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| - If you've spent any time at all stopped at the traffic light at the east end of Kensington Ave (at 10th St), you've probably peered directly into this place and been curious about it, if for no other reason than that it always appears to be crowded. I'm not a fan of crowds, and I typically prefer coffee to tea, so it took me awhile to get around to trying this place out, but I'm glad I finally did.
The first thing I noted here was a curious contradiction of sorts: on one hand, this place appears to be the domain of Calgary's beatniks, bohemians, Rastafarians, and hippies (and FWIW, I don't intend to slight any of the above). On the other, however, the ambiance and layout of the tea house are ultra-refined, carefully though out, and well tended to, in a way that, from my experience in the Bay Area, would appear to cater more to the Yuppie (is this word still in the vernacular?) set than to the aforementioned groups. (Again, this isn't meant as a knock on anyone; it's just an observation.)
Regardless, possibly the coolest thing about Oolong is the way that all of the teas (of which there are probably close to a hundred varieties, though I may be exaggerating) are classified and shelved in such a way that they can be browsed (i.e. seen and smelled) prior to selection. This is a fun part of the Oolong experience, which for me lasted about 15 minutes.
A friend and I shared a large pot of a chocolate-infused mate (around $7), which was tasty, complex, and simultaneously soothing and subtly stimulating, and which seemed to last forever given the fact that it was still potent after two hot water refills (it was pretty interesting to me how the character of the tea completely changed with each refill).
I still consider myself primarily a coffee drinker, but I suspect I'll be back here often, if for no other reason than that I had a very tough time selecting one from among the teas, and feel compelled to try a few others.
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