looking for the menu will help you find it. It's also clear that they know how to make the tea properly. They use filtered water (supposedly with filters designed specifically for tea built right into their plumbing) at the right temperature for whichever tea you're ordering. They only have one size pot if you're eating in (with three pricess, depending on the quality of the tea you ordered), but they can do multiple steepings for some teas. They often keep the leaves in the kitchen for teas which work well with multiple steepings in case you ask for one (no extra charge), but you can also just ask them ahead of time if you really want to be sure. They also serve tea gongfu style (in yixing pots) for oolongs and puerhs (this is optional; they can serve it either way). This lets you brew and time each cup yourself so you can taste each steeping and adjust to your liking. You can also repeat this as many times as you want (they'll bring more hot water if you ask). I often make 9 or 10 cups. They have a huge variety of tea, including a bunch of flavored teas (if you're into that ;), all of which are available for drinking there, to go, or loose leaf to take home. They also have a food menu. It's a bit on the pricey side, but still cheaper than most other places in the domain, and most of it is high quality and relatively healthy (mostly organic, with many options for dairy-free, gluten-free, etc. diets). The food menu includes sandwiches, salads, soups, a few dinner entrees, some appetizers, scones, and some amazing desserts. They cook everything there, including the scones and desserts, except for the bread, which they get from some local bakery. The atmosphere is usually pretty relaxing, but when it's very busy it can get a little loud (with children, especially). Not as bad as bigger restaurants, though. The staff is usually pretty friendly, and most of them are decently knowledgeable (especially the ones who have worked there a while), but even if you ask a tea question they don't know there's almost always someone there who does. Many of them, including one of the owners, recognize me and know my name, they remember my tea preferences, they tell me when new teas are in (even before they're on the menu sometimes), and they're just very friendly and make me feel at home. That's one of the main reasons I go there so much. Lastly, they sometimes have weekly tea tastings ('Tea With Terry'; Terry is the father of one of the owners) in which they pick a theme (ex: oolongs, Indian black teas, flavored teas, etc.) and you get to taste 3 or 4 different teas for $5 or $10. Terry also talks about teas, their history, the process of making them, things to notice about the way they taste, and so on. It's a great way to meet other tea lovers and learn a lot about tea. I can't say enough good things about this place. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes tea. I feel very lucky that this placed opened up so close to me.
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The Path of Tea
There were quite a few teas on the menu, but I was disappointed that many of them did not show any information about where the tea was from (region, estate, etc.), whether it was a blend or single-estate/single-leaf, what year it was for aged teas, and so on. For example, they had a first flush darjeeling, but where was it from? You would have to ask to figure it out. As far as tea preparation goes, I tried 4 different teas (2 visits). On the first visit I tried the 'ancient maiden' puerh and the 'wu long' oolong. Both tasted great, but you only get one steeping (a large or small pot). They don't do multiple steepings, and they don't serve tea gongfu style (in yixing pots). That was disappointing. Still, these two teas tasted great. On my second visit I tried the first flush darjeeling (again, I have no idea where it was from) and the 'earl grey with lavender' (mom's choice :). The darjeeling tasted a little overdone. I think maybe the water was too hot for a darjeeling. It had kind of a burnt/roasty taste you don't expect from a darjeeling. The earl grey was fine. I also bought some loose leaf yunnan which I brewed myself at home. It's not quite as good as some other yunnan I've had, but it wasn't bad. Again, I don't know anything about the specific yunnan tea because they don't put that on the menu. The atmosphere was relaxed and calm. It was a nice break from the galleria. The shop is small, but it was only moderately busy, and there was plenty of room. It was a bit difficult to get a hold of one of the workers, though. It seemed that they were nearly always busy talking to/helping other customers. One interesting/unique aspect of this tea room was that they have you select your own cup from a shelf on the wall. That was kind of fun. The prices seemed reasonable. They also sold some tea pots, cups, infusers, etc., and a few sweets which I did not try (no regular food, though). Overall it was a nice place. I would definitely go again and recommend it to others, though there is still some room for improvement.