Getting to know the edible Portland is fun. I suppose I love getting to know all places through its food. When I backpacked through Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain for a month, that's exactly what I did--I ate my way through Europe. Hmm, perhaps I'll dig up some food photos and reminisce with y'all.
Actually, I hit a lot of cultural spots, too. I remember getting to Madrid (the last stop) where I stayed with my friend, Benji (Oh, Benji, I miss you. You are a terrific travel companion and life-saving American-speaker!). He suggested going to the Royal Palace or the Prado Museum that first afternoon and I practically rolled my eyes at him and said something like, "I've seen sooo many palaces and museums." Can you imagine? I'm a little embarrassed by that but I was just so over-saturated by the centuries of history and culture. Anyway...
So here we were at Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge for, uh, tea. They take their steeping so seriously that they gave us each a timer! Once the timer was done, we removed the strainer basket full of leaves from the pot and pour. Look at that fancy one with the metal frame and cool orange sand (above). I'm so used to the cheesy, plastic ones that come with Boggle or Taboo.
I believe that Steph got an oolong (there were several) while Dan and I shared a green tea (also several).It was new year's day and they were closing early. The staff was quite friendly to us even though we showed up 25 minutes before closing. I remember back in the retail days in high school when customers would come right before closing. I was never rude to them but boy did I wish they would get done quickly.
Tea Zone is in the Pearl District which is in the northwest part of the city. There's lots to do in that area so after you get your shopping done at Powell's Books or seeing a Portland Center Stage play, wander over to Tea Zone to relax with a hot tea, good service, and a cool timer. Their tea selection rivaled the beer selection at Lucky Baldwin's Pub in Pasadena, California.
Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge
510 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tel: (503) 221-2130
2 comments:
My favorite tea shop in Portland is The Tao of Tea. I liked it because they aren't tea snobs, and the staff is super mellow and willing to educate you about the many varieties they carry.
We just went there. I'll have to post about that one soon as well. Good to hear from you!
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