The Littlest Critic Visits: Podunk

Why yes, I will 'say yes' to some tea!

Last weekend we were in need of some special tea time, so The Littlest Tea Critic and I decided to check out Podunk Tea Room. I hadn't been to this sweet little spot in the East Village in years, and when Nicole mentioned it recently, I knew it was a great suggestion.

Podunk is a warm and inviting place for a cozy tea experience. The food is all homemade, and you can taste the care and attention that goes into it. I remembered how much I liked the sweets on my last visit and I was eager to try them again. We decided to get a mix of savory and sweet treats.

For our teas, I chose a Russian black tea. It was bold, smoky, and satisfying. We each recieved a good sized teapot. My only gripe is that the leaves sit in the teapot until you are ready to pour each cup. The first cup or two are lovely, but if you are slow to finish your pot, it gets bitter by the end. I was able to remedy this with a little bit of milk for my last cup. The LTC got a vanilla rooibos that she thoroughly enjoyed.

As I mentioned, our food was a mix of savory and sweet. We each had a hearty portion of cucumber sandwiches, cheese biscuits, two delicious slices of cake, and a couple of little cookies. There was lots of jam and cream to accompany the meal. Everything has a rustic, homemade look and taste. My favorite item was actually the cheese biscuits. I love anything in cheese form, and these crispy, flaky, cheesy squares were no exception. I could eat a whole plateful! The cucumber sandwiches were satisfying, and the cakes were the perfect end to the meal with our last sips of tea. We had a tender cake that was laced with cinnamon and sugar, and a melt-in-your-mouth slice that had a strong vanilla flavor and a texture similar to pound-cake. 

The LTC enjoyed the entire experience- the pretty mismatched teaware, relaxed and homey atmosphere, and tasty treats. She liked Podunk far better than our last outing. In fact, she asked me today when we could go back to to the 'yummy tea place'. So we'll be back very soon! 

The tearoom is small, so I'd suggest making a reservation. Especially since they often have larger parties coming in on the weekends. If you are looking for a casual spot for tea, lunch, or brunch, it's a great choice. Especially with a little tea critic in tow.

Podunk Tea Room: 235 E. 5th street, NY, NY 10003
Pros: casual, homey atmosphere, delicious food, good tea selection
Cons: small space, be sure to call ahead on weekends
Recommended

Event: French Your Day! At Le Palais des Thés

Breakfast of Champions!!

On Monday I had the pleasure of attending the French Your Day! Event at  Le Palais des Thés Soho. This event is a Francophile's dream! French canelé, Champagne, juices and of course top quality tea was served.

Stations were broken up by time of day: Breakfast/Brunch, Afternoon Tea, and Cocktail Hour. For Breakfast, we sampled flavorful fresh juices by Alain Milliat paired with Pommery champagne, dark chocolate and caramel canelé, and of course tea. Could there be a better way to start your day? The teas sampled were Big Ben and Thé des Lords. I'm personally not a huge Earl Grey fan, but I love the Big Ben breakfast blend. The Yunnan and Assam teas form an earthy yet robust flavor perfect to wake up with. This blend rivals my most favorite English Breakfast blend. The teas served at the event are part of the new 'My Tea for the Morning' package from Le Palais des Thés. This is a clever line of tea bags packaged for various parts of the day: Morning, Office, and Evening. These are perfect for travel, or of course to keep in the office. I may have to pick up a box since the 'office' teas contain some of my favorites from Le Palais des Thés. 

The  canelé from Canelé by Celine were absolutely divine. A chewy caramelized crust on outside, with melting softness on the inside. Heaven! My two favorites are the dark chocolate, and black truffle. I adore black truffles, and this savory, earthy canelé was a delightful surprise. Celine was on hand to talk about her product, and it was fun to meet the creator of these decadent pastries. She does not sell in stores, but you can find her products online or at various events.

Afternoon!

The afternoon tea was served with the luscious canelé, (vanilla was my favorite), along with the ever popular Thé du Hammam mixed with Milliat blueberry juice. Sweet, floral, with a hint of green tea. A satisfying afternoon sip to hold you over until dinner...or cocktail hour!

Cocktail Time

For cocktail hour we devoured the truffle canelé, with rooibos tea blends. Rooibos has never been a favorite of mine but it is a good choice for the evening since it is caffeine free. We also sipped Pommery Champagne with a refreshing herbaceous basil lemon syrup from Baume des Anges. The combination of flavors transported me to a patio out in the French countryside with a cool summer breeze. A lovely visual when you are actually in oppressive NYC humidity!

