Magaly J.
Yelp
I was looking for a local, good quality tea tasting in Los Angeles, and found Mama Wang's Pantry.
Yes, it is a little bit of a drive if you're coming from the Valley (i.e. the San Fernando Valley). In the middle of the day on the weekend, it is about a 1 hour drive but it can be as short as 45 minutes (if traffic is light).
It costs $10 per person for a tea testing. You get to taste 5 teas of your choice and it's only 1 cup per tea selection (see photos below). There are no other items or services included. However, you can certainly add on more from the menu for an additional cost. It's a reasonable price and the best you'll find in Los Angeles county. These are the 5 teas that I tried:
1st - Quanzhou Milk Oolong
- this was my favorite; there was a lot of flavors happening in my mouth; somehow it was sweet even though there was no sugar. I can picture myself adding some milk to it. I ended up buying this one at the end of our tasting.
2nd - Versailles Lavender E. Grey
- Ingredients: Black tea, Lavender + Cornflower petals, Natural flavors
- you can actually taste the lavender, and it's nice to sip on. This was my second favorite.
3rd - Silver Moonlight Wild White
- white tea
- very mild flavor but good. This is the type of tea I wouldn't get sick of because the flavor is not overwhelming or too bold. Extremely light.
4th - Digest & Purify - Digestive Blue
- Ingredients: Anise, Licorice, Fennel, Currant, Rosehip, Butterfly blue pea flower, Hibiscus, Star anise, Nettle, Jasmine, Natural flavors (organic compliant).
- We chose this because it has blue pea flower (and I like the cold herbal tea some cultures make from it). Since I do not like licorice or star anise, I feel I can't really assess this tea without bias. I wasn't a fan of it, but if you like what's in the ingredients then you'll likely enjoy this tea.
5th - Shanghai Lichee Jasmine
-Ingredients: Green tea, Jasmine petals, Natural flavors
- the tea was bitter so I'm not sure it the tea was steeped for too long or if I did not like the flavor. It was my least favorite.
Additionally, I had the pleasure of tasting Mama Wang's lemon bar (and it was the best lemon bar I've ever had -- truly). This does not come included in the tea tasting.
This is a small shop that offers a variety of quality teas to choose from. See photo attached which shows the interior and a picture of the menu. I enjoyed hanging out with the business owner during our 1.5 hour tea tasting. She made the experience joyful and fun.