Erik and I ventured on over to a place called Simply Tea this weekend and I’m glad we did. They opened in January of ‘08 and I’ve driven by it many times wondering what it might be like but never actually stopped for some reason. (And you all know how much I love my tea!!)
I’ve been a tea bag kinda girl up until now but loose leaf always sounded like more fun. Anyways … here’s what we picked up.
Four sample-sized bags of different kinds (.99 cents each) to try out and a large bag of Tropical Green green tea (we knew we’d love this kind because it smelled so good!) aaaand a little mesh tea ball.
I think I’ll definitely be going back to Simply Tea as it was a pretty pleasant experience. The lady working was very nice and extremely helpful and seemed very knowledgeable. She let us smell various kinds of teas, suggested popular kinds as well as one’s she likes, etc. So far, the tea has tasted great too.
Only con is that while I believe they have some organic tea, I don’t believe the majority of their tea is organic and I would definitely prefer it to be. And I’m not sure how important organic is when it comes to tea?? I’m sure it depends on where it’s grown.
Anyways, here’s a few pictures of my first loose leaf tea experience with my fun little tea mug. 
Awww … I love tea!! I’ve had it every single morning (plus some) for a little over a year now and I haven’t even come close to tiring of it.
Any thoughts on organic tea vs. non and/or do you prefer tea bags or loose leaf tea?
Hope you’ve all had a great weekend : )
-Lesley
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~C.S. Lewis
whoa that tea mug looks like a science experiment! i wish they taught tea steeping in my high school :)
ReplyDeleteI just started making loose leaf tea the other day!
ReplyDeleteI do like loose leaf but if i'm in a rush would probably stick to the regular tea bags.
I have been drinking more tea lately, but mainly from the bags. i like the loose leaf tea, but it's just easier for me to do the bags. I wouldn't think organic tea would really be necessary, but I only buy organics if they are on the dirty list, or if it's meat/eggs/poultry.
ReplyDeleteI love loose leaf tea but sometimes I just want to throw in a bag and get on with life! I found these sachets that you can put the leaves in so it's like a tea ball but disposable. Not the greatest thing for the environment but then it makes it portable. Do you have the store Teavana near you? Iike their loose leaf teas a lot!
ReplyDeleteI am a tea fan, too! I have never tried loose leaf tea, though! Was there a huge difference in the taste?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it needs to be organic either! That's a great question!!!
Yum! I love any kind of tea!!
ReplyDeleteI like tea, but I'm lazy, so I use tea bags. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about organic tea. If pesticides can seep into the tea water, that's probably not good, but the amount may be insignificant.
This looks like fun! I am not really a tea person...I am thinking I need to venture out and try it again though! Hope you are having a good Sunday
ReplyDeleteI saw your twitter! So you decided to get loose-tea...good choice! Though I think tea bags and loose tea are the best, the tea snobs think loose tea is a tad bit superior...
ReplyDeleteIf you like it you should consider getting a tea pot...very cute and they have the ones that are absolutely clear!
I have never used loose leaf. But, now that I think about it, I should use loose leaf when I start drinking hot tea again this fall. It would be so much less waste not having to discard tea bags.
ReplyDeleteThat Orange Pu-erh looks like an enjoyable tea, and healthy too. Organic with tea isn't too important when it comes to specialty loose leaf tea unless you buy the cheapest stuff, or unfortunately, flavored tea like you have here. If you buy standalone tea that isn't flavored it's likely to be organic but just not have certification. That's because many teas, especially from China, come from small farmers who have little incentive to get official organic certification. But heavy chemical use in tea is only done on certain big factory farms that produce tea such as that which goes into bags. --Spirituality of Tea
ReplyDeleteLove these little sample packages and such a good deal to try new flavors! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't buy organic tea, maybe because I'm not so informed about it
Hm, I like the convenience of tea bags, but I think that my looseleaf teas have better flavor.
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely don't care at all about organic.
I really should try loose leaf tea. I don't really care to buy organic tea and I prefer tea bags just because that is what I have always used. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteI love loose tea! My co-worker Kathy bought me this really cool cup where you put the loose tea in it, and then set that in your cup. Once the tea is done, then you lift out the inner core and that holds the tea.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about doing a post showing my nifty cup, now maybe I will!
Pretty sure that once you venture into loose leaf tea, you'll never go back. You can't beat the taste. As for organics, you can safely assume that if it's not certified organic the farmers likely use some type of chemical fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide. It's just the reality of modern agriculture, even in China. We have a small but growing organic tea selection, Feel free to use the promo code "summertea2009" for 15% off through Sept.15th if you want to give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteI ususally do bags because they're quick and easy, but I love loose leaf! I feel very proper. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am not a big tea drinker. It is ok, but I haven't tried that many kinds.
ReplyDeleteWell I must say I am quite lazy and hence use tea bags only. Also they are quite quick and easy to use.
ReplyDeletegreen tea