Tea Source

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752 Cleveland Ave. S. St. Paul, MN 55116

651-690-9822

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BEST TEA SHOP
Award Winner 2010

Cuisine(s): Cafe, Tea

Hours: Sun 10am-5pm, Mon-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 10am-10pm

Price: $, $$

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash
Attire: casual

Features: Takeout, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly

Serving: Snack Food

Alcohol: None
Reservations: Not Necessary

Parking: Street

Description

Stop in to sample a pot of one of nearly 200 teas and other infusions in this clean, well-lighted place. Proprietor Bill Waddington is usually on hand to offer advice and help navigate a world in which first flus means the first tea growth of the season and words like flowery and tippy are bandied about as easily as phrases like half-caff-skim-cap are in coffeehouses. And hey, if you decide that you still like your mocha latte better than a pot of one of the world's rarest, most prized teas, you can tell Waddington, and he won't even get mad. He's heard worse. That's what happens when you run a tea refuge in a coffee world.

2010 | BEST TEA SHOP

In a country fueled by high-octane coffee, drinking tea can seem downright subversive, a foreign affectation of pinkie-in-the-air aesthetes. Which is why TeaSource is such a breath of fresh air. Through the wide windows of its shop in Highland Park, it looks like any ordinary coffeehouse, bright and airy, with a clutch of laptop-toting 20-somethings vying for the handful of tables and dreadlocked baristas behind the counter. But they aren't baristas, of course, they're tea professionals. And... More »
2000 | BEST TEA (BY THE POUND)

You might think tea is an icky brew, appropriate only for dousing with sugar and serving over ice. And if you thought that, having been exposed through the course of your life only to the tannic dreck peddled by the multinational tea-bag cartel, you would be wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. But you will be forgiven, because this is an anti-tea land and you had no way of knowing better. Now go to TeaSource and seek absolution in the form of malty Assam teas, fragrant Formosas, astringent... More »

Love at First Flush

By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl | Wed, November 11, 1998

TeaSource 752 Cleveland Ave. S., St. Paul; 690-9822 Heard the legend of the origin of tea? An early Chinese emperor, Shen Nong, who had decreed that everyone should boil their drinking water for health reasons, found himself on a summer's day in ... More »

Main Menu

Black Tea-indian Teas-darjeeling

Namring Upper Estate, Darjeeling, Ftgfop1, 1st Flush
this is a very bright 1st flush with light delicate hints of fruitiness, briskness, and a lovely fresh-tasting quality. this is one of the earliest 1st flushes of the year.

Giddapahar Green, Darjeeling
this rare green tea steeps up a light golden/green color with a very smooth, slightly sweet, very fresh taste, with no edge or bite at all. it's sort of like a autumnal darjeeling, except greener and lighter.

Margaret's Hope Estate, Darjeeling, 2nd Flush, Ftgfop1
this is a very smooth and rich 2nd flush. the steeped cup is aromatic with strong muscatel notes and a delicate brightness to the finish.

Thurbo Estate, Darjeeling, Muscatel, 2nd Flush, Ftgfop1
this is a very full flavored 2nd flush. it has lots of body and weight for a darjeeling, and its muscatel notes come through the aroma and cup very prominently. if you like bold 2nd flushes, this is the tea for you.

Goomtee Estate, Darjeeling, 2nd Flush, Muscatel
an intoxicating muscatel aroma and flavor arises from this tea. the steeped liquor is amazingly thick for a darjeeling, with light, sweet, honey fruit notes coming through.

Oolong/wulong Teas- Chinese Oolongs/wulongs

Big Red Robe Oolong
this legendary tea is very rich and smooth with dark, almost molasses-like undertones. legend has it that when a monk first gave the emperor this tea, the emperor loved it so much that he gave the monk a special gift of a scarlet robe.

Blue Beauty Oolong
this green oolong from the fujian province is a regional specialty tea rarely seen outside of china. it brews up very aromatic, sweet, floral, and slightly spicy with a pronounced silky texture. the leaf is sprinkled with ginseng and licorice root, and then folded many times so you will get many steepings from the same leaf.

Iron Goddess Of Mercy Oolong (wulong)
this is an absolutely wonderful ti kwan yin style oolong from fujian, china, done in the classic style. the modern trend is for ti kwan yin to be a little sweeter and a little greener. this tea definitely has some sweetness, but that is perfectly balanced by just a tiny bit of baking of the leaf. the aroma and steeped liquor deliver a marvelous blend of sweet and toasty with a flavor reminiscent of roasted pine nuts.

