#tecompany

[allsadnshit]

wishing you good digestion! I’m sure you’ve answered this, but can you recommend a source to buy Taiwanese tea? (If you want to gatekeep, I respect 🫡)

getting mine from teappo and tecompany

[happygoriley]

Staying hydrated with some iced @tecompany tea!💦☀️🐾 #hothotheat #heatwave #dogsofnyc #tecompany #icedtea #floof #doggosdoingthings #weeklyfluff #doge #pupper #proudshibas #muchwow #sheeb #shiba_snap #shibasofinstagram #shibaholics #buzzfeedanimals #bestwoof #weeklyfluff (at Té Company)

[yunraychung]

是遙遠而美麗的記憶之殘葉。 #NewYork #NYC #NY #NewYorkCity #TaiwanTea #Tea #TaiwaneseTea #TeCompany #Asia #Taiwan (à Té Company) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2lzTaBj_y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1d1f4ctrv7v8j

[chiangtiff]

#spring #springequinox #tulips #springbreak #té #tecompany #westvillage #greenwichvillage (at Té Company)

[joeyteatime]

Beautiful teas from té company in NYC

[teaformeplease]

Day 2 of our NYC tea tour started with pot after pot of oolong at @tecompany.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ I indulged in one of their famous pineapple linzer cookies and a slice of cheesecake covered in wildflower honey, all paired with their Graceful Hill oolong. It was light and floral, a perfect choice for a hot day.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (at Té Company) https://www.instagram.com/p/B07B2Shn2ck/?igshid=16dsgdrioisfc

[purpleduckpictures]

Monster #foshou leaves from @tecompany out at the stone table today (at Setting Sun Teahut)

[johannakolodny]

Following pastries for breakfast, lunch @tecompany for a tea flight and pork and rice bowl, the celebratory opening of @lizzyoungbookseller we ended the evening with some small plates @lavarany which I’m embarrassed to say was my first time. Some outstanding dishes with @darra.goldstein and I both agreeing the chicken heart skewers stole the show. @alexraij #spanishtapas #spanishfood (at La Vara) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq8OlzZhGVt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=h0iytacrsv9e

[3pieceonline]

Repost: Endive. Parm. Boquerones. A keep-it-simple-stupid kind of salad over at @tecompany. 📷: @emilyeisen #bastaff : @bonappetitmag http://ift.tt/2DUL9Q3

[aromam]

Delicate and delicious Oolong Te at Te Company #tea #oolong #tecompany #westvillage #nyc @jadedressler @alessa_doc74

[riverheadbooks]

We’re thrilled to partner with the exquisite Té company to bring you our first ever tea + book pairing. We invited Té Company founder Elena Liao to choose a tea complimentary to Helen Oyeyemi’s fiction, and Elena picked Oriental Beauty Reserve. Elena says:

“This tea is complex yet feminine. Perfume of muscat grape and red roses gently floats in and out the senses. The silky infusion is very present on the palette with just a hint of honey. A desirable Oriental Beauty requires a well-balanced ecosystem where the tea leaf is bitten by its natural predator, a tiny neon green cricket. The tea plant then releases a self-defending chemical that is required to achieve its signature aromas.” 

Sounds pretty good to us! Check out our Instagram to see how you can win a copy of the book and a box of Oriental Beauty!

[chaxicollective]

Tea and Food

I recently returned from a trip to NYC. I wasn’t there strictly for tea, and even though I was in town during the Coffee and Tea festival in Brooklyn, I was not able to attend (but I did see everyone’s pics!). Instead was working on this art project with Valerie Hird. If you happen to be in the City, head to the Nohra Haime Gallery on 5th ave - 7th floor of the Crown Building to see the tree.

Although I was primarily in town to work, I did find time to time to visit lots of tea places, some I’ve been to before and some that I didn’t know about or hadn’t opened the last time I was in the city.

I met my friend Ben at @teadrunknyc and shared some delicious Shui Xian (I believe) and also some Sheng puer from Jinnuoshan. Later in the weeks I popped into Ippodo which was only a 15 minute walk (for me) from the gallery. I picked up some tea and got some Usucha to go. I also showed the person in the shop pictures of my teahut. He smiled, said “very nice” and gave a slight bow.

