Steeped and Infused inside Adornments on Queen recently opened after changes to the city's Regent Park plans saw the introduction of mixed income properties and an opportunity to plant a high end home decor shop on the corner of Queen and Parliament. A high end tea shop inside seems like a good fit, natch.

There's a reason I prefer tea to coffee - it's because of the dizzying array of blends and flavours that suit just about any mood or occasion. It's the delicate balance of ingredients made up of flowers, herbs, fruits and tea that makes me crave a cup more than once a day. I have morning tea, tea for after meals, tea to pick me up, and tea to bring me down. Right now, I'm waiting on my iced tea to steep and cool for the hot July days ahead, obviously I just can't say enough good things about tea.

At Steeped and Infused I satisfied my tea craving during a laid back visit to Adornments on Queen. You might already be familiar with the location on Queen at Jones , and this isn't a new location as much as it's a licensed reseller of Steeped and Infused teas, inside the luxury home decor shop. Adornments sells cute little french design inspired home decor items and gifts, so a luxury tea shop inside seems like a good fit for the location.

There are a few shops in the city that have similar offerings, like David's Tea or Tealish but this is the first one I've been to that has tins of samples right out for me to touch and smell on my own. The emphasis at Steeped and Infused is on education. Each tin comes with a description of where the tea came from, what it is made up of and what health benefits it might have. I appreciated not having to describe to the person behind the counter what I was looking for, because sometimes at tea shops I just don't know and want to smell everything before I choose.

Steeped and Infused has a few custom blends like "lavender lemon mint" as well a some unique blends like "Canadian Maple", "Peach Blossom White" and "Lemon Chiffon". Everything is sold by weight, with a small 60g ranging from $8-10, medium and large sizes also available. If you don't want to commit, sample baggies are available for $1.25 each or 5 for $5.

For a shop inside a shop it's actually quite comfortable to sit and relax. There is free WiFi, and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. There are lots of treats to satisfy your sweet tooth like Mrs. Shorts short breads for $1.25 and muffins, cakes, tarts and pies, fresh all-butter croissants and sandwiches from Cafe Florentin.

Steeped and Infused is open Tuesday to Friday, 11-7 and 11-5 on Saturday and Sunday.