Legend holds that tea was discovered by Shennong, the Chinese emperor and herbalist, when a camellia leaf fell into his cup of hot water. Nearly 5,000 years later, we’re still reaping the benefits. Tea culture today takes many forms, from fussy afternoon services in grand hotels to the disposable cups of masala chai doled out by chai wallahs on Indian trains.
True tea lovers approach the leaves, and everything that goes into preparing them, with deep reverence and, at times, opulence. One industry insider tells us he was recently offered a rare tea priced at $75,000 per kilogram. At many of the world’s tea salons, the water and wares are just as carefully chosen as the tea itself. The brewing process, too, is followed to a T.
This attention to detail is what separates a good tearoom from a great one, allowing visitors to discover the subtleties of fragrance and flavor in the myriad varieties of an ancient beverage—treasures Emperor Shennong could only dream of.
Té Company
163 W 10th Street, New York City
Tucked away on a quiet leafy street and up a small stoop lies this pocket-size tearoom in the historic West Village. Owners Elena Liao and Frederico Ribeiro specialize in Taiwanese oolong teas sourced from family-owned farms they visit themselves, but guests can also find herbal teas, iced teas, and a small menu of baked goods. You’d be remiss not to try their famous pineapple linzer cookie.
Maison des Trois Thés
1 Rue Saint-Médard, Paris
The tea master in Parisian gourmet circles known simply as “Madame Tseng” comes from a Chinese family with generations of experience in tea culture. Tseng curates the tea menus at various top-tier restaurants and pâtisseries in Paris, but it’s worth a visit to her high-ceilinged salon and shop in the 5th arrondissement. There, you’ll find hundreds of loose-leaf tea variations lining the walls in canisters with handwritten labels. Tseng herself has compared it to a “large, private library.”
Teamroom Tōka
Gallery Nichinichi, Kamigyo-ku Shintomi-cho 298, Kyoto
