caffeinophilia

Shinka Tea

2009-08-22T22:06:00.001-07:00

Drinks: Taiwanese milk tea (i.e. bubble tea), good selection of Chinese- and Formosa-style hot teas
Food: Taiwanese snacks
Cost: expensive ($4-5 for milk tea)
Wifi: free
People-watching: lots of Asians
Address:
4727 University Way NE
Seattle, WA

The history of the stuff Americans now call "bubble tea" is a quintessentially postmodern tale. Originating in 1980s Taiwan as a "milk tea", with mild sweetener and a large amount of milk mixed into traditional jasmine or black teas, the characteristic tapioca "bubbles" or "boba" were soon introduced. By this point, bubble tea began a proliferation of varieties that introduced strong sweeteners, novel fruit flavors, hot and iced varieties, milkshake ingredients, and in its final culmination, the elimination of tea as an ingredient at all. In true postmodern style, the climax of tea is the negation of tea itself. I was consequently hesitant to include bubble tea in this compendium of reviews, but I found that Shinka Tea serves respectable, if overpriced, drinks that even the traditionalist will enjoy.

Shinka is a time-warp to the previous era of Taiwanese milk teas, before they were adulterated by oppressive sweetening and sketchy flavoring. The result is solid, if uninspired: sturdy black or jasmine iced tea, with mild sweetness, milk, and small tapioca balls that thankfully do not require hours to chew through. Adding the tapioca and soy milk will set you back an excessive $5. The hot teas are of a somewhat higher quality, but still expensive (I paid about $3.50 for a cup of mint tea--big mistake). If you try to game the system by picking the highest quality tea, your cup might come out to a decent value, but this no justification for the price. Shinka also sells loose leaf teas by the ounce, though the selection is limited to teas from China and Formosa.

The ambiance is also a step up from the loud, gaudy, awfulness of most bubble tea vendors. Pleasant music, neutral colored decor, bamboo, and a quiet crowd characterize the place. While the people-watching is perhaps not the most exciting--watching Asians hard at work isn't the liveliest--it is a nice place to sit, read, and think. That is, when you're not thinking about how much money you just spent.

Remedy Teas

2009-07-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

Drinks: tea, tea lattes, herbal teas, yerba mate

Food: "tea service", tea sandwich, tea biscuits, toast, scones, truffles

Cost: moderately expensive (e.g. $3 after tax for a cup of tea)

Wifi: free

People-watching: yuppiedom

Address:

345 15th Avenue East

Seattle, WA

While most of the places that I have reviewed thus far are good for the tea-drinker, they share one common characteristic: tea is a diversion from their main focus of coffee. While there is nothing intrinsically negative about this, it does leave one suspicious of whether a dedicated tea establishment could do better. The answer, based on Remedy Teas, is generally yes.

My first impression upon entering, aside from the post-modern ambiance, was to wonder what these numbers from 1 to 150 were doing sitting on the wall behind the counter. After ordering some Japan Sencha, I realized that the numbers were labeling ceramic containers containing the teas. So yes, the tea selection is impressive, and all of it is organic. Watching the attendant prepare my tea, I noticed three hot water spouts for three different temperatures: it was clear that they knew what they were doing. The basics were covered perfectly.

Waiting for my tea to steep, I reflected a little bit on the tea selection. The sheer variety of teas sitting on the wall reminded me very much of TeaGschwendner's wall of teas in Chicago. But there were some noteworthy differences in selection. Remedy Teas selection is very heavily weighted toward fancifully flavored teas. I tried samples of one called "Orange Krush", which literally tasted like orange soda, and of one called "Black and Blue", which was shockingly berry-flavored. They were good, though a little overbearing and not exactly my idea of tea. On the other hand, there is essentially no selection of individual types of tea. There is only one Darjeeling, for example. Granted, it is a single-estate tea (Namring), but there is no choice of flush and no variety of estates. Similarly, there was only one type of Sencha. In contrast, TeaGschwendner sells 12 different types of Darjeeling and 2 Senchas. Undoubtedly this is an attempt to cater to the yuppified, coffee-centric types that populate Capitol Hill, but it is the single major of deficiency of Remedy Teas. Still, they do offer one version of all the major types of tea, including varieties like Genmaicha that would be hard to find in a lesser store in the US. My tea, of course, was very good. The Sencha had a subtle profile that was smoother and less astringent than many lower-cost Japanese green teas.

