Sometime last week, I got invited to a tea tasting. I’ve had my fit of coffee tasting, but tea tasting is definitely something I’d love to try. Without hesitation, I said yes, even grabbing Kaoko in the process. It was an event not to miss! And all the more when you have a tea expert guiding you through the tasting! You just can’t resist the invitation!

We arrived a little late. We missed some small details about tea making, but we arrived just in time to know more about the history of tea, the process of tasting and the flavors to look for. Finally, something quite applicable. There was even a comparison of commercial teas and the teas served in Coffee Bean Tea& Leaf. There was a marked difference, for us who didn’t know, how much it’s ground and how ‘fresh’ it is from the picking. These two things truly mattered in your tea tasting.

And then Coffee Bean Tea & Leaf brought out their teas by the cup. We had a shot in drinking Genmaicha Green Tea, a Japanese rice tea with a bit of sencha, Fancy Dragon Oolong Tea, which is naturally sweet compared to the oolong teas we get in Chinese restaurants, the Apricot Ceylon, a nice and lovely fruity tea that screams apricot (If you love the jam like I do, you’ll love this!), Chai, which is usually not to my liking, until this tea came along, and lastly, the African Sunrise, a CBTL tea that will be released in Philippines sometime June. When I tasted this, the first thing that entered my head was bubble gum. Others thought it was caramel. But for me, it’s like the taste of nice and soft, freshly-made bubble gum for slurping. It was lovely. The flavors were amazing and the tasting definitely showed a great spectrum of teas.

This tea tasting was a wonderful experimental experience to me. I just tasted tea and it’s versatility in terms of flavor. It’s great to have a chance to see tea’s potential. Lipton tastes pale in comparison to these teas, and it’s quite grueling to know that you’re getting back to these teas when you get home. Thank god for the tea bags they gave away. At least I have 6 tea cups to treasure. :3

Alternately, Coffee Bean Tea and Leaf is asking your own coffee and tea experiences. Tell them how coffee and tea has changed your life by answering “What’s your Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Story”. If you do answer, you could get a shot to go to Hollywood. Now isn’t that sweet? :3