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Blame it on Alice. As we await Tim Burton's sure-to-be eye-popping interpretation of what Wonderland might look like, our dreams (or perhaps they're hallucinations?) are filled with tea.
But the Mad Hatter of "Alice in Wonderland" isn't the only one who knows how to throw a wild tea party. Local restaurants are adding rare and vintage teas to their beverage menus faster than a wily white rabbit can disappear down a rabbit hole.
The man responsible for supplying chefs and sommeliers with many of these top teas, Rare Tea Cellar proprietor Rodrick J. Markus, is neither crazy nor prone to wearing oversized top hats. But he is rather mad about tea.
"It not only helps you digest and gives you energy, the flavors are just incredible," says Markus, who's been importing tea for 12 years.
Some of Markus' clients, an impressive list that includes Blackbird, Boka, Graham Elliot, L2O, Naha, the Publican, Tru and more than 30 others, actually throw tea parties. Well, tea dinner parties, that is. Like a wine or beer dinner, a tea dinner features several courses with unique beverage pairings.
"There's more to tea than just the common cup of hot tea," says David Burke's Primehouse executive chef Rick Gresh, who's partnering with Markus on a dinner next week. At Primehouse and the James Chicago Hotel, which introduced a high-end tea program shortly after opening in 2006, teas started traditionally, complementing breakfast and lunch. Now you'll find them on the dinner table, both steeped in hot water and as ingredients in Gresh's food and sommelier Rachael Johnson's cocktails.
To help you find a tea that suits you, we've compiled options for everyone based on recommendations from Markus.
Neophyte
Your cup of tea: First flush darjeeling
Get it at: Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
Cost: $3.25
A Himalayan tea that's both organic and biodynamic, as well as incredibly high in antioxidants, this easy-drinking tea is strong but very smooth. A memorable muscatel-like flavor and a nose Markus describes as "heavenly" make it the ultimate gateway tea.
Foodie
Your cup(s) of tea: Emperor's 2008 oak barrel-aged keemun; 2001 wintage pu-erh wild rose; 1978 vintage cave-aged pu-erh; 1983 vintage private reserve masterpiece pu-erh
Get 'em at: David Burke's Primehouse
Cost: $79 as part of a five-course tea dinner (6:30 p.m. Wednesday, reservations required)
Vintage teas such as pu-erh, which are cave-aged much like a cheese, have distinct flavors that make them a better match for foods than lighter young teas. "Because of how much the flavor is enhanced with aging, it's more like a fine wine," says Gresh, who'll pair aged steaks with the rare teas at the upcoming dinner using the same principles and profiles he'd rely on to make wine pairings.
High roller
Your cup of tea: 1949 vintage private reserve pu-erh
Get it at: Spiaggia
Cost: $195
Want to try the most expensive tea in town? Until recently, that honor went to the 1985 masterpiece edition pu-erh, a super-rare vintage tea sold for $250 a pot at NoMI. But while NoMI reworks its extensive tea menu, this uber high-end black tea, which comes from China's Yunnan province (like all pu-erh teas), is the next best thing.
Aesthete
Your cup of tea: Midnight jasmine blossom
Get it at: Chalkboard
Cost: $7; also available as part of afternoon tea service ($19, 2-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday)
This Chinese tea, a ball scented seven times with fresh jasmine flowers and held together with a single silk thread, is nothing short of stunning. It slowly opens in hot water to reveal layers of beauty-and a soothing floral flavor balanced with grassy vegetal notes.
Trail-blazer
Your cup of tea: Emperor's Hojicha
Get it at: Blackbird
Seasoned sippers looking for the next frontier in tea will be intrigued by this earthy Japanese gem, which represents a new style of tea: savory. The organic roasted green tea, which smells of the salty sea, will be available at Blackbird within the next couple of weeks. Other savory options include Sakura cherry blossom, available seasonally at Spiaggia. It's light and floral, as you'd expect from a cherry blossom, but a hint of salt puts it in a class of its own. Inquire about it by name if it's not on the current menu.
M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix dining producer. kpratt@tribune.com
