Great Tea Starts with Great Water At Teh Ku

I've been on a writing hiatus for a while, and the place that I tried this afternoon took me out of it. Yes, it was that good. It's a small tea house called Teh Ku. And after staying in the writing hiatus, all I needed was some good tea!

The decor in Teh Ku had a contemporary vibe, and it also had live music on weekend nights. And the thing I love there was that they had a private room that seats about 6-8 people. The room also completed with a comfy sofa and flat screen TV and you could have your private party there. The service was also better because they actually took your order at the table, so if you had any questions, they would be able to answer right away.

I tried the Fruit Paradise tea first, which had apple, berry, rose pedal, and citrus scent all nicely blended with the hibiscus blossoms. The fragrance was so great, I could smell it while it was being delivered from the kitchen. The hibiscus tea tasted tart, and the fruit bits not only gave the the tea extra layer of flavor in smell, but also provided some sweetness to the otherwise tart tasting tea. The tea that Teh Ku sold usually came with very little sugar, so you could truly appreciate the flavor of the tea, and adjusted the sweetness to your own taste. I've also tried a tea called Precious Peach, which has Rooibos with peach pieces. The Rooibos had a distinguish and slight sweet scent to it. And the peach pieces changed the tea taste and was deliciously peachy!

My fiance tried the Silver Needle, and the aroma was just amazing. It's not strong like the fruit blend, but the aroma slowly and steadily streamed into your nose. And the tea tasted delicious and sweet. (not sweet like sugar sweet, but more like natural sweetness after you drank a really good blend of tea.) He also tried the Masala Chai. The chai had a very strong ginger and cinnamon smell, but the taste was not as strong. It would be great just with the tea alone, but the milk in the chai was a little bit overwhelming. If the chai was brewed a little longer and had a stronger taste, then the milk added would be perfect.

Another thing I liked about Teh Ku was the water that they used for their tea. The water was not tap water, so the tea that was brewed from there can really show off the true flavor without the chemical in the tap water, which was extemely important because even though the tea was the main focus in a tea house, the water is the one aspect that will make or break the taste of your tea. And which was the precise reason why Zen Cha's tea does not taste as good as it could have been.

Teh Ku also has tea tasting on Thursday nights, which I was very excited to hear about and looking forward to doing. It also has a variety of desserts and sandwiches. And, each Sunday it also has a featured dinner menu that you can check out and make reservations, which would be a great Sunday activity to wind down and enjoyed some great food and tea with live music playing in the background. Not to mention, the price of the tea was much better than some of its competitors. You can get a cup full of tea for $2 (nice size cup, not wimpy cup), or a huge pot of tea that would get 4 or 5 nicely sized cups of tea for $4.

Teh Ku opened up not too long ago, but it certainly has potential and will no doubt become a great tea house in the Columbus area! I would rank Teh Ku a 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. If you would like to try some great tea in the Dublin area or just want to chill and relax with a great pot of tea, please go to Teh Ku Tea Company at 55 South High Street, Dublin, OH 43017. www.TehKu.com

P.S. According to MD Girl, the traditional South African way to add sugar and milk to your Rooibos tea is to first put in the milk, then the hot tea(so the tea will temper the milk), and finally the sugar. This will allow the proper blending of the tea, and ensure a delightful experience! (and she was very excited to see that a place in Columbus carries yummy Rooibos tea!!)