Posted by Erin Letson in beverages, shops, tea on November 4, 2007 at 9:43 am

House of Tea
1015 Yonge Street
416-922-1266

Marisha Golla, owner of House of Tea, knows her stuff when it comes to the steeped beverage so many people love. She’ll tell her customers green tea only needs a minute and a half to steep, and that it shouldn’t be brewed in boiling water (let it cool down for a minute or two). She’ll inform them of what type of tea would be good for fighting a cold (sage), and will kindly warn them not to drink caffeinated blends after 6 pm if staying awake all night isn’t their thing.

Up until a few months ago, I wasn't a serious tea drinker and was perfectly fine with a cup of Tetley diluted with milk and sugar. Then I started going to Bridgehead, a coffee chain in Ottawa, and fell in love with the taste of their loose-leaf teas. I checked out some tea shops when I came back to Toronto, but it wasn't until I went into Golla's store that I felt free to ask questions and try some varieties.

Golla's family is in the tea business and she has carried on the tradition in Toronto at House of Tea, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. "We offer tea from all over the world and we have all different kinds," she says of her stock, which includes 280 varieties that are divided into black, green and herbal. The store also carries colourful porcelain cups and saucers, clay pots, and strainers of all sorts. Brochures from the shop boast that the tea is free of preservatives, artificial additives, flavourings and colourings.

On my first visit to House of Tea, Golla introduced me to tea bag filters (from teeli, a German company), which can be filled with loose tea and secure with a clip. This brilliant invention (which obviously isn’t new, but seemed groundbreaking to me) allows me to take my loose tea to work and also brew by the cup.

Since Earl Grey is my tea of choice, Golla pulled a few varieties - housed in gorgeous green tins with gold lids - off the shelf and let me smell them. She also asked if I prefer milk or no milk. I took home some blue flower Earl Grey, a medium-bodied blend that is meant to be served clear. It’s delicious and needs only a hint of sweetener to satisfy my tastes (Golla recommends raw sugar or honey – regular white sugar can leave deposits in your tea and change the taste). I also took home a Japanese green tea flavoured with cherry blossoms. Not only is this tea sweet and tasty – it makes an excellent iced beverage – it looks really pretty in the bag, with hints of bright pink in the green leaves. I was also given a sample of Rooibos, a delicious vanilla tea that tastes caffeinated even thought it’s not.

On my second visit to the House of Tea, I stuck with the same two kinds of tea, but tried different blends – Earl Grey cream and mango green tea. This Earl Grey can be taken with or without milk, but it tastes extra creamy with the added dairy – and it’s perfect with cookies. The mango is extra-fragrant (it’s almost doing double-duty as potpourri in my kitchen) and needs no accoutrements.

Although Golla’s teas cost significantly more than grocery store brands (two 50-gram bags ring in at $24), the difference in taste and freshness is huge, not to mention the pearls of wisdom that come with each purchase. The tea can also be brewed two times (especially green tea), so there is double value in the bag. And after trying the real deal, it’s hard to go back - one day last week, I forgot to BYOB (bring my own bag) to work, and had to settle for some Tetley instead. My spoiled tastebuds were not happy.