Other than the number of teas available and their generally good quality, food is the other bright spot of Remedy Teas. There is a nice selection of baked good, including some vegan ones. I often find myself craving something sweet when I sit down to drink, yet I do not want some gigantic scone or muffin that will leave me feeling ill. This problem is solved with small tea cookies (about an inch square) that are sold for $0.80. But the best thing is the food that they offer for their "tea services" (essentially high tea). One can order a pot of tea with small sandwiches and a few truffles, or just buy the individual components. I haven't tried any of these things, but the cucumber sandwiches look excellent, and this seems to be one of the rare places that one can order good food with a diverse selection of good tea.

So while it may leave the ultra-snobby a little disappointed by its bias toward frilly drinks, it still covers the basics better than practically anywhere else. The ambiance is nice, the outdoor seating pleasant, and the wifi fast. In short, we have one of the best places in Seattle to sit down, work, and drink, or have a delicious high tea.

Sureshot

2009-06-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Drinks: coffee and tea

Food: cake, pie, and scones

Cost: cheap (e.g. $1 for hot tea)

Wifi: free

People-watching: weird, very weird

Address:

4505 University Way NE

Seattle, WA

In the course of writing food reviews one faces a dilemma: only reporting on the excellent places undermines the reviewer's credibility by suggesting that he is not capable of being critical, but writing negative reviews is pointless because no one wants to read about a place that they would never go anyway. So I'll dabble a little in negativity with my review of Sureshot. Perhaps their espresso is redeeming, but their tea, scones, and "ambiance" certainly are not.

The first impression one receives upon walking through the door is that of the strange proliferation of pinball machines and truly awful music selection. One yelp.com reviewer appropriately describes the music as "mind-jangling": a good adjective for the loud and monotonous rock blaring through the speakers.

But I was unfazed (or maybe just dazed), and I ordered a cup of tea. The attendant asked which kind of tea I would like, pointing to a selection of Bigelow teabags. I immediately panicked and didn't know what to say. For the uninitiated, Bigelow tea is among the worst tea that I have ever had. It's so cheap that it's given out for free at the University of Chicago physics department tea times when they don't have anything better to serve. So I opted for mint, which can never really be bad (though, it's technically not tea, I suppose). It was fine. I also bought a scone. It was supposed to be raspberry, but it had the curious and unpleasant addition of coconut flakes which I hadn't noticed before ordering. It also had the delightful consistency of glue, probably having been sitting in a refrigerator for a few days too many.

After trying to read for a few minutes, the mind-jangling soundtrack was getting to me and people next to me started arguing about their chess match. So I left. Do avoid Sureshot. Checkmate.

Intelligentsia

2009-06-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Drinks: coffee and tea

Food: a modest selection of baked goods

Cost: expensive (e.g. $3-4 for hot tea)

Wifi: not free

People-watching: people in Lakeview tend to be opulent, much cooler than you, or sometimes both

Address:

3123 N Broadway Street

Chicago, IL

A year and a half ago when I rarely left Hyde Park and thought that Chicago was a cultural backwater in between the superior coasts, a friend of mine with a car started taking me on regular outings to sushi at Matsuya in Wrigleyville followed by a stop at Intelligentsia. Within a month I started loving Chicago and leaving Hyde Park all the time. While there is some endogenous sentimentality in my assessment of Intelligentsia, the fact that it could modify my entire opinion of and activities in Chicago is a testament to its greatness.

There is little that needs to be said about this place; refreshingly, they understand how to do everything properly. The selection of teas is excellent, though not expansive. There are 2-4 varieties of green, oolong, and black teas with a few others like jasmine thrown in. Intelligentsia also stocks a rotating selection of seasonal and special teas. Baristas can explain the geographic origins and flavor profile of any tea to the curious. The Earl Grey, the second-flush Darjeeling, and jasmine teas are all excellent. The Earl Grey has more bergamot than usual, which I prefer. The Darjeeling had a very interesting and unusual spiciness. I don't remember much about the jasmine I once had, which probably meant that it was good, but unremarkable. Hot water is available at the proper temperature for the tea purchased: 100 degrees for black, 90 degrees for green. Baristas always state the optimal brewing time. In short, everything is optimal. Given how simple it is to buy good tea and prepare it well, compared to say, making a good latte or mocha, it is remarkable how poorly most people understand it. But Intelligentsia understands. Hence the name, I suppose.

