29B Teahouse

"Stefen Ramirez operated Tea Dealers as a rare tea import organization for two-and-a-half years before relocating from Williamsburg to Alphabet City in 2018 and opening his quaint, 33-seat cafe. Here Ramirez serves naturally grown, unblended, single cultivar teas, along with sake and tea-infused soju, sourced from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and India. There’s also a concise collection of tea-friendly Japanese dishes like the cafe’s signature ochazuke, rice served with marinated king salmon, house-made pickles, and tea. While menus change every two months or so, 29B’s ethos remains constant: to offer some of the world’s most rare teas, with a focus on those from Japan. Every so often you’ll find a contemporary nod, as found in the cafe’s famed matcha beer. An earthy palate of grey and honied wood give the space a sense of calm." - Kat Odell

"Run by Shin Won-Yoon and her husband Stefen Ramirez, 29B is meant to be a social and interactive setting vs. a traditional tea ceremony, although they do try to keep the reverence close to Korean tea traditions. As tea dealers, they import a variety of single-origin, natural agriculture-conscious teas sourced from farms in Taiwan, Japan, India, China, and Korea where Won-Yoon is from. If you let them know what you’re in the mood for, they’ll curate an experience that will leave a lasting impression. There’s also a whole corner of the East Village shop dedicated to beautiful ceramics and glassware handcrafted by Japanese and Korean artists to peruse." - Esther Cho, With Warm Welcome, Kenny Yang

"29B Teahouse is a tea room located in the East Village. Run by Shin Won-Yoon, who is Korean and co-owner of 29B Teahouse with her husband Stefen Ramirez, the tea room is meant to be a social and interactive setting vs. the traditional tea ceremony, although they do try to keep the reverence close to Korean tea traditions. As tea dealers, they import a variety of single-origin, natural agriculture-conscious teas sourced from farms in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India, and China. If you let them know what you’re in the mood for, they will curate an experience that will leave a lasting impression as it did for me - I ordered a refreshing iced Sejak green tea that helped me slow down from a long bike ride. On your way out, there’s a whole corner dedicated to beautiful ceramics and glassware handcrafted by contemporary Japanese and Korean artists to peruse. Indoor dining is available Thursday and Friday from 4-11pm, Saturday from 12-11pm, and Sunday from 2-8pm." - Esther Cho & With Warm Welcome

"Stefen Ramirez hands me a plastic bag with ice cubes, his usual serious expression cracking into a grin. On the way over, I slammed head first into a small metal box sticking out of a streetlight. Has no one else done the same thing on the southeast corner of Avenue B and Second Street?! Ramirez fills my Japanese ceramic mug with more oolong, an inky batch from a recent research trip to the Wuyi Mountains in China. I drink in deeply, feeling some feels that have been eluding me for the last few years: the come-as-you-are comfort of being a restaurant regular." - ByElyse Inamine