Sloane Tea, by far, is my favourite tea company and I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve waited to post this. I think partly it’s because I wanted to keep it to myself, but how can something this good (and good looking) not be shared? Sloane is a Canadian gem with exoticly sourced teas overseen by Hoda Paripoush, the founder, director, and head tea sommelier of her company (she is amazing btw). Joseph and I were fortunate enough to be invited by Hoda to the pop-up shop display at her office, and fell in love with everything.
Although currently there are no stand alone stores, everything is sold on their website and at select fine food retailers (McEwan and Pusateri’s comes to mind), and served in restaurants and cafes (Ritz-Carlton, Canoe, Bobbette and Belle, Holts Cafe, to name a few). This display isn’t usually open to the public, but only occasionally when you may find her pop-up shop in downtown Toronto or at conventions. These glass sample tea bottles resemble perfume bottles, and with a background in perfumery, Hoda makes sure that the teas not only look and taste great, but smell great as well.
Aren’t these tins just stunning? They’re well constructed, and far prettier than any makeup container that I’ve ever owned. I’m sure I’ll be holding my makeup brushes in them soon afterwards. They’ve quickly become collectibles to me, and easily something that I’m proudly displaying in my home. Elegant and timeless, each collection has a different pattern on it as designed by Hoda and inspired by her travels abroad and her fondness for textiles: white almond blossoms from China, silk kimono patterns from Japan, and saris from India. There are the two giant black and white tins with tea sachets inside, and five different collections of the smaller loose leaf tins. Gorgeous!
We tried these French bonbons made with crystalized flowers (violets and roses), that you can enjoy with your beverage or on their own. Hoda taught us another way of consuming sugar in your tea: rest the bonbon in the side of your cheek and let it melt while sipping tea. They taste as good as they look ;).
Wedding favours
Heavenly Cream – I love these dainty pink tea caddies the most!
Marrakesh Mint – MY FAV. This is very soothing, with a BOLD minty flavour.
Sloane Tea was commissioned to create Chef Francois Payard’s custom blend of tea. We remember Payard fondly for his patisseries in Vegas!
I went home with these 5 beauties, one from each collection, and look forward to enjoying them with friends and family.
Although the tins contain loose leaf teas, some are also available with tea sachets. There is a very generous amount of leaves in each pouch! The sachets are made with microfine mesh, in the shape of a pyramid which gives the leaves a lot of space to diffuse. The earl grey smells phenomenal with no artificial colours or flavours, and contain all natural bergamot from Italy. Only whole leaves are selected. These days, tea can also be used in ingenious ways like infused into baked goods (ie. earl grey macarons), and even made into tea cocktails!
Left: Rouge Provence made with rooibos, my favourite tea. Although I generally prefer rooibos on its own, this blend is sweet and fruity with dried blueberries and florals.
Right: Grand Genmatcha, containing Japanese green tea and toasted brown rice
Left: Jasmine Snow Dragon – the leaves are rolled and dried onto bamboo sticks and infused with the scent of jasmine blossoms
Right: Jasmine Pink Lemonade – this is a light tea blend, with a refreshing citrus aroma
Darjeeling 2nd Flush
Darjeeling is so fine that it’s considered to be the “champagne of teas”, and as Hoda explained, Darjeeling is actually the name of a protected mountainous region of India where this is grown on steep hills. The teas can’t be called Darjeeling unless it comes from Darjeeling. Flush refers to harvest, and the second flush for Darjeeling is prized for its unique profile. The tea has an amber colour with a woodsy flavour and aroma, and to me it resembles Tieguanyin (my go-to Chinese tea). Sloane has exclusive North American distribution rights to the award-winning Jungpana tea estate where their particular Darjeeling comes from, and with no surprise, because Hoda travels to these places all over the world (India, France, China, Taiwan etc) while gaining the trust of the estate owners and working side by side with them to handpick the leaves herself.
It’s so refreshing and inspiring to find someone as passionate about their craft as Hoda; she followed her dreams and made Sloane what it is today since 2008. Ever since she was a child, tea was the beverage of choice; she also knew she had a discerning nose and could even “smell celery boiling.” Originally while she was in her studies to become a Naturopathic doctor, she decided to pursue her love for scents and studied perfumery in Grasse, France instead. With the intention to incorporate and infuse scents into teas and to treat teas like perfumes, soon afterwards she graduated from the first class of the Tea Sommelier Program of Canada, and also holds dual certification from the US Tea Council Specialty Tea Institute program. Talk about perseverance and hardwork! I’m a firm believer of working for what you want; you get what you put in. She is well studied, knowledgeable, and most importantly very personable and easy to talk to. It’s awe inspiring to know someone who has cultivated their dreams into a reality. Hoda, we wish you continued success and many more teas to come!
Cheers,
Melissa
Sloane Fine Tea Merchants
sloanetea.com
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