TeaChat

Projection date: April 1st.

OMG. OMG. OMG.

This is so exciting. So is this a tea room operating separately from Kajitsu or do you have to sit and eat at Kajitsu in order to drink tea? I assume the store front is separate from the restaurant correct?

javi_sanchez wrote:This is so exciting. So is this a tea room operating separately from Kajitsu or do you have to sit and eat at Kajitsu in order to drink tea? I assume the store front is separate from the restaurant correct?

Yes, tea store is downstairs, restaurant upstairs. Tea brewed in the tea store is "to go". Tea, of course, is superb.

iGo wrote:

javi_sanchez wrote:This is so exciting. So is this a tea room operating separately from Kajitsu or do you have to sit and eat at Kajitsu in order to drink tea? I assume the store front is separate from the restaurant correct?

Yes, tea store is downstairs, restaurant upstairs. Tea brewed in the tea store is "to go". Tea, of course, is superb.

Cool thanks. I will check it out. I had some of their Kanro Gyokuro in their Tokyo store. It was expensive but very good! The sweets served with the tea were also really good.

I just stopped by this afternoon. The shop, at least currently, seems to be standing room only, though there may be some seating in the back. Grand Opening isn't until April 1st, so I imagine they still may be tweaking the setup.

I found the prices in store to be a bit higher than their online prices... when you add in the online shipping cost, and then sales tax at the store, you may be getting just about an equal deal on the tea.

Of course the real difference came to light when I was eyeing the kaboku sencha, and the shop attendant said.. "would you like to try a sample?" Yes Please!

He prepared a little cup for me (and himself ) right their on the counter... and it was a marvelous flavor. I feel like I hadn't had tea this good in quite a while. I promptly bought a bag, as well as the more mid-grade Hosen.

Hopefully they do well, and find the move to NY worth it. I'd like to encourage anyone nearby to definitely stop in and show them your support.

ＮＹへよこそう一保堂さん !!!

chingwa wrote:Of course the real difference came to light when I was eyeing the kaboku sencha, and the shop attendant said.. "would you like to try a sample?" Yes Please!

He prepared a little cup for me (and himself ) right their on the counter... and it was a marvelous flavor. I feel like I hadn't had tea this good in quite a while. I promptly bought a bag, as well as the more mid-grade Hosen.

I think that the first vivid memory of an incredible tea was when walking into the Kyoto Ippodo's shop, a bit by chance at the time as I wasn't into tea, and being offered a tiny glass of hyper duper strong cold gyokuro. This may have been the trigger to everything that followed, at least it played a role...

A cold strong gyokuro for someone who is not used to this is kind of an overwhelming experience tastebudwise...

The prices are a little more expensive because of the import costs for the shop but I think you'll also find their to go teas to be very reasonable.

I dropped by Monday for lunch and bought two tins of Koicha. Can't wait to taste!

How was the selection of stuff for sale?

I loved the store in Kyoto soooo much.

The selection is pretty nice. Obviously the entire collection isn't there but there is a nice variety and several options for each type of green tea and there are many different non-tea items as well (ie, canisters, utensils, teapots etc).

avocado wrote:The selection is pretty nice. Obviously the entire collection isn't there but there is a nice variety and several options for each type of green tea and there are many different non-tea items as well (ie, canisters, utensils, teapots etc).

It will be interesting to compare price points. I do like the idea of just being able to pop in and get some matcha, rather than having to order it online.

Chip wrote:......am sure the overwhelming majority of Westerners (not just those living in the USA) welcome Ippodo to NYC, NY, USA, West. We can only hope to see more tradtional Japanese vendors making the bold move westward.

Would be stellar if Ippodo made a stop in Los Angeles.

Just yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with a Japanese archery practitioner who drinks tea with her group every Sunday after archery. The green tea they drink is very watered down according to reports. Yet, the sensei with whom she studies is a Shingon monk from Kyoto and is a direct decedent of the founder of the Kukai temple which is over 800 years old.

Could it be that the tradition of drinking Japanese tea, in the correct proportions, is diluted here in the US because we have so few good examples? Do Japanese in the US just drink their greens weaker here because they forgot how to steep correctly? or is it customary to steep very light for groups? At any rate, quality tea houses are needed to reintroduce to the US market the experience. Remember, prior to Starbucks it was pretty difficult to find quality coffee here, it was brown water as I remember it. Starbucks elevated brewing parameters for the general public in a good way. We need more places like Ippodo to elevate the discourse and the taste experience.

If Ippodo & others don't try to get their tea known (as well as knowledge about preparation of tea), almost everyone in North America who seek tea outside of supermarkets will only see Teavanna & David's Tea (which recently opened in Boston) to be overcharged, misinformed, etc.

They & their ilk win the wars, but they need not win every battle. If the market is left only to those who care about tea far less than they care about exploiting people's ignorance & dominating & expanding the market; then, most people will be ill-served & only a very small minority will find refuge through teachat & on-line purchases.

There are so few places where one can be served a good tea prepared properly, that an Ippodo in New York that I may never get to, gives me a significant amount of hope.

Well I am extremely pleased to have ippodo come to NYC. Despite the proliferation of dedicated tea shops in recent years, getting a really good japanese green, even in NYC has been nigh on an impossibility up until now.

I don't see tea going into the mainstream in the same way as a starbucks or a mcDonalds... but even if it did, I would see it as a positive move. The majority of the population (at least of the U.S.) sees tea in 1 of 2 ways... either british style with milk and sugar and your grandma, or southern style with enough sugar to make an 8 oz cola blush.

If high quality teas gained popularity, and more people gained an appreciation for them sans milk, sans sugar, how could that not be a good thing? Regardless of the industrialization of it all, there will always be someone filling a need for higher quality, more specialty and refined tastes.

Regardless of what you think of Starbucks coffee (I don't drink coffee, but I hear it's rather burnt), It has helped fuel much of the current coffee culture in America.... and thus the demand for better quality product.

As much as I would love to hold my tea-passion as something secret and special that other people don't (can't) understand, if tea companies aren't successful I won't be able to enjoy their teas anymore... All the best to Ippodo!