Redeux oc 2013 hires 80

Lavender Tea Lounge:
104 North El Camino Real | San Clemente, CA 92672
949-218-3103 | www.lavenderloungetea.com
Lavender Tea Lounge is like a cool clubhouse in which everyone is
invited. Located on the corner of S. Camino Real and Avenida Del
Mar above a Baskin Robbins, this little spot has all the charm of a
childhood tree house. It is down-right adorable. The lavender walls
and twinkling lights made me feel I had stumbled into a dream.
The ridiculously helpful young man behind the counter led us through
their wide array of products, including close to 150 loose-leaf teas
from all around the world are sold under owner Joel Janc’s company
Pangea Tea. Close to 80 percent of their blends are made and inspired
in house. My personal favorite was the ultra creative L.S.T!
the art
AFTERNOON TEA: a social
engagement based on an old
English tradition in which you
enjoy tea along with a variety of
traditional English snacks like
finger sandwiches and pastries.
Each month they feature three teas and specialty drinks, always
offering their customers something creative. Open daily from 106, this spot is super low-key and a treasure to the locals. They take
extreme pride in the high-quality of their tea. To go with the perfect
cup, they also offer a small menu of tasty treats like vegan cupcakes
and gluten-free cookies that are served with a heavenly lavender
butter cream they make in-house.
LOOSE LEAF: Lavender Lounge has the loveliest teas, but the locals did not have
hot teas in their hands. What they did have was something called a
“Choobee.” Strange? Indeed. Delicious? You bet. Lavender Lounge
is most popular for this beverage, and so I had my first Choobee. A
Choobee is like a distant and far more delicious cousin to a Boba. I
hesitate to even draw the comparison, but the appearance begs for
it. Choobee’s are made from immature coconut meat. The naturally
occurring jelly is then flavored and added to iced teas. They have
flavors like strawberry, vanilla pineapple, mango, passion and lychee.
They are chewy and yummy, and you suck them up through your
straw with your iced tea. Trust me, no one was more hesitant to try
this new tea beverage than me, but I swear to you it was amazing.
ENGLISH SCONE: a
“traditional” English scone is
served with afternoon tea. It
is a flaky crusted pastry that is
both salty and a touch sweet.
It is served warm with jam and
Devon cream. It does not have
any frosting.
The little Lavender Tea Lounge was full of its fair share of surprises.
At the core of the business they are providing quality teas and have a
dedication to the care and craft in brewing them. Next time you find
yourself in San Clemente be sure to stop by and try them out yourself.
80 |
TASSEOGRAPHY:
of reading tea leaves.
| RE:DEUX 2013 Issue
a blend
of tea that is not bagged,
prepared with boiling water
and some sort of strainer,
either on the cup or in the pot.
MATE: a traditional South
American tea made from
steeping yerba matte leaves
with a very high caffeine
content.
SIPHON METHOD: A
vacuum coffee (or in our case,
tea) maker that works on the
principle of expansion and
contraction of water vapor.
This is what allows the device
to brew a full-infusion style
of coffee or tea and filter the
grounds and leaves efficiently,
leaving a generally clean,
pristine cup.
ROOIBOS:
a root from
South Africa that grows
decaffeinated, dried tea and
is brewed like a traditional
tealeaf. The essence is very
smooth.