I’m a big fan of the French tea retailer Le Palais des Thés and I was beyond excited when I learned that they would be opening up shop in New York. I’m just a hop, skip and a jump across the Hudson River so it makes stocking up extra convenient. I have yet to visit their Columbus Circle location but I stopped into their Prince Street store last weekend. Although not a huge space, it felt light and airy with lots of glass fixtures. I love that in addition to the large tins behind the counters, they have leaves of all of their blends available for sniffing. The staff was extremely friendly, offering me a cup of tea as soon as I walked in the door on a very chilly day. I found them to be very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Although I promised myself that I wouldn’t buy anything, I wound up picking up 3oz of their Grand Cru Dong Ding. I am now madly in love with this tea and my review will be coming shortly.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending their grand opening. It was very crowded but it was great to see so many people excited about tea. I was glad to see some of tea friends there including Sara of Tea Happiness, Jo of A Gift of Tea, Darlene from The Tea Enthusiast’s Scrapbook and Mario from On the Go with Mario. One of my favorite parts of the evening was getting to meet the president of Le Palais des Thés, François-Xavier Delmas. I have been an avid reader of his blog, Discovering Tea, for some time. Sadly, I forgot my camera at home but I did grab a few pictures with my phone. There was a photographer at the event and I will be sure to update once those pictures are available.
You can find out more about this tea place here.
François-Xavier Delmas, Mario and I |