A lot of people have been asking me to write a post about where to drink and shop tea in New York City. Today I am finally sharing my 9 favorite tea shops in the city. Without further adieu, shall we get tea drunk?
TÉ COMPANY, WEST VILLAGE
Té Company specializes in Taiwanese oolong teas. This adorable tea boutique in West Village is run by Elena and Frederico, her husband. While Elena, who is originally from Taiwan, curates and sources various Taiwanese teas, Frederico is in charge of pairing sweet and savory treats with them. Frederico was a sous chef at Per Se, 3 michelin starred restaurant by Thomas Keller in New York. What he serves at Té Company is rather simple yet quite well balanced with various Taiwanese oolongs. Especially, the braised pork belly over rice and cheesecake are a must try with a cup of authentic Taiwanese oolong.
Website : https://www.te-nyc.com/
Address : 163 West 10th Street New York, NY 10014
Telephone : (929) 335-3168
Closed on Monday
FLOATING MOUNTAIN, UPPER WEST
Since almost all the tea houses are located in downtown, if you happened to be in Upper West and try to find a tranquil place to sit down and drink Chinese teas, this is the right place. Floating mountain is more than just a tea shop. It is a cultural space where they often organize a movie night, a concert and an exhibition. The space is a quiet oasis in this busy city. I love its spacious room where you take your shoes off and sit on the floor just like many Asian countries. The sunlight, quiet music and beautiful handmade teawares will help you find your inner peace.
Website : https://www.floating-mountain.com/
Address : 239 West 72nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10023
Telephone : (646) 852-6555
Closed on Tuesday
TEA DRUNK, EAST VILLAGE
One of the first tea houses that serves authentic Chinese teas in a traditional gongfu style in the city. Tea Drunk certainly carries many authentic and rare teas from China. It has all 6 different types of Chinese teas; green, yellow, white, oolong, red and puerh teas. I would say Tea Drunk has the widest variety of the Chinese tea selections in New York City. Moreover, you can choose your own tea pet to drink teas with for the table service. Tea Drunk offers many tea classes, workshops, a tea trip, a private tea tasting.
Website : https://tea-drunk.com/
Address : 123 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
Telephone : (917) 573-9936
SETSUGEKKA BY TEA- WHISK, EAST VILLAGE
Setsugekka is one of the most recent Japanese matcha shops in New York. Setsugekka(雪月華) means snow, moon and flowers in Japanese. At Setsugekka, you can try the traditional match in a bowl, or many non-traditional matcha beverages like matcha latte and matcha affogato. Moreover, when you drink matcha in a bowl, you get to choose your own bowl displayed in the shop. Mrs. Souheki, the owner and tea sommelier, teaches various classes from the intensive Japanese tea ceremony to one day matcha making class.
Website : https://www.setsugekkany.com/
Address : 74 E 7th Street, New York, NY 10003
Telephone : (646) 895-9586
Closed on Tuesday
IPPODO TEA CO., MIDTOWN EAST
Ippodo Tea Co. is originally from Kyoto, Japan since 1717. In 2013, it opened the very first Ippodo Tea shop outside of Japan. That is this shop in New York. Located right next to Kokage, one of my favorite soba places in the city, Ippodo Tea Co. serves various matcha teas. No seats are available in this shop. However, you can enjoy Ippodo teas at the counter or to take out. Both Kokage and Kajitsu, one Michelin starred restaurant located on the 2nd floor which specializes Japanese shojin cuisine (Vegetarian Temple cuisine) serve Ippodo teas.
Website : http://www.ippodo-tea.co.jp/en/
Address : 125 E 39th St, New York, NY 10016
Telephone : (212) 370-0609
Closed on Monday
29B TEAHOUSE, EAST VILLAGE
29b Teahouse on avenue B, East Village is run by Tea Dealers, originally from Brooklyn. They carry the most variety of the teas from all around the world from Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and India. 29b Teahouse is the only tea shop that also carries alcohol. They have unique drinks like matcha beer and tea infused soju. They often host a fun tea and food pairing event with local chefs. 29b Teahouse offers both bar and table seatings. I love its modern look of the brand and the interior of the teahouse. They also carry good herbal teas from Korea like wild pear and wild persimmon if you are sensitive to caffeine.
Website: https://www.tea-dealers.com
Address: 29 Ave B NY, NY 10009
Phone: 646.864.0093
KETTL, BROOKLYN
Kettl specializes on fine Japanese teas in Brooklyn. Its small shop is located above Japanese restaurant Okonomi which offers a homemade Japanese meal for breakfast and lunch and ramen at night. The space of Kettl is rather limited. No seat is available at this shop. However, you can still enjoy its welcome drinks and purchase teas and beautiful ceramics. Kettl works closely with finest Japanese local farms to bring farm to cup culture. If you are in neighborhood, it is worth to visit Okonomi for lunch and Kettl for green tea to experience little Japanese culture in Brooklyn.
Website: https://www.kettl.co/
Address: 150 Ainslie St., 2nd Floor, Brooklyn NY, 11211
No telephone
Closed on Wednesday
PUERH BROOKLYN TEASHOP, BROOKLYN
This is another tea shop in Brooklyn where you can experience traditional tea ceremonies. Puerh Brooklyn carries a wide variety of teas from Japan, Taiwan, Nepal but mainly from China. As you already have guessed from its name, they carry a good selection of both raw (sheng) and cooked (shou) puerhs. You can purchase teas and tea related accessories, teawares and books on the first floor. There is a big table downstairs where you can relax and sip your own tea.
Website: https://www.puerhbrooklyn.com/
Address: 174 Grand Street, Brooklyn NY 11211
Phone: 347 510 8136
T SHOP, NOLITA
T shop is a small and speakeasy tea shop where the entrance is not easy to find because it is located in the back corner inside the building. There is no superfluous thing at T shop. A few tea tables and a single tea bar where you can have your tea tasting. There is no mood light or loud BGM which often makes you shout at each other to talk in many other cafes. I would come to T shop to talk to people in a quiet and comfortable space. It carries various Chinese and Taiwanese teas and you can also experience gongfu tea service here.
Website: https://www.tshopny.com
Address: 247 Elizabeth Street, Rear Store, New York, NY 10012
Phone: 347 510 8136
Each tea shop I mentioned above is unique in its regional focus, own specialty, ambiance, and service. Nevertheless, they all offer more authentic and traditional tea culture of Asia instead of the western style of afternoon tea with blended teas. It all depends on what I am in mood for, where I am, and whom I am with when it comes to decide where to go drink. Let me know which one is your favorite tea shop in the city. Please feel free to share!
