Stephanie Hofmann
“Don’t worry, we’re the same,” reads the handwritten sign in the window of Sencha Tea Bar, 430 State St. Sencha is essentially the same business as its forerunner, The Steepery, but its parent company in Minnesota decided to rebrand so all six of its locations would have the same name.
But now Sencha has over 100 new loose-leaf teas to choose from, and they can be made up in any number of different preparations, from hot or iced to tea lattes or bubble teas. If you can think of something to do with tea, milk, flavor syrups and jellies, it’s possible.
The loose-leaf teas — in varieties that include green, white, black, oolong, pu-erh, guayusa and tisanes (that is, herb teas) — are made according to the proper timing designations with a third-wave-style timer. Each tea’s proper steeping time is listed in the tea bar catalog, which also provides descriptions of each variety.
I went with the tea of the day, “Congo Bongo,” a black flavored tea described as “a little nutty with pieces of shaved coconut.” I ordered it hot with mango bubbles, which was a panic-order at the time resulting from the avalanche of choices, and one that strikes me as weird even now, but it was simple, warming and good — a vivid black tea with just the right amount of tangy sweetness.
