I visited Vienna at the beginning of January, and while walking in the city center I stumbled upon a tea shop. Even though I did not explicitly go looking for tea, I couldn’t resist trying something. Turns out, the tea shop I found is the oldest tea shop in Vienna, founded in 1862, and called “Jäger Tee”.
I asked an attendant to recommend something because I wanted to taste a tea blend that they create in-house. He was super knowledgeable and passionate about tea, gave me a few choices and I picked their “Wiener Opern Melange“, which is a blend of Assam and Darjeeling black teas. Its price was 9.20 euros for 100g bag of loose leaves, therefore it’s not a cheap tea.
Dry and Wet Leaves
The tea looks like a blend of broken leaves with some tips. It has a nice subtle smell slightly reminiscent of chocolate or cocoa.
The wet leaves have a subtle smell of smoke, cocoa, and muscatel – which is a prized characteristic of some Darjeeling teas.
Preparation
I followed their recommended instruction for preparing the tea:
- Boiling water;
- A tea spoon of loose leaves per cup;
- Steep for 4 minutes.
Infusion and Taste
The infusion had a rich amber color and a clear appearance. Although it didn’t have a strong smell, it had subtle hints of chocolate.
The first sips of the tea were very satisfying. The infusion was full-bodied, but not heavy, and the tea had a warm, slightly spicy taste. It was sweet and sour at the beginning, then a subtle chocolate taste took over and ended with a slightly sour aftertaste and a bit of astringency.
I liked the first sips, but after a while, the sourness starts lingering in the mouth and its sweetness gets harder to appreciate. In the end, I would’ve actually preferred a more malty texture to balance it.
Conclusion and Rating
Overall, “Wiener Opern Melange” is a pleasant tea, with some characteristics of Darjeeling tea and a full-bodied infusion of Assam teas. For me, it’s great as an early morning tea. Jäger Tee have their own online tea shop if you wish to try their teas.
I’m glad I found this tea shop, it gave me ideas of how I would like my tea shop to look once I open it at some point. If I’m ever in Vienna again, I’m definitely getting some more of their teas. Using my secret formula, I rate it – 3.38 out of 5.
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Overview of “Opern Wiener Melange”
- Tea: “Wiener Opern Melange” from Jäger Tee
- From: tea store in Vienna
- Source: Assam and Darjeeling
- Type: black tea
- Overview: well-balanced black tea blend with notes of chocolate and muscatel, perfect in the morning
- My rating: 3.38/5
The shop and tea room look so quaint and inviting. Once we are able to travel again, I would like to visit Vienna and this shop will definitely be on my must-visit list!