Tea Tasting at Té Company

The first time I went to Té, it was following a day where we ate entirely too much and perhaps imbibed on a bit much, too. From the infinite wisdom that comes with waking up earlier than you're meant to, we thought to ourselves, "Tea. Yes, a very restorative and healthy beverage," and then proceeded to schlep our way to the West Village. We arrived a tad early and were found eagerly - or at least as eagerly as you can on 5 hours of sleep - peering through the window, wondering if we'd forgotten it was a national holiday. During this first visit, we weren't able to do the tasting (which requires advance reservation), but we did get to try a tea flight. As Elena walked us through regions of Taiwan, elevation, processing methods, and what were some of the best flavor profile descriptions I've ever heard, it firmly solidified Té as one of our favorite cafés in the city. Flash forward one year and numerous visits later, I finally got my tasting. 

Banana Muffins

Pineapple and yuzu kosho linzers topped with fresh lime zest and sea salt.

Dates stuffed with bergamot. I'm normally not a huge fan of dates or dried fruit in general, but these were gorgeous. (Growing up, I had a Russian piano teacher who used to ply us with dried fruits before lessons. Out of politeness, I would stuff down handfuls of dried apricots, so I think I'm pretty much set for life on the dried fruits front, but these I would happily savor any day.)

To experience the tea tasting, you'll have to reserve through Tock. The tasting comes with 5 teas and 3 snacks. You can request specific teas or leave it up to Elena, which I would highly recommend. I thought that it would be a pretty straightforward tasting, but we came out of it with a greater knowledge of tea altogether: growing conditions, harvesting and processing methods, and and how those will ultimately affect the taste of the final product. If you don't have a reservation, the tea flight is a great alternative, although the amount of time that she can spend explaining will likely depend on how busy it is at the time. Regardless, I hope you can discover for yourself this little gem.

Date: March 2017