Loose Leaf White and Rooibus Tea from The Leaf Market in Lewisville, TX, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

I was feeling adventurous today. After trying loose leaf tea for the first time last night over at my friend Heather’s, I was hooked. So I decided to go on a search for some loose leaf tea and ended up coming across The Leaf Market, not too far from where I work at Vista Ridge Mall next to Dillard’s. The owner Michel Hebert, a nice man with a hint of a foreign accent, actually opened the store just a few months ago. He admitted that at first he didn’t like loose tea until a trip to China about 10 years ago changed him forever. Since then he’d been searching for stores that carried loose tea, but after not finding many in the area, he decided to open his own. He was very helpful when I explained I wanted to try drinking more loose leaf tea and offered some advice. I think it helped that I went there on a weeknight when there weren’t too many people because it allowed him to actually walk me through their tea selection as well as show me some of the tea merchandise he carried. He even provides a short handout for brewing instructions, a handy item for newbies.

All of their teas, packaged in attractive silver tins (more photos here), are located along the right wall when you first walk into the store. Each variety is offered in 3 different sizes, allowing first timers to buy smaller tins of tea before committing to the larger tin and seasoned customers to save a little money per ounce on the larger tins. Most of their teas are also available in glass jars so customers can steal a quick whiff of a tea before purchasing. For expert tea drinkers, they offer infusions for your own custom blend of tea. Their large selection of tea sets and tea infusers will leave tea enthusiasts mesmerized. They carry sets in different styles ranging from Asian to contemporary to classic English style tea sets. Honestly, I probably could’ve stayed there all evening, just browsing.

I ended up purchasing a simple glass tea infuser for a single serving of tea (around $14.50) as well as a small tin of their Provence rooibus tea ($7), and a large tin of Silver Needle white tea ($10). Their selection of rooibus (red tea) comes in a variety of flavors, the Provence being their most popular and with good reason. The Provence tea has an enchantingly sweet aroma to it consisting of rosehip, blueberries, rose petals, lavender, raisins, black currant, and red currant. Seriously, when I brewed it for the first time, I couldn’t stop holding the cup up to my nose to inhale it’s bouquet of sweet perfume. The great thing about the rooibus tea is it’s naturally caffeine-free so you don’t have to worry about drinking it in the evenings before bedtime. I haven’t yet tried the white tea, but I’ll update once I do.

My experience at The Leaf Market was a pleasant one and without a doubt I’ll be returning, if not for the fabulous teas, then at least for Mr. Hebert’s helpfulness and knowledge on teas.