Milk Oolong
this extraordinarily unique and rare tea from china has a deliciously sweet aroma. the cup brews up very silky with a lot of texture and a pronounced creamy-buttery-sweet character to the flavor. these leaves will yield many wonderful infusions. milk is actually used during the processing of this tea.

Rhubarb Oolong
this lovely chinese oolong from fujian province is blended with chunks of dried rhubarb and flavor to produce a tea that steeps up sweet, very smooth, medium-bodied, with a very distinctive fruity-rhubarb tang. it is also great iced.

Green Tea- Pure Green Teas

Green Dragon Pearl
these “pearls” of green tea are whole tea leaves that have been hand-rolled into 2-3 gram balls that unfurl as you steep them. they produce a very smooth, fresh, aromatic, slightly sweet, slightly vegetative flavor that is delightful. each “pearl” is good for many steepings.

Twisted Jade
this green tea is composed of light pale green tea leaves with a fresh sweet scent, and a slight twist to the leaf. this green tea steeps up with a lot character, smooth, with a hint of a wheat taste.

Clouds & Mist Green, Organic
a lovely green tea grown on the island of zhoushan off the eastern coast of china. this tea is bright, very fresh, very refreshing with the tiniest hint of toastiness.

Clouds & Mist Green, Supreme Grade
this green tea has a dark green leaf, well-formed with a slight twist. it produces a cup that is soft and shimmering, exceedingly fresh, slightly sweet, very aromatic, and wonderfully refreshing. this is an exceptional tea.

Dark Green Needle
this green tea is composed of gorgeous, long, leggy, tea leaves that have a scent of freshly husked corn. this green tea from hunan province (famous for green tea) steeps up very smooth, with great aroma, slightly sweet, with a hint of almost nutty note in the cup. a wonderful and unique green tea. this green tea makes a wonderful gift for the tea connoisseur.

White Teas

Downy White
this unusual white tea from china is all two leaf and a bud with many silver tips and is very downy with a very fresh, soft aroma. the liquor is light, bright, slightly sweet, with a hint of spring meadow to it. a very nice tea.

Shou Mei
this white tea from fujian province is made from the third leaf on the plant (the leaves are huge and beautifully hand-processed) and is slow, sun withered to produce a white tea that has slightly more body than most, with a very smooth almost buttery note. shou mei translates as longevity eyebrows.

White Sunshine
this delightful blend of white tea, chamomile, and natural pomegranate extract brews up very bright, sweet, and lightly fruity. delicious

White Peony
a white tea with more body than most and a sweet fresh earthiness to it. a tremendous value and a great introduction to white teas.

Silver Needles
this spring white tea from fujian, china is composed of fat, downy, silvery/green buds. this white tea has a wonderful aroma and the liquor is sweet, smooth almost silky, with a meadowy taste and amazingly a hint of a spicy note at the end. a classic white tea with a surprising twist.

Decaffeinated Teas

Decaffeinated Earl Grey
all of the taste of this classic black tea blend with almost none of the caffeine. this tea is medium-bodied and very aromatic. it is made with ceylon black tea and oil of bergamot.

Decaffeinated Lemon Solstice
this is a teasource exclusive. it is made with strong assam black tea, almond brittle, lemongrass, flavor, licorice roots, and real strawberry and blackberry pieces. the flavor is rich and deep with sparkling notes. fabulous.

Decaffeinated Sencha
this is a japanese green tea whose flavor seems to be little affected by the decaffeination process. it is mild, lighter, and slightly sweet and grassy.

Decaffeinated Teasource Gold
a decaf version of our very popular tea. a delicious and aromatic blend of decaffeinated black tea, orange blossoms, elderberries, passionfruit and a little red sandalwood.

Decaffeinated Apricot
a very nice ceylon op black tea serves as the base of this aromatic, slightly fruity, and very smooth decaf tea. it is made with ceylon black tea, flavoring, and sunflower blossoms.

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Tea Source

752 Cleveland Ave. S. St. Paul, MN 55116

651-690-9822

Description

2010 | BEST TEA SHOP

2000 | BEST TEA (BY THE POUND)

Love at First Flush

By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl | Wed, November 11, 1998

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