Great tea at the Columbia Pike Farmer's Market!

Ok, so up to this point, i have been concentrating on coffee. But I did promise that I would be discussing tea on this blog as well. So, where are my tea lovers at? I'm going to start off by expressing that as much as I love a cup of coffee, it's hard to just enjoy coffee all day long like you can with a good quality tea. Owing to my recent post on the "Oh! Pickles/Hondo Coffee" booth, I thought this post to be extremely appropriate. There is a wonderful booth that sells loose leaf teas at the Columbia Pike Farmer's Market called "Tea Co." The owner, Myra Ceaser doesn't run a fancy opperation, but she sources quality loose leaf teas from around the world, so you won't be disappointed with the lack of flair. It doesn't take away from the quality of the product. She sources many traditional and contemporary tea blends, with staples ranging from English Breakfast, to Early Grey, to Jasmine Green Tea, and everything in between. Occassionally, if you get lucky, she'll have a special order she just recently placed, and you can get something truly amazing, such as the exotic "Golden Monkey" black tea sourced straight from China, or the wonderful "Biodynamic, Organic Darjeeling" a completely organic Darjeeling loose leaf tea that truly is the "champagne" of teas. She has a wonderful oolong (on the darker side of the oolong spectrum) that she sources regularly and you can get a variety of white tea blends and mixes of green tea such as her traditional "Moroccan Mint" (spearmint and green tea leaves together), and her "Barrack o'Baby" (a very fruity blend with the nuce, subtle notes of white tea underneath). Tea Co. caries a wide array of rooibos and herbal tea blends as well, and even has yerba mate for those of us who wish to taste a little of the South American tradition. She's also a relaible source for a QUALITY matcha powder (which is rare in this area). Here's a little profile of her company that I managed to find online: http://www.undergroundtreelive.com/teaco.html And here's a link to some info on her company for the Facebook fans: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Teaco-Organic-Loose-Leaf-Teas/167879049915299?sk=info Anyway, I haven't forgotten about you my fellow tea lovers! I will be doing more posts on tea in the future, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you get a chance to check out Tea Co. I recommend you do so by visiting the Columbia Pike Farmer's market and talking to Myra herself. She mans her own booth so if you have questions about the source for her leaves or the ingredients, you can find out straight from the owner!

A great free cup of joe every Sunday? (Columbia Pike Farmer's Market)

So, every sunday I frequent the Columbia Pike farmer's market which is right in front of the Rite Aid Pharmacy at the corner of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive. It is a wonderful place to get your grass-fed/pasture-raised meats (Smith Meadows), get some amazing raw cheeses (two vendors), and of course, grab your locally grown veggies! One of my favorite booths is from a local outfit called "Oh! Pickles" which offers a variety of fermented vegetables for sale. They have Sauerkraut, pickles of all different types, pickled tomatoes, fermented hot peppers, kimchi, pickled okra... Almost everything they have is wonderful there, and of course, you get your probiotics from fermented foods so it's great for you as well! But "Oh! Pickles" is not it's own company as far as I can tell. It is owned by the Hondo Coffee company. Seems odd that a coffee company would own a local purveyor of fermented vegetables, yes? Well I'm not complaining because there's a wonderful perk to this "partnership." They always have a display of their various coffee roasts which range from the very light (they have a blonde-esque roast), to a medium roast (Full City), all the way down to their darkest offerings (French and Italian Raosts). Every week they have two or so flavors of coffee in big airpots with cups, sugar, and cream available. I remember the first time I purchased some fermented veggies from them and noticed the coffee. The guy working there saw me eying it and said "why don't you have a cup of one of our roasts to see if you like it?" I asked him if it would cost me anything. He said no. I figured that he was trying to sell me on some of their coffee beans so I got lucky that time in scoring a free cup of java. But no, they have a cup for collecting tips over by the airpots, and every week I go and whoever is working the booth says to me that the coffee is free and just that I can tip if I like it. I usually do just that. But it's nice to know that every Sunday I can go over to their booth and get a free cup. Skip the lines at a local coffee shop? Yes please. Skip the cost? Even better! Still get a great cup? Sure! This is a wonderful feature of their little "outfit." If you have an "Oh! Pickles" vendor at your local farmer's market (they go to several in the DC area), then I am sure you will have access to the same free cuppa. I recomend you go and give them a try at least once. You've got nothing to lose on a free cup!

The quest for a great iced coffee (Arlington, VA part 3)

Ok, so I have a friend who works in Rosslyn, around the corner from a place known simply as "Coffee Express."  While I can imagine there are thousands of places across the country called Coffee Express, to my knowledge, this place is not a chain establishment, so it merits inclusion in here.  My friend convinced me to try it because he said that in the Rosslyn office district, it serves a rather large crowd on most mornings.  Obviously, it fills a needed niche for coffee beverages and benefits from an ideal location.

When you walk inside the establishment, there is nothing pretty or fancy about this place.  it does what it does, and it does it well.  It serves up coffee and espresso beverages.  It does not serve up particularly high quality product, but their prices are slightly lower than many of the local DC area coffeehouses and caffeine purveyors, so you can't really argue with that.

The food offerings are boringly typical for a coffee joint as well, but probably serves the needs of the Rosslyn lunch crowd who want to be able to get an afternoon cup and pick up a sandwhich or something at the same time.

Owing to the fact that this place serves an important place for those in search of a quick morning pick-me-up, I decided I would venture here and include it among my reviews.  When I was there, I was served by a very gracious Asian man.  He even bowed slightly when he handed over my order.  Again, service is important so points to that!  The iced coffee I had when I was there was strong.  VERY strong.  If I could call a roast "ultra dark" I think this would qualify.  The brew was dark and bitter.  It's not the kind of coffee I want to be drinking on a daily basis (I don't know how some of the Rosslyn office crowd does it), but every now and then, a stronger brew does make an ocassional nice departure from the more mellow flavors I typically go for.  And in combination with the fast-hitting caffeine (REALLY fast, good for a morning jolt) of the brew, the bitter flavor will definitely help wake you up.

This place is not where you want to go for a quality cup of java on that first date, when the family is in town, or when you want to have a leasurly afternoon coffeehouse experience.  Not in the least!  But it serves the Rosslyn office crowd admirably and has a great location, so you can't fault it for what it does.