Lan Su Chinese Garden's Tearoom provides delicate, tasty tea and more
You might visit the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon to experience “the most authentic Suzhou-style Chinese garden outside of China” according to the comprehensive and not overwhelming guidebook. You’d be right to do so. Lan Su Chinese Garden provides a nice place to contemplate, relax and to get away from the city at large. Skyscrapers may still peek inside, and the homeless can be seen from inside the gardens, but overall, the area is a great place to learn a little about Chinese culture while taking in a breath of air enhanced through the fragrance of plants.
However, if all you do is visit the garden, you will be missing out on the amazing tea house within the garden walls. As an avid coffee drinker, tea usually leaves me lukewarm, but the Tower of Cosmic Reflections changed that. I chose the Eight Treasures tea, which is full of fruit and flavor and leaves a sweet after taste. The server showed me how to use the tea cup it was served in, and even advised that some of the berries could be eaten after the tea was steeped. The cups are small, but you will get more water – and 2 servings of tea were good enough for me. My Russian daughter, who is an avid tea drinker, and my Russian wife enjoyed the tea so much, they immediately bought 2 containers to take home with them.
The Cosmic Tower also offers up some great treats to go with your tea. The pressed plums were amazing! Flavorful and spiced well without being too savory, they were delightful. My second favorite was the Mang Gong with the lotus seed mooncake a little less flavorful but still good. If you happen to live in or visit Portland often, you might do good to get a membership to the Lan Su Garden. It will get you admission into the park and 10% off your purchases at the Tower of Cosmic Reflections. You should find that the membership will pay for itself, long before you see the monetary benefits.
Check out this video of the Waterfall at Lan Su Garden on YouTube.
Check out photos of Lan Su Chinese Gardens
However, if all you do is visit the garden, you will be missing out on the amazing tea house within the garden walls. As an avid coffee drinker, tea usually leaves me lukewarm, but the Tower of Cosmic Reflections changed that. I chose the Eight Treasures tea, which is full of fruit and flavor and leaves a sweet after taste. The server showed me how to use the tea cup it was served in, and even advised that some of the berries could be eaten after the tea was steeped. The cups are small, but you will get more water – and 2 servings of tea were good enough for me. My Russian daughter, who is an avid tea drinker, and my Russian wife enjoyed the tea so much, they immediately bought 2 containers to take home with them.
The Cosmic Tower also offers up some great treats to go with your tea. The pressed plums were amazing! Flavorful and spiced well without being too savory, they were delightful. My second favorite was the Mang Gong with the lotus seed mooncake a little less flavorful but still good. If you happen to live in or visit Portland often, you might do good to get a membership to the Lan Su Garden. It will get you admission into the park and 10% off your purchases at the Tower of Cosmic Reflections. You should find that the membership will pay for itself, long before you see the monetary benefits.
Check out this video of the Waterfall at Lan Su Garden on YouTube.
Check out photos of Lan Su Chinese Gardens