Happy Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I love working with The Tea Gallery and now that we've joined with The Mandarin's Tearoom, I get to learn from Toki whose been generous with both his time and tea. It's been a busy month for us but one that's been filled with so much support and enthusiasm from our friends and patrons, there's no room for complaint. Though Thanksgiving is a holiday unique to the U.S., I'm also grateful for the positive welcome we've received from the international tea community now that we can ship to the rest of the world. More countries are being added every day thanks to your requests. We're moving forward with more events and workshops this winter and we hope to see you all soon at the tearoom.

This season, get 10% off any order worth $50.00 or more with our holiday coupon code when you shop online: TTGW1NTR

Just type in the code on the checkout page of our website. This is a multi-use coupon that is good till the 31st of December.

 Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Our New Tearoom

 

Our tearoom is finally open and the first two days have been super hectic but so much fun! We've hosted our first couple tea events and were so pleased with the turnout and enthusiasm. Thanks to everyone for you support. I'm so sorry to those we had to turn away for some of the events which filled up quickly, especially tonight's oolong tasting. Your requests have been heard and next week's tea tastings will focus just on oolongs. Details can be found on our Events Page. To those who signed up too late for this week's event, I hope you can make it to next week's tea socials.

We've already had a couple of private tea tastings and it's given Michael a chance to break in his tea table. When available, Tim likes sit in and share his own insight of the teas that Michael brews. His presence has added a new dimension to our usual tea session. Of course, all the members of the tearoom is expected to brew for clients; you just never know who's going to stop by and share a cup.

Our tearoom is ready to receive patrons but I have a feeling it will always be a work in progress. Between Tim and Michael, there will always be changes depending on mood and season. We hope you'll visit to us and see for yourself.

And to the many tea drinkers who keep asking what we look like.... 

 

We're just regular people who love tea. 

Not pictured is the camera shy Winnie who happens to be the best looking one out this bunch.

See you soon.

Coming soon..

We're almost ready.

Things are starting to come together in our new space but there's still more work to be done in the eyes of Michael and Tim. I gave Brandon at WrongFu Cha the chance to post some exclusive pics of our space when he was in town over the weekend. We've made some more changes since then! I'll post some pics once everything is settled or you can drop in during our evening tea events starting next week and see for yourself.

Though we are still a work in progress, we are on schedule and will be officially open November 1st. Here's what else you can look forward to at our new tearoom:

While we're operating by appointment only, we're developing more weekday events that will be open to the public. We'll be developing open tea events every month that will give tea lovers opportunities to enjoy tea in our tearoom. Thanks to all the inquiries about tea workshops and classes, we're working on those as well.

We're also designing a set of Tea Tasting Menus for our new tearoom. Each menu will incorporate teas from both The Tea Gallery and The Mandarin's Tearoom so guests will have a chance to experience a variety of teas in one sitting. Details and the different session levels will be available on our website in a couple days.

 There will be some more developments in the coming weeks so please check back to learn about new events. To those of you already signed up for our first week's events: I'll see you next week!

It's back to work for me.

A follow up...

 

 It seems my previous post may have churned up more questions than it answered. Here are the ones I can answer at this time:

Q. Is your new space open for business?

A. Almost. We're still in midst of moving some furniture around and getting the details just right. Our official opening date will be November 1st. Please check our events page to see more details.

Q. I can't find your storefront, where are you?

A. That's because we don't have a storefront. We are actually on the 2nd floor of our building and accessible by a flight of stairs. Our address is 21 Howard Street, Suite 201 in downtown Manhattan. Please note: we are only open by appointment. Consider us an exclusive club for all you tea lovers out there. Please keep reading to learn more: 

Q. Will you be selling drinks to go?

A. No, we are not your typical tearoom and we are not a cafe. We don't even have a storefront and are not remotely interested in selling ready-made drinks or iced teas. We will be hosting private tea tastings and we are currently working on a menu that will allow visitors to try tea from both companies in one session.

Q. I'm not interested in a tea tasting. Can I just come to the new space to browse teas and shop?

A. Sorry, but we are operating only by appointment for the time being. We're still a small group and we really want to focus on a certain level of tea. This means we don't have time to properly host unexpected walk-ins. A scheduled tea session allows us to give the attention that each of our patrons deserve. If you don't have an appointment or haven't called ahead, you will not be admitted into the tearoom. There will be events open to the public and this is you chance to drop by and taste some teas for less than the cost of a basic tasting.

    

Q. What can I expect at November's Tea Events ?

A. Taste teas from both The Tea Gallery and The Mandarin's Tea and meet the members of The Tea Gallery and The Mandarin's Tearoom. We're all very busy and not always in the tearoom at the same time; these scheduled events give us an opportunity to be together and share our love of tea with others. Mingle with other tea people and make some new friends over a common interest. Each day is devoted to a different tea category; visitors to every event will get a chance to try all 6 styles.

If you're still not ready to take the plunge and sign up for a personal tea tasting, this is your chance to check out our space and try our teas for half the price of a tasting. We're also sweetening the pot by offering a special 10% discount off any teas or teawares purchased during the event. If you show up for all five events, you can attend the last one for free. See more details on our Events Page.

Q. Can I still buy online and pick up my purchase in person?

A. Yes. New York City dwellers can still choose the "in-store pick-up" option on our website whenever they shop online and can come pick up their purchase at the tearoom.

Q. How do I make an appointment and what are the rates?

A. You can call us at 212-777-6148 or send an email to info@theteagallery.com. We are currently working on a series of tasting menus that will vary in price depending on the value of the teas that are served. There will also be an option to customize your personal session and the pricing will depend on the chosen menu. We want your experience to be fun and memorable and will happily work with you to make that happen. More details will be available online in a couple weeks.

