Tea of the Week for March 14, 2016!

Myrtle’s Tea House is our (Amethyst’s & Anne’s) favorite place to go for tea. We started going to Myrtle’s Tea House in Ridgefield, Washington back when it first opened. Back then, it had five or six tables and there was just one person running the dining room (the owner, Elizabeth) and one person back in the kitchen. But they didn’t let that stop them from offering the most delightful little tea sandwiches and the most personable service. I always felt like friends when we’d stop in. She even remembers the tea that I usually order. Now, after several years in business – they’ve grown by leaps and bounds! They’ve had to move to bigger digs, now instead of five or six tables in one room, they’ve got three ROOMS filled with tables and they’re always booked. In fact, if you don’t make reservations, you can’t get in! They’re always busy!

And since those early days, they’ve hired on a few new servers but Elizabeth still takes the time to come over and talk to us and keep us feeling like we’re friends. She still knows what tea I’ll probably want. And the attention they pay to detail on each and every savory and sweet during the three course meal is remarkable.

So I decided that I wanted to create a tea that was inspired by my favorite flavors from Myrtle’s Tea House. The tea that I order is a black tea with notes of bergamot and vanilla. So I started out with a robust black tea base of Nilgiri, Yunnan Dian Hong and just a touch of single estate Ceylon to smooth it out. Then I blended it with bergamot and real vanilla bean. And my very favorite item from the menu at Myrtle’s Tea House is the chilled strawberry soup. (Seriously folks, this soup is amazing.) It is a lightly spiced soup – so to the black tea with bergamot and vanilla, I added strawberries, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

The result is a cup that evokes thoughts of a magical place known as Myrtle’s Tea House. If you’re ever in Southern Washington (or even in Portland, Oregon), make it a point to visit. But remember, you need to make reservations!

Taster size is approximately 1/2 ounce.

organic ingredients: black teas, strawberries, cinnamon pieces, cloves, bergamot, vanilla bean, nutmeg, natural flavors.

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