I was wandering around Lausanne city centre last Saturday, catching the last of the weekly market of local products. I went down a street I knew well and found a tea shop that I didn't know at all. The lady in the tea shop seemed surprised as the shop has been in her family for 3 generations....though it might not help that its easier to see the "Au Cafe do Bresil" sign then a sign of a tea shop.
The window display has the feel of an olde shoppe and the place is small and cluttered, so easy to miss that it is a shop selling loose leaf tea. They do also sell spices, crockery and a good selection of coffee from around the world - Guatemala is particularly smooth if memory serves though I'm not much of a tea drinker.
Thé des Açores [Azores Islands, grassy, green] **** $$ by Saveur PimenThé, Lausanne, CH
Other names: None
So there is
tea from the Azores islands of Portugal. Who knew?
The leaves
scent reminded me of some of the green teas I'd had in Malawi, and as
the lady in the shop mentioned, there was a vague hint of vanilla.
The colour is
a dark yellow, the first hint that this was not a typical green tea
and in fact the taste was much more reminiscent of white teas to me,
very subtle and extremely smooth. Azores green tea is a throughly
likable tea and the kind of tea that will get along well with most
people. This should make it an excellent gift tea. There is no
bitterness at all and no hint of the vanilla comes through in the
taste.
The leaves are
good for about 3 brews before it looses flavour, the tea also does
well on longer brewing times, and doesn't appear to be very
temperature sensitive. This tea is very good for those venturing into
green teas for the first time.
Similar Teas: Bai Mu Dan