During my forays to Lakeview, I usually didn't buy many baked items. Once or twice I bought a scone or muffin, which I recall disappointing me a little. They seemed a little short on flavor and heavy on sugar. But there is one thing I bought more than a couple times. Intelligentsia's espresso brownies, even for one who dislikes coffee, is arguably the best dessert item I have ever tasted. It very dense and moist, with seemingly little leavening (I'm struggling to describe the consistency). It is sweet to some extent, but the dominant flavor is dark chocolate with a subtle touch of espresso. It is the perfect example of how espresso and chocolate can enhance their respective flavors so well in correct proportions: chocolate and a hint of sugar cover the bitterness and acidity of coffee, while coffee combines to produce a stronger flavor than chocolate alone can deliver. If you want baked goods at Intelligentsia, there really is no reason to order anything else.

The one great downside of Intelligentsia emerged during the summer of 2008, when the establishment literally became overrun with people. At midday on a Saturday, it was not unusual for there to be a line of 15 people, and naturally the prices rose. Combined with Chicago 10.5% sales tax in Chicago, the price of a tea and scone is now about $7.50, which is simply too high for regular consumption. They also do not have wifi, presumably because if they offered free wifi and reasonably priced drinks, the shop would fill up within 15 minutes of opening and no one would leave all day. Finding a place to sit is already a touchy issue. As it is, there are some authors who spend all day there writing books. Where else would one choose to write the next great novel?

Intelligentsia is neither elaborate or extravagant in presentation, nor is their tea selection encyclopedic. Instead, they understand how to do the traditional teas and European espresso drinks (according to my friends) with perfection. Perfection obviously has a price, but sometimes it is worth it.

Trabant Coffee and Chai

2009-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Drinks: coffee, extensive chai menu, hot and iced teas

Food: a few baked goods, but mostly nonexistent

Cost: moderate (e.g. $2 for hot and iced teas, $2-4 for chai)

Wifi: free

Hours: 6:30am-midnight

People-watching: above average: full of typical university students and the occasional nutcase (someone walked in juggling last night)

Address:

1309 NE 45th Street

Seattle, WA

Searching for establishments that serve the finest drinks is often difficult business. There are so many coffee shops, so many of them are mediocre, and even more are abysmal to those who eschew coffee. But there are a few proximate factors that guide one in the direction of good beverages. Proximity to academic institutions is one example. Procrastinating students and stressed academics need the ability to stay up all night, stoking demand for all forms of liquid caffeine. Being in gloomy cities with an established caffeine culture might be another. So my summer stay at the University of Washington in Seattle provided a promising launching point for finding good tea.

Two days and four blocks later, I happened across Trabant Coffee and Chai, which exceeded even my most hopeful expectations. The (non-Chai) tea selection is short but excellent, and available in both hot and iced forms. A test of chamomile-spearmint iced tea proved absolutely superb (fine, not caffeinated, but it was good enough to render this fact irrelevant). The pleasure extend beyond the gastronomic: presentation of all drinks is also noteworthy. Iced teas arrive in cocktail glasses, hot teas come in understated blue ceramic with slightly asymmetric saucers, and lattes and mochas are adorned with latte art.

The real jewel of the non-coffee offerings is the selection of Chai, which is more diverse than anywhere else I have been. The chai menu allows one to mix and match the base tea, temperature, and optional flavorings, producing 60 unique combinations of beverage. The traditional hot chai was noteworthy. While I have a preference for spicier chai (someday I will try their spicy vegan variety), the traditional variant was not spicy but had good notes of cardamom and a bit of cloves. Flavored with an appropriate amount of honey instead of the sickeningly sweet dose of sugar that afflicts much chai, the overall sweetness was noticeable but not oppressive. Properly steamed milk topped off the experience. While I would have preferred a slightly stronger dose of the spices, even if not spiciness--perhaps some citrus notes, for example--the result was well above average.

The social role of the coffee and tea establishment, in my opinion, is a place to sit and work or think or talk. It is a place to go to break the monotony or isolation of home or work. Trabant's two-level modern/industrial motif with acoustic or subdued contemporary soundtrack comes pretty close to optimal. Given the summertime dearth of students, it is neither too crowded nor too noisy. In short, it is a near-perfect place to sit, drink, and work.

Coffee Time

2008-08-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Vital Statistics:

Drinks: coffee, tea, italian soda, juices

Food: panini, pastries

Cost: cheap (e.g. $1.65 for tea)

Wifi: free

Hours: 6:30am-2:30am; that is, they are open 20 hours a day, not 4.

