Foxfire Teas

I’ve just returned from Portland. I was very sad to discover that Foxfire Teas has fallen victim to Evil Landlord Syndrome and have been evicted! Such a shame!

They are putting together their online store, which will be available in the early summer 07.

Foxfire Tea is simply fantastic. The setting is beautiful with an imposing yet grounding fireplace mantel, mohair chairs, baby blue walls on one side and a giant chalk board that serves as a divider to the kitchen space on the other. The staff our extremely friendly and very enthusiastic about the tea.

They also know what they are doing and to a tea drinker this means a lot. They know how much tea leaves to use (many/most places I have been use way too much), what kind of water and strainers and ceramic/pottery works best. Each cup of tea is delivered with an air tight lid over the strainer/cup with a running timer on the top, letting you know how long it needs to steep.

I had the Oolong Iron Goddess of Mercy, a personal favorite of mine. Theirs was so delicious that I bought a tin.

The to-purchase teas are lined along the wall in large round container tins that sit in wood cubbies. The tin labels are color coordinated by what kind of tea it is (green, black, and oolong, white, herbal). Below the tins are little drawers that contain small tins for purchase. The smallest is a 5 cup or so taster amount; the medium about 12 cups and the large is perhaps over 20, depending upon the tea. The teas range in cost and were a little high, but worth the few extra dollars.

G had the Assam and declared it the best cup of tea he had ever had in America! CF was so blown away by this she had a very stop the presses moment where she announced this to the staff telling them that G was British but had lived in America for 9 years so this was not a small thing!

Portland, you are very fortunate to have such a nice tea house that is so focused on the quality of the tea!