Weekend Tea

This weekend, wanting to be out and about here in Williamsburg with my current literary addition The Omnivore's Dilemna , I stopped in for a mug of tea at The Roebling Tea Room.  It wasn't what I expected, but the place has a great vibe and a large weekend brunch crowd that caters to the hipsters that call Williamsburg home...very similar to the Silver Lake variety which makes for fabulous people watching.  I grabbed a seat at the antique wooden bar and was about to change my mind altogether for a bloody mary, but was convinced by the bartender that they carry amazing tea, so I threw my no-caffeine kick to the wind and ordered a masala chai tea latte.  It was a beer mug full of caffeinated goodness, spicy, and nothing like my past experiences with chai tea lattes from Starbucks which are severely over sugared it turns out.  I did add a little honey, but spent the next hour sipping and reading and listening into the yuppy convos happening around me.  I will admit I came away from that sitting a little jittery and have since sworn back off caffeine, but it was worth it.  The bartender has also convinced me that their herbal teas are also amazing, so I'll head back that way again to try those out and see how they compare to my own.

Tonight I am still experimenting with chamomile and am currently steeping 2 tablespoons of chamomile with a tablespoon of jasmine (I upped the ante on the jasmine tonight adding more than a pinch) and two generous slices of ginger.  I feel like until I come up with an over flavored pot, I'll just keep upping the portions a little each time to see what taste makes me the happiest.  Eventually I promise to give the chamomile a rest for a bit and try a jasmine based pot and then a lavender based pot, but for  now I need to feel like I've come up with a favorite pot of chamomile tea and that means more experimentation.  So far the first pot is the winner....beginners luck perhaps ;)