Teas from Colombia!

After the buzz of February’s Japanese Green Tea tasting, I was extremely excited to return to the Lake Missoula Tea Company to hear all about Colombian Teas and catch up with Christina, who just returned from a month-long trek in Colombia to meet with some of their tea partners, learn more about the process, and understand just how important tea is to these cultures

Christina has worked at the Lake Missoula Tea Company for almost 4 years and it is clearly apparent that she has a deep passion for her work with tea.  Visiting the farms in Colombia also gave Christina an in-depth look at the amount of work that goes into producing teas, which in turn gave her a great appreciation for each and every part of the process. She lit up when talking about how much it meant it her.

She visited a farm in Eastern Colombia where Lake Missoula Tea Company gets several of their South American teas from. Christina emphasized the importance of tea in this community, as the farm makes an extremely concerted effort to give back…Building schools, daycares, setting up a trash & recycling system… The farm stays true to their 3 missions, Social Responsibility, Environmental Stewardship and Sustainable Farming. The impact the farm has on the community it resides in, is magnificent.

You can read a little more about her adventures HERE

THE TASTE:

We tasted 3 teas with Christina, each with their own distinguished and unique flavor.

The first we tried, was the Chai….And as a Chai drinker for most of my life- I have to honestly say it was 100% the best Chai Tea I have EVER tasted. It had the perfect mix of sweet, spice, and you could still taste the Colombian Black Tea used. 

Pouring boiling water over the Colombian Black Tea, we let it steep for 3 minutes. During this time, Christina retrieved LMTC’s in-house Chai mix and let it sit to get to room temperature. After the tea was done steeping, Christina mixed the Colombian Black Tea with the in-house chai-mixture.

After one taste- I knew I was in trouble…AKA, this could easily become a new addiction. I was overly excited to see that the Chai came in a pretty big cup…And guess what- it was only $3.50!

You must come in to the Lake Missoula Tea Company to enjoy the house-made Chai, but you can purchase the Colombian Black to take home…but you’ll have to make your own Chai mix.

The next tea we tasted was the Andean Princess, which is also a black tea. My co-worker immediately noticed the floral, citrus-y aroma from the tea. The Andean Princes

s is made up of Isabella Grape, which is extremely high in antioxidants…and the Andean Raspberry, which is very high in vitamin C and calcium. The teas has a rich and full body, and is available for purchase at the Lake Missoula Tea Company.

The final tea we tasted was a green tea that had a very nice fruity, floral aroma, which makes sense as it is made with pear guava, which is a citrus, and sour sop, which is very high in vitamin C. The tea is called Cloud Forest Green and is blended with a green tea. You can get this blend at the Lake Missoula Tea Company. Christina recommended trying it chilled on a warm summer day. With it’s fruity, light texture and taste- I can’t wait to try it over ice!

All of these teas and more are available at the Lake Missoula Tea Company, located in downtown Missoula at 136 E. Broadway.

You can always give them a call at 406-926-1038 or visit them online at lakemissoulateacompany.com

#lakemissoulateacompany #tea #teatasting