I just can’t seem to go to New York City without stopping somewhere along the way for tea. My latest adventure brought me to Physical Graffitea, located on St. Marks off of 1st Avenue. This place has been on my to do list for a while. It has a bit of rock and roll history because the building was featured on the cover the Led Zeppelin album Physical Graffiti. The space is small but welcoming. I loved the exposed brick wall and fun murals. The classic music they had playing was fun and uplifting.
The staff were friendly, helpful and unobtrusive. I’m incredibly indecisive and they gave me plenty of time to go through the extensive tea list. I eventually selected a pot of Jade Cloud and couldn’t resist a couple of matcha cookies to go alongside it. The teaware was classic and simple.The leaves were in a mesh infuser and I was able to remove them at my choosing. One of my biggest pet peeves is tea rooms that cram tea into a fill your own tea bag so I really appreciate that. You know that I couldn’t leave without taking some tea with me so I grabbed 2oz of Ancient Emerald Lily. I’m not in this part of the city often but I will definitely make it a point to stop in again.
It’s important to note that they do not have a public restroom. This isn’t a big deal for me but you should find a potty spot before heading inside 🙂
You can find out more about this tea place here.