Q. Will you be offering classes?

A. Yes! We love to teach and we are working closely with the Mandarin's Tearoom to develop workshops open to the public and private tea classes. More information will be made available on our website in the coming weeks.

Q. Are you going to ship internationally?

A. Thanks to all the requests we've gotten from all over the world for our teas, we are definitely paying attention. We would very much like to make our tea available outside the US and are working on the logistics at this moment. We're asking for just a little bit of patience as our focus has been in getting our tearoom ready.

I hope this was helpful. Please send any more questions you may have to dae@theteagallery.com.

Finally....

Dear Tea Friends, 

 

 I can finally announce it: The Tea Gallery has moved to a new location!

 Not that it was much of a secret at this point. (I may have blabbed a bit to some tea friends who ended up blabbing on certain internet forums...) 

 We're partnering up with longtime friend, Tim of The Mandarin's Tearoom and sharing his spacious studio in downtown Manhattan. While both tea companies will remain separate entities, the decision to share a tearoom was based on years of mutual respect for each other's tea and principles. It's a match made in heaven as Michael and Tim blend their Hong Kong sensibilities and transform the former design studio into an elegant tearoom. Our old tea table was just set up and touches of the Mandarin have change the look of the original setup. Tim's teapots and wooden coasters are scattered across the table, as is a cigar or two. There is always a break for tea in the afternoon. I couldn't be happier working along side Michael and now I'm also learning from Tim. 

 

We're on old Howard Street, right above bustling Chinatown and below the designer shops of SoHo. The same policies that we had at the original space still apply. We're operating by appointments but we are also adding a slew of events to help celebrate our new look. Our official opening is on Nov.1st and we're kicking off with a week's worth of daily tea events. For more information, see the Events page.

I'll be posting pictures of our new space in the next post.

So when are you coming over for some tea?

Fall Happening

1996 loose leaf puer with mystery origins.

Hello Tea Friends!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. We're in the middle of some big changes and our little blog has been neglected in the process. I was asked to keep quiet about what's in the works but it's become known as the worst kept secret in "teadom". There have been leaks here and there (looking at you, Brandon of WrongFuCha..) and while I still can't talk about it, most people have figured it out. If you're the few still in left in the dark... here's what I can say:
 The Tea Gallery is planning a change of scenery with an old friend.

If you need a couple more hints, just hunt down Brandon (the blabbermouth) on teachat.com.

Nanou Green

Labor Day Weekend: Tea with Friends

This Labor Day weekend, Brandon AKA WrongFuCha was kind enough to host Yumcha and family (including Nana the pup) at his home in Delaware. If you're ever lucky enough to get an invite to his corner of the state; expect thoughtful hospitality, a sophisticated tea selection and lots of satisfying eats.

On Saturday, a couple members of his Philadelphia tea club came by to share tea and treats with us. The session started with a lovely Phoenix DanCong; a gift from Toki of The Mandarin's TeaRoom. He couldn't make it to Delaware but his gift of tea was appreciated by all. It was soft and full with hints of fresh almonds. We didn't have much info on the tea itself. The enigmatic Mandarin promised only to reveal his tea's pedigree after we drank it. "Taste first, ask questions later" seems to be an inscrutable, Hong Kong tea master thing because Michael also does this all the time.The intent is to provoke an honest evaluation of the tea unclouded by prior assumptions based on age, harvest details and mountain elevation.

When visiting a fellow tea junkie, it's always a good idea to bring your own teas to share. Keeping in mind my host's taste, I brought a selection that he would enjoy. Members of his tea group were still unfamiliar with certain tea styles and so Brandon requested some teas that would broaden their experience. I brought along one of my Taiwanese teapots for those who were curious about the style. I already knew that Brandon was a fan of Master Lin's teas, so I had a 6 Year Aged, Tung Ting from Master Lin to showcase with the teapot.

We moved on the 2004 Tea Gallery, white puer cake. The afternoon sun lit up the silver hairs of the cake and it was admired by the other guests. As a host, Brandon made sure that there would be a thoughtful selection of the new and familiar for everyone. As a guest and a friend, I was happy to provide a few teas and let someone else brew them for a relaxing change.

It was a pleasure watching Brandon carefully choose different brewing vessels for the most harmonious pairings. Not everyone thinks about the visual harmony of the tea table but it can be jarring when incongruous pieces share the same space. Sometimes, those with the most diverse collections make the mistake of having every accessory on view when some editing would create a more sophisticated setting.

Our tea host, Brandon, looking relaxed and ruddy cheeked from the chaqi of the puer. At this point, I was also feeling extremely warm in spite of the cool wind drifting through the open windows of the tea room. The chaqi left my hands damp with sweat.

Once you start down the road of aged puer, subsequent teas can be tried in order of greater years. The next tea was a sneak preview of a Hong Kong storage, 1996 loose leaf puer from The Tea Gallery. Not yet available through our site, it was nice to surprise our host with a new tea from the Gallery (he's practically memorized our selection).

After just 4 steeps, the build up of chaqi had me in a drunken, blissed out stupor and I felt too full too manage another sip of tea. The rest of the party was in a similar mood. Conversation trailed off and it seemed like a good place to end the session and say good-bye to the Philly members. Once the feeling of fullness wore off, it was replaced by an eager appetite sharpened from all the tea we had drunk. The rest of the evening was devoted to old fashioned milkshakes and greasy cheeseburgers. Later, I fell asleep to the soothing sound of crickets.

On Sunday, we rolled up our sleeves and set to work documenting ways to evaluate Yixing teapots with water and tea for Brandon's blog. Our host directed, I took photos and David posed for the camera. Inspiration for the post goes to Michael of The Tea Gallery and Bill from China Flair. Read about our efforts at WrongFuCha's blog.

Happy Labor Day!