We had the incredible privilege of visiting 15 different tea stores in New York City during a recent trip. One interesting point about the tea market is the diversity of merchants, stores, and experiences. Tea culture certainly has a traditional and historical background, but it is also evolving as new people and products leave their impression on the landscape. NYC is the perfect place to capture different intricacies of tea culture from around the world, so here are our 15 favorite tea places in NYC, along with a first hand account of some cool experiences and products.
OXA House Coffee and Tea
We started our journey in Brooklyn, and our first stop was OXA House Coffee and Tea. OXA occupies a small storefront on Broadway. You are immediately greeted at the entrance by an array of teas and coffees in glass jars; tea is on the left wall, and coffee is on the right. The store is well organized and efficiently uses the space to prominently display the products. You can easily reach the teas and smell them yourself, and the sole worker behind the counter was very helpful. He made himself available for any questions we had and explained how certain blends worked well together.
We got the Bai He Xian Zi “Divine Lily,” which is a blooming tea. It is a hand crafted ball of green and white tea leaves, jasmine flower, and lily flower delicately held together with a piece of string. This blooming tea ball slowly unfurls, or “dances,” when hot water is added. The tea shop worker kindly showed us the tea steeping process, which can be viewed below.
Jin Yun Fu
Located in the Flatiron District of NYC, Jin Yun Fu brings the traditional Chinese tea house experience to the big city. Jin Yun Fu was founded in 1995 with tea houses in Fuzhou, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and the store sells a variety of teas, teawares, and tea services. We booked Gong Fu, which is a Chinese tea ceremony involving the ritual preparation and presentation of tea with the owner, Olivia. This was a very special experience, and Olivia is extremely welcoming and passionate about Chinese tea. She thoroughly explains each part of the tea ceremony, from the geographic location of the tea we are drinking, to the exact mental and spiritual meaning behind each cup. She conveys the more practical parts of tea such as the flavors and history, and also the art and mindfulness around the tea experience. At this ceremony, we had a warming oolong that tasted like caramel and charcoal, and we actually got pretty “tea drunk” after about 3 cups. If you are looking for an authentic Chinese tea ceremony replete with education and good vibes, this is definitely the place for you!
Ippodo
Ippodo is a family-run Japanese tea company founded in 1717 in Kyoto. They provide the finest teas cultivated in the mountains of Kyoto and the surrounding areas. The only location outside of Japan is in New York City. Located on the ground floor below Kajitsu, a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, Ippodo will transport you to a calm, peaceful setting when you walk into the effortlessly aesthetic tea house. They offer to-go teas and also a small seating area where you can even book events. They offer a range of Japanese tea beverages such as matcha, loose leaf, and lattes. We got the Gyokuro green tea which “has an abundance of hearty-sweet umami flavor. With a dew-like aroma, less astringency and a thick character.” We also got the Iribancha, or smoked green tea, which is “produced by roasting green tea leaves flat until they start to smoke. This tea has a distinct smoky aroma, with a soft taste.”
Harney & Sons
Harney & Sons is a more casual tea shop located in SoHo, with their strong suit being the extensive flavored tea selection. They do provide plain, fine teas, but the main draw appears to be their signature blends, fun flavors, and tea sachets. The main complaint we have is that some of their tea blends have flavors added, both natural and artificial. That is something we usually like to avoid, especially if we plan on drinking a tea blend regularly. Harney & Sons does, however, offer teas without any flavors, so these are the ones we most recommend. Harney & Sons is a fun place to visit, and you can get any of their tea made on the spot to-go or to enjoy in their small cafe area. The store itself is very impressive, with probably the largest selection of blends we saw anywhere and an expansive space to walk around and explore. There are two service areas and multiple workers.
We got the Silver White Needle which was super light and refreshing; the flavor notes were “toasted white bread and steamed bok choy.” We also got the Lapsang Souchong, which is a roasted tea. It had a strong bacon taste which was an interesting flavor in a tea, but it was nonetheless quite good!
Puerh Brooklyn
Puerh Brooklyn is in Williamsburg and prides itself on relishing the cultures of tea. There is a curated selection of teas sourced from across the globe, including more than thirty varieties of Puerh, or aged and fermented teas. Puerh Brooklyn was one of the finer and more specialty tea shops in NYC. The minute you walk into the store, you are greeted by a traditional and artsy feeling atmosphere with a medium-sized collection of teaware, books, and exclusive teas. The man working behind the counter was eccentric and nice, which definitely added to the overall eclectic vibe. There is a beautiful downstairs gallery with a private tea room to book unique experiences such as Gong Fu, a Chinese tea ceremony. Just be sure to take off your shoes before venturing downstairs!
Prince Tea House
Prince Tea House imports their fresh teas directly from France, and all tea beverages are presented in beautiful, high-quality tea sets. The food, mostly small plates and deserts, is delicious as well. The storefront we visited in Manhattan is elegantly decorated with a mixture of European and Asian aesthetics. The service is topnotch, and it is genuinely really cool to enjoy your tea out of such fancy teaware (the fanciest of all the places we visited). Each order of tea comes in its own teapot, which is then placed on an elaborate candle holder to keep the tea warm. Very cool. There is convenient outdoor seating, so we had the opportunity to watch the bustling city as we sipped on our excellent rooibos tea. Think of Prince Tea House as traditional English tea time with some Asian influence. It is more of a fancy brunch tea spot though, so make sure you are not going in with the expectation of a strictly traditional tea house.
