My first time in was this past weekend. Doing a little(not) tea shopping as one does on a trip. The set up is for buying teas and there is a vast selection of pretty much all the classic tea types. The space is a little tight and when I was there a bit crowded which is great for them as a business but slightly claustrophobic for me. The teas I tasted were of good quality and I bought a few. The ceramics and tea accessories are all very nice too. I think the fact that this place is on the Chinatown tourist walks explains the heavy traffic and that is OK if there was just a little more space. I every once in a while like to have dim sum or dinner near by and a tea bar here to have a single 5 gram brew would be nice.
Last weekend went to SF to visit a friend and I never need an excuse to visit tea shops. What a great establishment. I felt like the entire place was there just for me. The staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. I started with a sample of the brew of the day and then it was blast off. Sat at the bar and tasted about seven different teas all mostly from Taiwan and of a heavier oxidation and roast, just as I like them. The owner was brewing, chatting and sharing all his tea thoughts to help me choose what I really wanted in my tea. I came out with three types plus a sample. The ceramics are great, expensive, but they are all hand made by fine craftsmen and worth every penny to add a few to my collection, but I will have to leave the other half behind next time to buy some. All in all a great experience.
Cute little tea shop in the New World Mall in Flushing New York. The proprietor, Susan, has mostly Taiwan teas of many varieties. I went for the first time a couple of weeks ago with a close friend and we sampled a few teas. A jasmine green tea, Laotian green and a Lishan oolong. We were there for 2 1/2 hours. We collected anyone who came into the shop to try the teas we were sampling and it was a veritable “Tea Party”. We left with a few samples as well as a box of the green jasmine and a Lishan red tea.
Yesterday I went back with my husband and had another great “Tea Party”. This time Alishan and a Dancong oolong tasting. We left with both. The Alishan blew our socks off, smooth honeysuckle, buttery in every aspect, even up to the 12 steep. What a great way to enjoy the day, tooling around Flushing eating, drinking and exploring.
Great little tea shop specializing in Chinese tea. There is a bar and table set ups for gonfu style tea drinking. I decided to sit at the bar and chat up the server who was extremely knowledgeable in her teas. There is a menu that covers all of the styles from white to black. Within those styles there is one tea which they offer different grades. I chose to start with the high grade Bi Luo Chun as I am new to greens and was curious if I had been doing the preparation correctly at home for some BLC I bought on-line. The answer was no. She walked me through the temperature, tea/water ratio, what water to use, steeping times, vessel to use, visual inspection to show high grade versus inferior grade, she was amazing. Then the tasting, we talked about where the flavors hit and the aromas as well and to somewhere take time and sip on some plain hot water to go back to the tea and see what flavors shine. What a great experience. She then poured me a few steepings of a previous customers Ooolong that was not finished, very generous in deed. By then a few other customers arrived and sat at the bar and we had a tea-fest. We all shared our teas (BLC, Shou and Lapsang Souchong)and not a bad one in the bunch. She also shared her private tea that she drinks for herself, made by a friend in China. I need one of those friends. I had a great night. The shop also carries tea-ware for sale, all things gongfu. There are limited to go cups of tea but that will change as the shop gets more popular. As of right now plan on bringing cash because the internet provider is dragging its heels to get the place up and running. You can also sign up on their website for tea memberships. I truly feel blessed to have a teashop to call my own now.
They were not in the least interested in selling me anything, they just kept on repeating over and over to buy the “fall green tea”. When I asked about certain types of oolong, they said to buy the “fall green tea”, it tastes the same. Will never go back.
