TeaHaus in Ann Arbor Michigan

Last week, the teapot and I took a day trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  We had afternoon tea at TeaHaus.  Come along and join us for tea.

Lovely artwork done with chalk

Place Setting and binder describing over 170 tea selections

My first pot of tea

Marzipan - seasonal black tea

an almond filled offering sure to satisfy your sweet tooth

Black tea from India, almond pieces and natural flavor

(I enjoyed this tea, the almond really came through.  I didn't think to pair my tea with my courses until the soup arrived.)

Smokey Lapsang Tomato Soup

Soup is always vegan and made with tea

The base was mirepoix with a definite smokey flavor.

Tiered Server

The tea the owner, Lisa, paired with the sandwich course was the Black Current, another black tea.  (After the soup course, I asked her to pair my teas.  She is a certified tea sommelier and lived in Germany and Sweden for 14 years.)  This tea paired well with the Brie sandwich.

Sandwiches

Cucumber - this bread was thin and very soft (normally I find thin bread to be dry)

Brie with fig butter - this was my favorite.  The fig butter really enhanced this sandwich.

Chicken Salad - this was piled high on a lightly toasted round of bread.  This was very light and refreshing.  The base was tarragon and fresh red wine vinaigrette versus the usual mayonnaise.

Peppered Salami with Herb Butter on Baguette - This is served in a larger sandwich on the lunch menu.

She paired a Milky Jade Oolong with my scone course.

She hesitated to pair an oolong when I started with black teas instead of the lighter teas.

I bought some of this for home and have loved it.  My daughter is an oolong drinker and she has my supply almost gone.  She was infusing it multiple times and loved the additional infusions.  These leaves are huge and unfurl beautifully.  The leaves held up very well to multiple infusions.

Scones

The owner's grandmother is Welsh and the recipe has been handed down.

One scone was a traditional scone and the other a lemon poppyseed.

The spreads were made in house and included lemon curd, devonshire cream, orange marmalade and a berry compote.  I tried the toppings in various combinations and enjoyed the berry compote with the devonshire cream the most.

My final tea was Blueberry Buckle

This white tea is blended in house.

The little pots hold about two cups of tea.  Tea is unlimited and this is a great way to sample several different teas.

Sweets

Grapefruit Macaron - delicious

Lavender Shortbread - the lavender really came through in this shortbread

Chocolate Petit Four - very dense chocolate cake

Menu Board on the Wall

Afternoon Tea is by Reservation

Wall of Tea

Cafe

The tearoom is located downtown and metered parking is available along the street.  Be sure to have quarters available if you plan to visit.  Ann Arbor is a college town and the tea room is a popular lunch spot.

Sips and Smiles,

Teresa

Winter Begins

The temperature in Ohio is an unseasonable 52 degrees this morning.  Our yard is green.   Our windows are open.  This cannot be winter!  The only thing that looks like snow around here is some of the goodies we made last night.  This morning, to welcome winter, I am enjoying some puppy chow and a snowball along with my Yunnan Imperial tea.

My morning cup is often a Yunnan.  This one is from TeaHaus in Ann Arbor Michigan.  The leaves have an abundance of golden buds, as you can see in the dry leaf above.  My morning cup is often this, or a Three Cultivar Red from Red Blossom Tea Company.  Both of these companies sell their tea online.

TeaHaus offers a monthly tea tasting sample.  Approximately 10 grams of three different teas are offered monthly for $4.99.    The package arrives with the tea samples carefully packaged and detailed tasting notes.

Dry leaves from left to right - Christmas, Candy Cane and Advent

Tasting Notes for Christmas

Tasting Notes for Candy Cane

Tasting Notes for Advent

Brewed Tea - left to right - Christmas, Candy Cane and Advent

The tea sample packets are in front of the cups.  Each sample would make several cups or a nice pot.  

Christmas

I found orange to be the predominate flavor until the tea cooled, then the clove became stronger.  I could detect a slight hint of almond.  The tea is smooth and didn't get a bite, even when cool.  I would pair this with some Christmas sugar cookies or perhaps some gingerbread.

Candy Cane

Strong peppermint oil flavor.  Very strong as it cooled.  Would pair well with a slice of chocolate cake or a vanilla custard based dessert.

Advent

I'm not a fan of herbal teas.  This has the definite tart from the hibiscus.  I did not detect the spices or fruits.  The hibiscus was the dominating flavor for me.  I do love the color of tea when hibiscus is added.   I only brewed the tea for 2 minutes the first time.  After looking at the directions, I went back and brewed a second cup for 10 minutes.  That made a difference!  It tamed the hibiscus a bit!  The tang was still there, but you could find hints of the other flavors.  I believe sweetener would also help the tang.  The longer brew was a bit sweeter in taste, probably from the candied fruits.  The color was a much richer burgundy color with the longer brew time.  It would be beautiful in a Christmas punch. 

The TeaHaus also offers a tea of the month club - you can select from the classic wall, aroma wall, caffeine free wall or anywhere on the wall.

Many other tea samplers are offered - Black or Green Classic Teas, Earl Greys, Seasonal, Evening, Herbal, Premium and TeaHaus Classics.  

I have enjoyed afternoon tea at TeaHaus.  Since they are in a college town, there are options for all types of diets.  They specialize in macarons, varying the flavors with the season.  Her scone recipe has been handed down through the family.  I am hoping to get to an afternoon tea here before I have to send the teapot on to the next hostess.

Sips and Smiles,

Teresa