People-watching: Good overall, with a copious supply of students and hipsters with a few bums thrown in for good measure

Address:

712 NW 21st Street

Portland, OR 97209

I begin my caffeinated tour, not in Chicago, but appropriately enough, at a shop in Portland that was the centerpiece of many an adolescent adventure. The formidable virtues of Coffee Time are not to be underestimated: spectacular décor, free wifi, unrivaled hours, and arguably the most optimal location in Portland. But on a visit to the place on Monday afternoon, with my objectivity freed from the excitement of midnight adventures, I questioned whether the ubiquitous hype it receives should be more like, ubiquitous hype with reservation.

Upon nearing Coffee Time from the street after about 8pm, one first notices the packs of scruffy-looking customers sitting outside, hunched over games of chess, or leaning forward to argue with their friend. The experience of entering, buying something, and finding a place to sit is somewhat like opening a present. There are multiple stages, each of which is a distinct experience itself: after navigating through the loiterers outside, one buys something from the heavily pierced or tattooed barista, and then navigates the labyrinthine corridors and rooms to find a place to sit. There, amidst the mysterious murals of laughing gamblers or odd sceneries does one final sit down to drink. From this standpoint, the atmosphere is unrivaled. The poor lighting, spectacular murals, and hordes of laptop-clutching customers create the optimal environment for studying or having an unusual conversation at the oddest hours of the day.

Panegyrics aside, Coffee Time is not without some severe deficiencies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the coffee is excellent. But alas, we do not consider such things here, cf. previous entry. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't get Geant4 to compile that day, but I decided that the tea is decidedly subpar on my Monday-afternoon visit. They stock about a dozen different varieties of tea bags from Numi and Mighty Leaf, many of which are strange fruity blends. One gets the sense that they were the leftover varieties that were on sale at the supermarket down the street. To their credit, the Mighty Leaf tea is consistently some of the best bagged tea that I have had, but Coffee Time has very few flavors of it, and they are lacking most of the standard varieties. In particular, there is no Darjeeling, no English breakfast, no Sencha, let alone any Oolong to speak of. While I rarely buy pastries, I did look at the ones available, and again I was a little disappointed. They seemed a little old and a little stale. Perhaps they were actually good, but I would have been surprised.

The myth of Coffee Time was almost deserved, but for the tea-drinker it was pure fantasy. Nevertheless, its cheapness and hipness probably justify declaring it as one of the best places in Portland to "hang out", browse the web, or grind through a problem set.

Beginnings

2008-08-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

During the spring of 2008, my mother launched one of her stock critiques against me during a phone conversation. She complained that I never "got out" and "experienced Chicago", instead favoring the isolation of exile in Hyde Park. While Hyde Park and my isolated life at the University of Chicago had actually been quite enjoyable, I suspected that there might be a kernel of truth to her argument. I had an entire summer ahead of me, with nothing but my job in the high-energy physics group to occupy my time. Unlike during classes, there was plenty of time to venture outside of the socioeconomic island of Hyde Park.

It has been a very long time since my last new blogging experiment (actually the one and only one). Taking my mother's advice and my budget constraint into consideration, I settled on exploring the city by visiting a new tea house every week for my Saturday-afternoon tea ritual during the summer. Wasting away hours on Chicago's El, traveling to the North Side for my obligatory out-of-the-Hyde-Park experiences, I hatched the plan whose fruits you now read. After talking to the author of Quiche-Of-The-Week at an end-of-the-world party for the initial Large Hadron Collider injections, I realized a niche for a new blog. While there are numerous listings for coffee/tea shops in Chicago and elsewhere, even the best suffer from a fatal flaw: coffee-centrism. While we live in a coffee-centric society, it is important to note that coffeeshops need to be held accountable to the nontrivial, but heavily marginalized minority that refuses to drink the oppressively bitter brew of the coffee bean.

The purpose of this blog is therefore to provide accountability to the tea-drinking population. If nothing else, I hope it succeeds in documenting the successes and failures of my search for caffeine without coffee, so that others may have a little more knowledge about where to find a delicious cup of tea and a relaxing Saturday afternoon experience. After all, drinkers of all beverages can surely agree that feeling the enervating rush of caffeine, after a good drink, and while ploughing through a tricky problem set, is surely one hedonistic pleasure not to miss.