The iced teas all had re-usable ice cubes. A smart idea to help the tea retain flavor instead of becoming watery from the melting ice.

I am thankful for the invite to such a delicious event. It was wonderful to see folks I've been corresponding with such as Georgia from Notes on Tea and and Nicole from Tea for Me Please. Tea, pastry, Champagne, and great conversation. Perfection!

Cha-An Japanese Tea House

It's Friday. I can't focus. It's a gorgeous day. Perfect for a lunchtime tea adventure. Cha-An, a popular Japanese tea house has been high on my list of places to visit. It felt like the perfect time, so I pounced.

Through an unassuming door and up a flight of stairs is a smart little room with dark wood and delicate Japanese flourishes. When I arrived it was early and quiet. There is a bar with a view of the kitchen for a quick bite (and sip), but I chose a table in order to relax a bit more.



The service is sweet and friendly. As you can imagine, the tea selection is inviting with a focus on Japanese greens. The menu is helpful, giving the country of origin for each tea, as well as the body. There is a tea to suit just about every mood.



Today I was looking for something that packed a bit of punch, so I chose the Makinohara Sencha for it's assertive vegetal flavor. The tea arrived quickly and was poured from a kyusu. The pot was the perfect size, with just enough water for one large cup. Served in this way the tea didn't continue to steep and get bitter. I like this attention to detail. When my cup was drained, the pot was promptly refilled with water. This tea was exactly what I wanted. Bitter, with a vibrant vegetal flavor. Refreshing and invigorating. It paired well with the smoked salmon and sweets that came with my meal.

Regarding food, it is prepared with focus and care. Everything is dainty, and I felt a bit clumsy while I ate. But it's all very tasty, especially the sweets. The scones I had were quite buttery and delicious. They even had little bits of tea in them, which added a subtle floral note. I was so full that I had to take some of my sweets to go, which made for a cheerful afternoon snack.

Cha-An is a perfect place for Japanese style afternoon tea, or to relax with a bowl of Matcha. They also offer special events including tea ceremonies. It gets a bit loud during lunchtime, but I imagine it is quite peaceful during the off hours. The perfect place for a lunchtime respite.

Cha-An: 230 East 9th Street NY, NY 10013: Recommended

Bosie Tea Parlor

A few tea shops have popped up recently in the West Village. When Yosh O. mentioned that she was thinking of going to Bosie with her friend BL, I jumped at the chance to join the fun.

I love tea places that are not all frills and chintz, and Bosie is a nice mix of wood tables, walls of tea canisters, and pretty, but not frilly teapots.  L’Âge de Thé is the tea brand within the golden canisters. This is their in-house brand, which according to their web site is "a collaboration between Kiley Holliday, the youngest female Tea Master in the United States, and Nicky Dawda, an accomplished New York restaurateur and former hedge fund CTO...Holliday and Dawda travelled to many estates, personally tasting and selecting the finest teas of each region that comprise the collection."

The tea selection did not disappoint. There are teas for just about every palate. I was also gratified to see the herbal teas relegated to the very back of the tea menu. Anyway, I was in the mood for a black tea, and decided on the Fujian Golden Tips. A little while after ordering, I heard tea timers go off and our drinks arrived. My tea was lighter in color and flavor than I had expected, and was very subtle. I could taste a honey sweetness with a touch of malt. The tea was pleasant and soothing, but I was expecting something a touch stronger. It could be that I had the wrong expectations, but Yosh also commented that she thought her tea was weak. I've mentioned this a few times before, but taste preferences can vary. I wish that we could get the steeping basket on the side, in order to steep longer if necessary. But I suppose that when I dine in a restaurant I wouldn't tell the chef how to prepare the food, so perhaps I shouldn't tell the staff how to brew the tea. Still, I would have preferred it a little stronger.

Along with our tea we had a few standard tea sandwiches, and delicious pastries. I later found out that the pastries are all made by Damien Herrgott, who worked at Ladurée in Paris and Bouley Bakery in New York. As you can imagine, the macarons were very authentic. They had great texture and flavor (for the most part). My favorite macaron was one made with Darjeeling tea.  It had a strong Darjeeling flavor, but also a gentle sweetness. It was exactly how I'd want a Darjeeling macaron to taste! I also had a Matcha macaron which was very well done, and had a strong matcha flavor. The only miss for me, was the 'Jasmin'. I was expecting a subtle floral taste, but it was so strong, I felt like I was biting on a bar of perfumed soap.

