1911 North 45th Street.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 632-2055
Nestled in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, Teahouse Kuan Yin is a
welcome refuge for tea enthusiasts, University of Washington students and
Wallingford Center shoppers who are looking for an infusion of caffeine or a
relaxing herbal blend. The atmosphere is nothing like a British tearoom
you won't find ruffled curtains and linen napkins here. Instead, you will
find warm colors, soothing music, and a wall of interesting teapots,
teacups, and cozies. Acoustic live music is featured on Saturday nights.
Tea House Kuan Yin features an exotic selection of black, green, herbal, and
oolong teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Only
the freshest loose-leaf estate and origin teas are chosen. And while you
won't find fruit teas, you will find wonderful herbals with intriguing names
like Wu-Wei (a Taoist term meaning "peacable energy"), Haiku, and World
Peace. We tried an assortment of teas in each category. Wu-Wei, developed
at the teahouse, is a zesty and complex blend of hibiscus, cloves, lavender,
orange peel, sweetleaf and lemon balm.
The tea exhibits a beautiful light
plum color with a citrus and floral aroma. It is naturally sweet, tart and
spicy, yet contains no caffeine or sugar. I imagined drinking it iced for a
summer refresher. Cameronian is a soft, fruity black tea from the Cameron
Highlands of Malaysia that never turned bitter, even after steeping a very
long time. Tung Ting, an oolong, was spicy and earthy with a color like
fine jade. And the popular Sencha was a beautiful liquid green that reminds
you of springtime and fresh mown grass. As a special treat, Oren introduced
us to Gong Fu Cha ("the highly-skilled art of tea") with a 23-year old
Pu-Ehr. He explained that the tea is pressed into a brick and aged, and the
tea garden's chop is pressed into the brick. To make the tea, they break off
a small amount and brew it. Over several tastings, the color of the tea
became a rich chestnut brown and moved from an earthy flavor to a sweeter
flavor. If you fall in love with any of their teas, they are available for
purchase.
The teahouse also offers a variety of snacks and desserts. Our overwhelming
favorites were the desserts. Crafted by local independent bakers, these high
quality desserts are an excellent accompaniment to the teas. We sampled a
caramel layer cake, a slice of Dutch apple pie, and an orange cranberry
shortbread cookie. While equally wonderful, the shortbread was our choice
for best dessert. It was rich and flavorful, not dry and crumbly like we
usually expect shortbread to be. In addition to desserts, they also offer
an assortment of snacks including soup, quiche, and peroshky perfect for a
light lunch.
