Tehuset Java | Tea Shop Review

17 11 2009

Products  10
Decor       6
Service     8

Tehuset Java must be the biggest tea store I’ve seen to date. Usually tea stores tend to be small and packed with stuff, giving the impression of being little, cozy spaces. This one is indeed packed with stuff, but it’s by no means small. Java is located in the Northern part of Stockholm on Odengatan 29 and it’s a fairly new place. From the street it doesn’t look like much, but when you go in you can get blown away.

The store is divided into two rooms. The first room is smaller and holds teas from various brands – a very large selection of Kusmi teas, but also offerings from Fortnum & Mason, Dr. Stuart’s and Ahmad Tea. Here you will also find some english style tea ware. The second room, which is more like a hall, holds Java’s counter with house loose leaf teas, but also a selection of Kusmi loose leafs. There are about 170 house teas to choose from, including a basic Japanese, Chinese and Indian selection, flavored , herbal and ecological teas. Java also has their own house blend – Lundablandning. Moreover, there are countless tea products here, anything from contemporary tea ware, design tea ware, thermoses, cozies, electric kettles, cups, tea makers, pots, caddies – and the list could go on. There is an especially large amount of Bodum products. Anything needed for an afternoon tea can also be acquired here – various sweets, jams, cookies, biscuits and other grocery products.

The mood of the store is not exactly identifiable. To me, the larger room, looked rather sterile, where as the small room, which i liked much better, is slightly reminiscent of and English-style home in India. It feel more welcoming, but also exotic. My brief impression of the staff was good. This store is clearly richly stocked, and just that makes a big statement – I would call it a tea supermarket, although it’s certainly much more then that. Java is absolutely worth visiting, while in Stockholm.

 

Adress - Odengatan 29, Stockholm, Sweden





Esters | Tea House Review

21 02 2009

Products  6
Decor       5
Service    7

Situated on a very long street in the southern district of Stockholm, Esters Tea and Coffee Shop is hardly noticeable. Folgungagatan is one of the bigger streets in that part of town and the shop simply blends in with the large amount of other small shops. Esters was established in 1899 and is said to be Sweden’s oldest tea and coffee shop. Inside the shop the atmosphere is created by various items from past decades, especially old teapots and a large collection of caddies. A very notable thing is that every chair and table is from a different set, making the place look quite chaotic. There are many elements of a traditional, English/antique tea shop here, but overall the shop doesn’t give off a specific feeling or style.

Esters mainly offers their own loose leaf tea (120 kinds). There is a whole wall, reaching the ceiling filled with those typical Chinese tea caddies. The only tea I have tried from here is the Swedish Soderblandning and I have to say I was disappointed. Their blend was very different from any Soderblanding I’ve had before, it didn’t have a fresh or floral aroma and some different ingredients were added to it. The dominant note was vanillaish, but the aroma was strange altogether. The tea is packed into a brown paper bag with handwritten name – not too exciting. Apart from tea Esters offers coffee , their own candy (mainly hard candy), some tea accessories and homebaked items. You can sit down and have tea and on fridays, saturdays and sundays they even serve Afternoon Tea, which is a big plus for this tea room. Another great thing is tea tasting sessions which take place here every now and then and they cost about 25 EUR (275 SEK). You can check dates for the upcoming sessions in a PDF file they have on their website.

When it comes to the service I could say it was ‘typical Swedish’. Generally in Sweden service in shops is rather impersonal with the occasional smile. Foreigners may interpret this behavior as rudeness, but it’s more of a cultural thing. The woman behind the ‘historical’ counter was quite nice, she climbed the latter and let us smell some teas.

In conclusion, Esters is not a place where I would want to spend hours sipping my tea, but I would like to find out more about the teas they have to offer and their quality. I think serves well as a local tea shop, where you can stock up if you suddenly run out.

 esters01

esters02

esters03

Address – Folkungagatan 95, Stockholm, Sweden 
Websitehttp://www.esters.se/





Custom Leaf – blend your own tea!

17 01 2009

Today I discovered and exciting site called Custom Leaf Tea Shop. Its a website that allows you to create your own tea and have it shipped to your home. You can blend all kinds of things including tea of course, fruits, flavors, herbs and flowers. However, the risk of how the tea turns out is yours to take and there are no returns! One ingredient that I’m eager to blend with my tea is the cheese cake flavor. The website itself is cute and a bit mysterious. They ship worldwide and along with your order you will get tea filters to make your tea in.

Related linkshttp://www.customleaf.com/








Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 29 other followers