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Sencha Tea Bar (Uptown) (formally The Tea Garden) in Minneapolis, Minnesota

3/5

Kristal rated this place

3/5

and said

Loose leaf tea isn’t this place’s specialty: bubble tea is. I looked at the website before coming here while I was on vacation and wrote down some teas (greens and herbals) I was interested in. The staff didn’t know what several of them were (they mentioned they could be older teas that have been discontinued) so I guess the website doesn’t reflect the stock in store. Either way, I enjoyed the green teas I got but all of the herbals (with one exception) left something to be desired. Regardless, the staff were kind and gave me a LOT of free samples. So with that being said, as a loose leaf tea lover I would probably find a different shop that specializes in that the next time I’m on vacation.

International House of Tea in Thunder Bay, ON

5/5

Kristal rated this place

5/5

and said

Finally got a chance to visit here! Cute shop with more “new age” looking décor and LOTS of selection. I like how they focus on wellness. Really friendly, knowledgeable staff and I really enjoy the teaware for sale as well as the packaging (tea tins, re-sealable bags (even the small samples in the sampler packs are reseal able- which is much appreciated!). Definitely going to be a regular customer!

Steepers in Thunder Bay, ON

3/5

Kristal rated this place

3/5

and said

Finally went here! Quaint little shop; great for dates. I asked about tea to go but they only use boiling water for tea and I wanted green tea, thus I didn’t get anything to go. Most of their green teas are flavored unfortunately, but they do have a decent selection.

DAVIDsTEA in Thunder Bay , ON

5/5

Kristal rated this place

5/5

and said

The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and the place is always clean and well organized despite how busy it can get!

Profile

Bio

I used to drink coffee, but it started to hurt my stomach so I switched to tea. A friend of mine introduced me to DAVID’s TEA and I couldn’t stop after that! I’ve now been expanding my scope beyond DAVIDs away from “candy-like teas” into more natural teas or flavourings. Current favourite stores include International House of Tea (iHOT) and Verdant Tea.

When it comes to tea ratings, I usually only ever rate them once. I know a lot of people on steepster do many tasting notes for the same teas depending on their mood, but I prefer to rate once and if my opinion changes, I will delete the old note and rate again. How I rate teas goes as following:

1-49: Teas I won’t buy again. Either the taste is disgusting to me, or it’s too bland, etc. I’m most likely not even going to finish the tin/bag.

50-59: Teas I wouldn’t buy again; I have to force myself to drink the whole cup to not waste it.

60-69: I’ll finish the cup and even the bag/tin, but I wouldn’t buy these teas again. Teas of this rating are “lacking something”.

70-79:Teas that are pretty good and ones I might buy again. Usually these teas are ones I have to be “in the mood for” and drink occasionally.

80-89: Great teas! Ones I will drink several times a week and often have in my stash :).

90-100: Favourite must-have teas!

My favourite types of tea are green tea and different types of “natural” herbal tea (different herbs, natural flavourings, etc). I cannot drink black or oolong teas due a sensitive stomach. I don’t really go for white tea due to its cost and the fact that it has just a little caffeine (if I want caffeine I’ll just go for a green tea and if I don’t I’ll go for a herbal-no sense on just having a little caffeine). I also like to do iced teas in the summer time, and then I’ll gravitate towards herbal fruit blends that are bagged to cut costs and convenience (it’s easier to throw out bags than clean a filter). Flavours I don’t care for include anything too tart, bitter, artificial, overly spicy or overly sweet.
Also, when I have time (usually when I’m not working much) I like to make tea lattes out of different rooibos blends.

My everyday green tea is Gunpowder since it is strong and not sensitive to temperatures or steeping time which is something I cannot be bothered with when I’m getting ready for work. Other greens I enjoy are dragonwell, sencha, and different Chinese greens. I’m not the biggest fan of yunnan greens since they are so finicky (although I do like gyokuro)

On a day to day basis I usually have 2-3 cups of green tea and several more cups of different herbal blends.

Besides tea I also work at a couple libraries (I am finishing my library tech diploma),am in my early 20s and got married in Oct 2014.