I mentioned in another tasting note earlier this week that I had attended a Tasseomancy class over the weekend, so this is sort of the tasting note for that class I suppose. It was at Thesaurus’ teahouse here in MTL and led by the infamous Mary Lou Taylor – also known on socials as Tao Tat. It was very, very cool to finally get to meet her after following her on IG for nearly three years now!
I suppose it’s important to preface here that I’m not really a spiritual person and don’t actually believe in “divining” the future/etc through tea leaves or other means. But I’m fascinated by the ritualistic element of tasseomancy and wanted to learn more about the actual techniques involved and the symbolism attached to the things you might see in the leaves. So I went in with an open mind and a curiosity and eagerness to soak in more tea related knowledge.
I won’t get too into the class (or my own tea leaf reading that was given to me at the end), but I’ll just say that the group of people were so kind and welcoming and it was a very nice atmosphere and weekend activity! I suppose if I had to say anything critical it would be that I wish less time was spent focusing on the history of divination and different types of “mancys” (ex – rocks, water, candle wax, etc) and more time spent on learning the meanings/common interpretations of symbols or practicing the technique of gets the leaves to stick to the sides of your teacup during the swirling/tossing steps.
Anyway! This was one of the teas that was served for us to practice with, and the only one that we were served that I caught by name. I’ve always seen tea leaf reading done with CTC grade black teas, but it makes A LOT of sense to me to use rooibos. Less bitter overall as it sits directly in the pot/teacup and still a very fine cut size to allow for clumping/sticking/etc. So that was a good learning and takeway!
The lemongrass in this was pretty strong in taste, but I liked the aromatic zesty quality it brought to the more dark honey notes of the rooibos and that playful ginger heat. Not a tea I probably would have ever picked out for myself, but it was surprising in a good way. I do feel like, if you’re gonna get a tea from this cool nerdy tea house, it’s a shame to not opt for a fandom blend though. It’s their bread and butter, and they do it well.