Cha-An
Established in 2004, Cha-An is a tea house in Manhattan that lives up to the concept of omotenashi (Japanese for whole-hearted hospitality). Upon entering the restaurant, you will ascend a small staircase to the second floor. Here you will find wooden tables and tatami benches, washi-paper lamps and floral arrangements. This restaurant looks and feels like a little piece of Japan. The ambience is casual, with people quietly talking at each of the about 7-8 tables in the main dining area. There is an assortment of matcha and sencha teas, as well as an extensive list of teas from all over the world. We did not get to try the food, which is meant to complement the tea selection. This is a great place to sit back and enjoy a few cups of tea and chat with a friend. The tea was a little pricier than some of the other places though.
Kettl
Kettl has a few locations, but we visited the one in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which was absolutely one of our favorite spots on the whole trip. Kettl is 100% focused on Japanese teas, and the owners only purchase tea from growers who they know and visit several times per year. This sort of dedication to the craft shows through in the store setup, tea offerings, and tasting experience. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, taking great care to explain everything about the tea we drank and answering our questions with detail that we appreciated. We did a Gyokuro tasting which was lots of fun and very informative. We tried three different kinds of Gyokuro, a tea which is hand-harvested and shade-grown for 20 days. The taste of Gyokuro varies but it is mainly umami and has a lingering sweetness. The tea was very strong, giving us a good buzz of caffeine and making us a bit tea drunk once again.
Little Choc Apothecary
We highly recommend checking out this cozy vegan restaurant and tea shop in Brooklyn. Choc has a huge selection of both herbal blends and teas, as well as elixirs, smoothies, juices, and coffee. This place is perfect for a romantic outing or a casual get together with friends. There is a cool upstairs portion of the restaurant that has its own bar setup as well, with a wall display of herbs and fairy lights. We got the earl gray cookie, which was light and delicious. To drink we got the cleanse (senna, fennel, dandelion, and peppermint) and the sencha, a delicate and stimulating Japanese green tea. The leaves of a sencha are handpicked from high mountaintops in Japan and immediately steamed to retain flavor, high antioxidant levels, and its vibrant green color. The waitstaff here were particularly great, checking up on us regularly and overall having a great attitude.
Floating Mountain
This is one of the more unique places we visited, tucked away on the second floor of a small storefront near Lincoln Square in Manhattan. The small and peaceful space has a minimal and modern, but still very warm aesthetic. There are limited seating areas as well as a place to drink tea at a bar area. We participated in a tea ceremony conducted by the owner, which was a very cool experience. The ceremony was very meditative, completely silent, and mindful. The ceremony was held in the main space, and it was all on the ground. Be sure to wear loose, comfortable clothes, and don’t be afraid to shift around. It can get uncomfortable if you stay cross legged on the ground for more than an hour! The owner served oolong tea in a traditional manner with a pot warming over a small gas-lit fire. She poured the tea into the main steeping cup before pouring each portion into our individual cups. Eye contact was made after each pour, and then we sipped on the tea. One interesting part was that if you put your cup down before you finish drinking the tea, the owner will take that as a sign that you are tapped out and will end the ceremony. We went through about 10 cups of tea before finishing, which is when you can talk again and ask questions. This was a very grounding and cool experience, highly recommended.
Cha Cha Matcha
As the name suggests, Cha Cha is all about the Matcha. This fun, quirky franchise currently only has locations in NY and Los Angeles. They serve quality ceremonial grade matcha in a variety of delicious ways such as matcha soft serve, matcha lemonade, and matcha lattes. We loved the emphasis on quality ingredients, a fun aesthetic, reasonable price point, and the big menu. Highly recommended! We got the matcha lemonade which was amazing – not too sweet and still had just enough matcha to keep the flavor. We also got the iced ginger turmeric which had the perfect balance of flavors.
Chai Spot
The Chai Spot is a great hangout place in Manhattan with an outdoor area with around 6 beds that you can lay on as you sip your delicious Chair drink. There is also a much larger indoor hangout area with beds, nice rugs, tables and seats. Everything is decorated in a way that is very welcoming, warm, and cozy. There is a South Asian aesthetic that works very well, and the drinks were amazing. There are numerous Chai and related drinks in hot, cold, or latte form. This place definitely has a hangout vibe, so it works equally well for to-go orders or lounging around for a while. Chai Spot would be an amazing place to read or otherwise concentrate as you sip your Chai in a comfortable setting.
Bellocq
Tucked away on a Brooklyn side street, Bellocq was one of our favorite tea shops from both an aesthetics and quality perspective. It has an earthy, old-fashioned feeling that transports you into an immersive world of tea. The store is compact but not claustrophobic, and there is a cool sitting room that you can lounge in while perusing the tea selection. It has a medium-sized collection of teas and tea blends, and it prizes quality above all else. Whole leaf and organic, Bellocq’s teas impressed us, as did the setting. There is also a wide variety of countries from which Bellocq acquires its teas, including China, Japan, India, Nepal, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Malawi. The team at Bellocq visits all their growers often, meaning the quality is consistent and new teas are being evaluated and introduced regularly.
Conclusion
NYC has an expansive offering of excellent tea shops, rooms, and experiences, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We hope this list helps paint a picture of some of the city’s tea culture, and perhaps you can use it when planning your own trip! Finally, we are most thankful to all of the excellent employees who educated us and gave a warm welcome at every place we visited.