Martin D.
Google
The space and decor is absolutely gorgeous. The owners clearly have an eye for detail and put a charming atmosphere together. While browsing the upstairs space which has most of the teas and tea ware, we were surprised to be told that pictures were not allowed. Why a shop would have this kind of policy when they put so much effort in making it look so good is beyond me, especially since there are tons of pictures online from other people. Being interested in purchasing both tea and maybe even tea ware to add to my collection, I asked a few questions and was simply handed a menu and told tea tastings were downstairs with zero other information. The case which had most of the tea pots for purchase (under the counter) had the lights off and even though I was kneeling down to get a closer look, the person behind the counter did not think it necessary to light up the case so that I could actually see what I was looking at. Oh well, so be it, I then took an interest in the various teas they had. I picked up a sampler box of puerh teas containing about 6 or so samples which I thought would be great as I’d be able to come back to purchase larger quantities if I found them to my liking (if you know anything about puerh, you know they all have very distinct profiles), however, the person behind the counter had no idea what the teas were, their name, provenance, or anything really that could identify one tea from the other. I was told the sample box was “not the highest quality tea but still decent”; that was it. The entire experience, from being scolded for taking a photo to the clear lack of attention to the only two customers in the shop and the utter lack of information on the main product the shop is named after left a sour taste in my mouth and we ended up leaving without purchasing anything. There are plenty of tea shops in New York that care for their product and customers. While the shop is trendy and “instagram worthy”, if you actually care about tea, you’d be better off going someplace else.