Here in often pretentious Santa Fe there is finally a good tea house run by
someone who knows a lot about tea. It goes by the unlikely name of "Maison et
The" which baffles me still (one would expect "Maison de The" I would think).

The menu is pretty extensive, and the waiter couldn't explain the various
Darjeeling offerings, but to his credit he asked the proprietor and brought
back some answers. I had a Darjeeling Arya 1st Flush which was pure delight
at $3.50. My daughter had some sort of composed infusion called Jamaican Rum
at $2.50 which was overly fruity and sweet. As you can see, prices were
indeed reasonable for table service, in fact it's a much better deal than most
Starbucks offerings.

The tea is presented in very effective infuser mugs, which, though not exactly
fine china, held heat very well, and being clear, allowed me to admire the
beautiful color of the Arya. The hot water was poured into the mug in the
kitchen, and it was very hot indeed. Hurrah! (Well---- at 7,000 feet above
sea level, it was as hot as they could get it.)

I later talked Darjeelings with the proprietor, who was able to tell me
precise geographical locations, from memory, of major estates, and who passed
along much tea lore (I didn't know that Margaret's Hope "travels" well, for
instance). Prices for bulk tea were well below Santa Fe tourist levels,
despite the fact that this establishment, located at Canyon and Palace, is in
the heart of the most touristy location in the whole town. The Arya was $19
for four ounces, making it $76 per pound, and the most expensive offering in
the house (and worth every cent). Other prices were considerably lower.
There are easily 100 teas in their inventory.

I'll definitely go back there, probably pretty often, not for the ambience
(which was pretty average and typical tourist Santa Fe) but for the good tea
at very reasonable prices. We were there on an early November Sunday
afternoon. It was not at all crowded, although as always in that part of
Santa Fe, parking can be difficult. I imagine in the height of the tourist
season it would be a busy place.

"ChipsChap" > wrote in message
...
>
> Here in often pretentious Santa Fe there is finally a good tea house run
by
> someone who knows a lot about tea. It goes by the unlikely name of
"Maison et
> The" which baffles me still (one would expect "Maison de The" I would
think).

Although I agree that SF can be pretentious, I am a very big fan of New
Mexico in general. Wonderful place.

The first (and second) times I visited I ate at the Coyote Cafe and I was
taken by their house iced tea, which is the Tropicana mix from San Francisco
Herb Company. It's basic black tea (tastes like Ceylon, but it's probably a
mix) with flower petals and other items which add a fruity edge. It's not
very expensive but SF Herb Company only sells it in 1 lb. packages.

I drank the stuff pretty regularly for about a year as my "house" iced tea,
but eventually got tired of it.

Perhaps it's time to start again?

Just another Santa Fe tea story. I'll have to check out this tea house the
next time I'm in SF.

Warren Liebold