Samovar Tea Lounge

Hi,

Last weekend, I had been to a place called the SamovarTea Lounge. I had seen this shop a while back, while driving by, and the name made me take notice.

I had first seen the word Samovar in "War and Peace",a book by Leo Tolstoy, considered a classic. While I'm not going to rave over it, it certainly was a well written novel, beautifully covering the lifestyles and events of old Russia, and the French invasion. In that book, Samovar referred to tea, rather a high tea,where tea was served with some snacks. I found out that Samovar actually refers to a Russian invention to boil tea, and literally translates to "self boiler".It became a symbol of Russian hospitality and family comfort, as well as a sign of prosperity.

Tea has been consigned to second rate status in theUnited States. I have seen very few places with really good tea, and even there, it awaits patiently by the side, away from the lime light of coffee, America's favorite drink. Therefore, a dedicated tea lounge in the middle of Noe Valley, close to home, was definitely an intriguing prospect.

Last weekend, I decided to check the place out.Carrying along volume 5 of Ponniyin Selvan, I drove down to the Samovar Tea Lounge, and was happy and surprised to get parking right across the street from it.

Inside, they had a huge assortment of teas from around the world - green, white, and black teas. I still haven't found out what white teas are! But I was really glad to see Assam tea there. I decided to give it a try, and was not at all disappointed. A huge ceramic pot of tea, with about 5 smalls cups worth. It was accompanied by a nice fig cake.

The place had some interesting dishes as well. I decided to make a lunch of it, and also ordered some samosas. They were both delicious, and going by the appearance of the other dishes that other people ordered, it all looked really good.

The tea was served on a tray lined with bamboo, with a nice wooden container for the sugar cubes, and a ceramic container of milk, and a small ceramic handleless cup for the tea. The decor was definitely east asian, with a Buddhist decor, and music that ranged from mridangam, to salsa.

I later on tried the Darjeeling tea too, and am now waiting to try the Nilgiri, before moving on to someJapanese varieties.

Daddy, I think you will really like this place. Infact, I was thinking of you on my first trip there,and how you will like it.

-Sridhar