Almost all of the shopping I do these days, tea and yarn included, is primarily online. However, you just can’t beat going to a local tea (or yarn) store to get to view, smell, or touch the goods in person.  I was excited to learn that there is a little tea shop in Brookside, a neighborhood in Kansas City and that it was right near work.

Last week a coworker and I went over at lunch time to check out the Tea Market, and I have to say we were not disappointed.

The store is super cute and staffed by the friendly owner. She personally selects and blends about 100 tea varieties in the store, as well as selling a really good selection of prepackaged teas and accessories (mugs, paper filters, infusers of various sorts, teapots, etc).

The loose leaf tea is set up in canisters on one wall. Each canister contains a description of the ingredients in the tea and a price per ounce. There’s also a tiny smelling jar for each canister so you can view and smell what you’re selecting. My coworker and I stood there for several minutes just smelling and enjoying the varieties.

Once you select what you would like, the owner weighs and packages it in either a foil ziplock pouch (1oz) or a tin (2oz and up).  She also told me that if I bring the tin back, she’ll re-use it for my next order and take 10% off the price.

I purchased several teas which you’ll see here over the course of the next few weeks.

Today’s selection, Birthday Tea is described as a celebratory blend of black tea with raspberry, passion fruit and marigolds.  I purchased a 2oz tin for $4.00 an ounce.

When I smelled this tea it smelled fruity and sweet and reminded me of tea party cakes.  I could definitely smell the raspberry and there was something else unidentifiable.  Once brewed it still smelled deliciously sweet and fruity. I wish I had a full ingredients list so I could tell you more of what is in this tea. I can identify the marigold flowers, and there are also some pretty blue flowers that turned pink when steeped in hot water.  The tea did not disappoint – it was a good black tea, but also had a sweet, tart and fruity taste. I’m betting this would be fabulous iced in the summer.