 

Tea under glass...true works of art!

Bosie is a nice little find in the West Village. It's a perfect stop after strolling through the neighborhood's historic nooks and crannies. A comfortable place for some tea, and a tasty macaron.

I am compiling a list of 'Tea Happiness Recommended' places in NYC, and Bosie will definitely be included.

Bosie Tea Parlor, 10 Morton Street (212) 352-9900

Best. Tea strainer. Ever.

I picked this up today at the Pylones store in Grand Central Station.  It is just the cutest little tea strainer I've ever seen!!  Major Tea Happiness!!!!

Return of the Tea Infused Chocolates!

I am slowly becoming a fan of the whole tea infused chocolate thing. Last week PC let me taste a bit of his maté infused chocolate bar. It wasn't something I'd purchase for myself, but it was still chocolate. As an adventurous chocolate lover, he went and purchased a new flavor- 'raspberry rooibos' infused dark chocolate. PC was generous enough to offer me a taste of this chocolate as well.

Now I have to admit that I was hesitant to try it, since chocolate and rooibos doesn't sound like a winning combination to me. But rooibos does tend to just take on the flavor of whatever is added to it. As I reluctantly looked at the chocolate bar, PC mentioned that the flavor tasted very similar to what we know in NYC as 'Jelly Rings', one of my most guilty pleasures. http://www.amazon.com/Joyva-Ring-Jells-9-Oz/dp/B000EPV028

As soon as PC mentioned this, I dove right in to the chocolate bar. He was right, it tasted just like jelly rings!! An extremely sweet, raspberry flavor with a little dark chocolate bitterness, as well as a pleasing smoothness. There was a slightly herbal flavor, that I'm guessing was the rooibos. But it was hard to detect. I mostly tasted raspberry extract and semisweet chocolate. The ingredient list is simple, yet it still reminded me of my precious, artificially flavored jelly rings. I'm sure if I did a side by side tasting, I'd notice a vast difference. But this chocolate is a great, healthy (well ok, healthier) alternative!!

It doesn't really taste like tea, but I will definitely get this chocolate bar again for the yummy, nostaligic flavor.

The Tea Room 'Tea Infusions' Raspberry Rooibos

Tea infused chocolates

Chocolate and tea are two of my favorite things, but not always together. The combination is familiar to me; I've had tea infused chocolate truffles many times, especially as a mignardise at the end of a fancy meal. I've also started to see chocolate bars made with tea flavors in stores, but I usually overlook them. I like my chocolate at about 75% cacao without any added flavors aside from salt. But this afternoon PC came over to my desk and offered me a taste of 'maté and cacao nibs' dark chocolate. How could I say no? Especially since it was dark chocolate!

I usually shy away from tea infused chocolate because the tea commonly used is earl grey. I'm not a big fan of bergamot (is that sacrilegious for a tea drinker?), so I don't usually drink earl grey or any other citrus tea combination. But the tea used for this chocolate bar was yerba maté, so I decided to give it a try. I don't drink yerba maté very often, because it has an herbaceous taste that I'm not looking for in my tea. But add 72% dark chocolate, and I'll give it a try! The chocolate had a nice fruity tang to it, along with the herbal, tobacco-like taste of maté. There is also a faint hint of anise. It is definitely a unique combination to pair with chocolate. I don't think I'd buy it for myself, but possibly for an adventurous chocolate lover.

On their website, the other Dark Chocolate varieties that The Tea Room makes is 'green earl grey' and 'raspberry rooibos tea'. Given my feelings towards bergamot, as well as herbal tea, I may not rush out to try these. But if PC picks up a bar, I will hopefully get to try a little taste...

It looks like The Tea Room has a nice selection of loose teas that I'll have to try when I am looking for something new to drink. If anyone has tried any of their loose teas, please let me know what you think.

As far as pairing of chocolate and tea, I'm also not a fan of 'chocolate teas'. If I want chocolate in my warm drink, I'll have a hot chocolate. When I feel like having a bit of chocolate with my tea, I think I'll stick to nibbling a piece alongside a nice warm cup of tea.

The Tea Room 'Tea Infusions' with Maté and Cacao Nibs