Tea Review: Caramel Creme Brulee (Portal Tea)

Caramel Creme Brulee

Portal Tea
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Not provided.
Product Description: 

Caramel Crème Brulee No. 21 is always a crowd pleaser, with the decadent aroma of caramel, rich tobacco, and a sweet smokiness that lingers after its arrival.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf blend includes black tea, vanilla bean, and natural flavors.

The coppery red liquor has a rich aroma of caramel and vanilla.  The taste is smooth with rich caramel notes and a long caramel creme finish.

This truly is dessert in a cup with delightful creamy caramel notes from start to finish and just a hint of astringency in the back.  The best flavor was in the first infusion with the second being notably mellower.  Interestingly, when I allowed the 2nd infusion to cool, the rich caramel notes seemed to make an encore.  While I was quite happy with the results from a 3-minute steep, this tea does very well with a longer steeping time.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Chai Te Sellwood

Tea Chai Te serves tea in three locations across Portland: Burnside, NW 23rd which I wrote about previously, and Sellwood which I visited most recently.  Located on NE 13th Avenue near SE Nehalem Street, the iconic red caboose of the Sellwood tea room is hard to miss.

The tea room is broken out into several unique spaces.  Step inside the caboose entrance and the first space you'll encounter is a cozy, funky lounge.  

Stairs lead from the caboose to the central tea hall.

The tea hall is bright, cheerful, and spacious.  Here you'll find plentiful seating and be able to choose from a wide selection of loose leaf teas as well as teaware, pastries, and baked goods for sale.  Of course, all of the teas available for purchase are also available to enjoy in the tea room.

In addition to the caboose lounge and tea hall, there is an enclosed outdoor courtyard where dogs are welcome and a cozy room with a fireplace.

For this visit, I found a spot near the fireplace and enjoyed the charcoal roast Four Seasons Oolong (#110) with macarons.

Address:
7983 SE 13th Ave, Portland, OR 97202

Hours:
9:00am to 9:00pm

Tea Chai Te NW 23rd

Tea Chai Te has been serving Portland since 2003.  Their Alphabet District tea room is located on the 2nd floor of a beautiful historic building on the corner of NW 23rd Avenue and NW Johnson Street.

Follow the signs through the center door from the street and up a flight of stairs to a cozy space filled with comfortable vintage sofas, chairs, and dining tables.  The tea room is quite popular and my mid-morning arrival found it buzzing (quietly) with study groups and local morning enthusiasts.

Tea Chai Te offers approximately 100 varieties of green, white, oolong, black, and puerh teas, chai blends, rooibos, herbals, yerba mate, guayusa, kombucha, and bubble tea.  A variety of teaware is available, including handcrafted mugs by Jon King, bombilla, and gourds.  Tea is served in 16 ounce mugs or 20 ounce teapots, complete with warmers.

I ordered the house favorite, Velvet Oolong, which had a sweet buttery aroma and flavor that reminded me of Milk Oolong.

Plan to arrive before 10 a.m. if you are driving as street parking fills up quickly.  Please note that this location is a walk-up with no elevator access.

Address:
734 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210

Hours:
Monday-Sunday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm