My Edmonds Restaurant News: Tea for you, tea for me, Baicha has my kind of tea!

Tea brewing at Baicha
Tea brewing at Baicha

I’m on the road, at a writers retreat in Algonkian, Virginia. We plan a field trip to view Washington, D.C.-area blossoms, which arrive late this year, due to ice accumulation in the waters that only began to melt last week.

Cherry blossoms in D.C. remind me of Japan, which reminds me of my favorite variety of tea. Gyokuro, also known as Precious Dew Pearl, is a highly famous tea from Japan. The deep green color and the flavor, which is sweet, creamy, an almost oceanic taste — spring time in a cup.

Mini tea sandwich
Mini tea sandwich

Our local Edmonds tea room, Baicha, serves this beautiful emerald color brew in clear glass pots. On a recent visit I discovered their menu has expanded way beyond their original tiny but tasty tea fare. The full menus of food and teas are on their website. www.baichatearoom.com

Breakfast and brunch items, offered all day, include omelets, scrambles and sandwiches, all served with a daily fresh salad.
Soup is a fresh-made tomato basil, very light and creamy and a great accompaniment to any sandwich or salad.
Salads are made with organic greens, range from a garden variety to grilled chicken Caesar.

Panini
Panini

Sandwiches have expanded beyond the dainty squares of trimmed fresh wheat or white bread. I still chose my favorites, the tuna, tomato pesto and a hummus cucumber, but the panini griddle’s aroma tempted me to order a chicken with pesto. The whole-grain bread was toasted to perfection, interior of the slices still warm, soft and delicious, and the still crisp spinach flavorful.

Owner Ann Budharaksa has wonderful tea knowledge and baking skill. The house-made deserts vary. I was fortunate to be there on a day her coconut cake was offered. Moist, light, not-too-sweet cake and icing topped with toasted cashews. Brownies and giant cookies and other desserts are available.

Coconut cake
Coconut cake

The shop has seating out front and inside, but my favorite spots are downstairs. Comfy sofas, chairs, and partitions create relaxing intimate spaces to sit and savor a pot of tea in a tranquil atmosphere. This space is also available for groups and parties.

A bit about the tea that is delivered to your table with a clear teapot of hot water, and a tri-colored timer. The dry tea is added to the infuser basket and immersed in the teapot. My server indicated which hourglass to watch, to time the infusion to the type of tea leaf I’d chosen. Since I had a green variety, I was offered additional hot water to brew more from the leaf in the basket after we’d drunk the original batch. Gyokuro is sweet and grassy the first time, but the sea taste in comes forward in successive brews. Oolongs and black teas can stand up to several brews as well when the tea brewed is full leaf, not tea bags.

Tea is the second-most-consumed beverage in the world, water is the first. Poetry has been written and recited over the repeated infusions of a Famous Chinese tea.

Tea comes in white, green and black leaf, all from the very same plant, the Camellia sinensis. The leaves and leaf buds from this species of evergreen shrub or small tree are used to produce tea all over the world. Similar to wine, the soil and elevation in which the plants grow develop the variety and flavor.

Tea grown and harvested in Assam is different from Chinese or Japanese teas. Treatments of the leaves, after they are picked, further determine the end product. Steamed and dried leaves result in the delicate white and green teas, while oxidation and firing of leaves create oolong and black teas.

Herbs and dried flowers are also infused in hot water. Herbal and floral beverages, served hot or iced, just like the traditional tea leaves, vary greatly depending on what varieties are selected and in many cases blended, before being added to hot, but not boiling water.

Speaking of hot water, I spotted a blurb last week on Facebook. The Boiling Point restaurant, a Taiwanese hot soup specialty restaurant with 15 locations in California, Washington and Canada is hiring and will finally be open, hopefully as you read this column, at its newest location is 22001 Highway 99, Edmonds.

The Boiling Point restaurant opened in Seattle in 2008 and since then, the restaurant has opened other locations in Redmond and Bellevue. I’m excited to try not only the Hot Pots, but the ice cream treats get rave reviews too.

So have a cup of tea. Celebrate spring, contemplate the arrival of warmer weather and our soon-to-be-open Edmonds and Salish Crossing Farmer’s markets or just to relax and unwind. Treat yourself to the pleasant ritual of brewing and sipping tea.

— By Kathy Passage
restaurantnews@myedmondsnews.com

Kathy Passage

A specialty gourmet food broker for over 30 years, Kathy Passage has in-depth knowledge on food and the special qualities of ingredients used in the exquisite products she helped bring to market. Kathy brings this unique perspective from the “other side of the plate” to writing about the food and restaurant scene in Edmonds.

 

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