So…I went to a coffee shop. Gasp! Don’t worry, I stopped in because rumor had it that Birch Coffee serves up loose leaf tea. I probably shouldn’t have started with their smallest location but I wasn’t familiar with this new chain at all. They have three locations in Manhattan and I definitely plan on visiting them.
The tea menu was small and basic so I went with the “Green Dew. Other offerings included a black tea, white and and several herbals. Although the shop was small and fairly crowded I was lucky enough to get a table. The cup my tea was served in was positively giant. It was loose leaf and the leaves looked like they were fairly high quality. However, I was disappointed to see them served in a tea filter knotted on top. The water also seemed much too hot for green tea. Since my cup was definitely more than 8oz, they really should have used more than a scant teaspoon of leaves.
If you go to this location, I definitely recommend getting it to go. Since seating is so limited I was edged out of my seat before finishing my cup of tea by both the staff and other patrons. Although apologetic, they didn’t do anything to address the situation.
You can find out more about Birch Coffee here.
Speaking of tea places, have you followed Tea for Me Please on FourSquare yet? Save my Tea in NYC list and you’ll always be able to find a cup of tea 🙂