TeaChat

I'm thinking about taking some road trips soon.

I've always been interested in getting matcha tea or other green teas prepared by an expert versus just getting a tea bag dropped into a cup.

I was wondering if there is such a place in New York city or Philadelphia.

Authentic tea, made the proper way, no tea bags.

Thanks much in advance for any information

haha, yep! I would say Ippodo may be the only place to get real authentic tea on the entire eastern seaboard...

There's also Cha-an down near St.Marks... they are more geared toward the food honestly, the tea is pretty good (though maybe not prepared very well), they do have a mini tearoom where they supposedly do authentic Sado... however I've never done it here personally.

I have not been to Tea Drunk yet, but a good friend has enjoyed the place very much.

They have Chinese greens.

http://www.t-drunk.com/

Tea Drunk
123 East 7th Street
New York, NY 10009

In Philly you might be able to attend a tea ceremony at Shofuso:
http://www.shofuso.com/?page_id=271
It looks like they are done for the season but for future reference...

Other than that, Philly sucks for tea...trust me, I worked there for 12 years.

You just missed Robiraki. There will be two seatings for Hatsugama for the Urasenke Philadelphia Tanko Kai on Sunday, January 19. This is a formal event that requires paid registration. PM me for details closer to the event as they are not yet available. If you are in town and jonesing, you can drink matcha at Random Tea Room, though it will not be prepared by a skilled chanoyu practitioner.

Cha An Japanese Tea House is my favorite NYC teahouse.

100% authentic, cozy, all the details perfect in that wabi sabi way. Not too pricey. Lots of matcha desserts and the 'set menu's' are delicious.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cha-an-new-york

http://www.chaanteahouse.com

230 e 9th St, NY NY

It's cash only and no reservations, I usu try to go early ~5 or 6pm on a weekday.

[img]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/22/ga5e2u2e.jpg[/img]

(Edit: I had no idea Ippodo opened a store in New York! Can't wait to check it out. Thanks Pooblah.)

Hi joel, welcome back!

Ippodo in NYC is a tea shop and also a restaurant. Several TCers along with yours truly were fortunate enough to attend a special pre-grand opening event there before it's opening.