New to my this trip were T-shopny and Té Company. T-shop I heard about from @oasisteagarden I believe. This little shop in the back of a building that also has a psychic in it, is a hidden gem of tea culture in NYC. The teas are really tasty, Theresa is quite knowledgeable and the service model is also unique. You have three options of service with three different price points. first option is to order a tea that she prepares for you in pitchers and you can get more water when you’re done for $5. next option is to make it yourself in chaxi/gongfu fashion where you have a thermos of water to yourself for $15 and the 3rd and perhaps most interesting option (which I did not have time to try) is to sit at the brewstation and drink tea with her. This gives you the ability to ask any questions about the tea as it’s being made as well as the option to share tea even if you happen to go alone. This option is $10 - very reasonable especially for how good the tea is. it is also worth noting that each subsequent to you add to each preparation method gets a discount (so if you sit with her and drink two teas, you would pay $15 and three teas would be $20) this doesn’t apply to the first method in which each tea would just cost $5 Next time i’m in the city I will go back, sit with Theresa and whoever else might be there and just geek out on tea talk. I’ve only had 4 of the teas so obviously there is much tasting to be done.

These experiences were lovely and the tea was yummy but the most memorable also happens to be the newest. Té Company in the west village is beyond a hidden gem (whatever that means) Elena and Frederico have something really special going on here. A small shop just off 7th ave holds mighty treasure in the form of delicious tea and food. My dear friend Lauren (who also happened to be my gracious host during my stay in NY) told me about this place a few months ago right after they opened. Lauren spoke highly of me so when I was introduced it was like Elena already knew me! “Oh you’re the tea guy, the one with the teahut” We sat down for tea, ordered some Li Shan, Hong Shui and also an aged oolong from ‘85. All were fantastic, the Li Shan buttery and floral, Hong Shui , smooth and sweet and the ‘85 a nice dried fruit and leathery quality I love about aged oolong. Now these teas would be great in any shop but combined with the knowledge Elena has and the information about each tea (roast, oxidation, cultivar etc) it makes the teas more special. As we sipped our three teas, Frederico, the Chef, came in with his prepped food for the day. The “Kitchen” of the shop is not meant for full scale cooking like that of a conventional restaurant so like any good chef, he adapts his cooking and preparation to his environment. Sourcing many ingredients from the Union Square market, He prepares a daily menu that often has Tortilla with some of the best olive oil I’ve ever consumed. sometimes there’s cured meats or cheese and sometimes a soup. The bread he makes is also fantastic, Lauren is plotting to get some of the Mother dough if Frederico lets her... Our last visit included an elegant stack of baby radishes with an almond paste and shaved horseradish that was all actually quite sweet. I’m not sure of the individual prices for the food items as we basically just told them to keep bringing us food until we were full. To top off the meal and tea experience, there are incredible Pineapple linzer cookies that Saveur magazine just called best in the city!

So this was what a typical visit to the shop looks like -  now for the extra special part. During my stay, Lauren had a birthday and her fiancee, Josh, treated us to a 6 course, 5 tea private dinner that was so memorable and yet also I can’t remember what all the delicious food was.. I may have over consumed that night... I do remember all the teas though. Bai Hao, “Honeyed Evergreen” “Graceful Hill” Hong Yu, and finally a Muzha Tie Guan Yin that paired perfectly with dessert at the end of the night. Elena explained the teas to us, some history as well as processing differences for those at the table unfamiliar with the world of cha. Helping her serve and explain was Jeff Ruiz, a tea curator for some of the cities more tea-venturous establishments like Atera. Between each tea pairing, Frederico would come explain the magic he plated before us only for us to drool, inhale it all too quickly and then forget what we had just eaten like our taste buds were so overwhelmed we just blacked it out.

Now even though this was a unique birthday experience, there is hope! Té Company has monthly dinners as well as tea tastings you can book with Elena. Both are great ways to experience all the wonderful things they do at the shop. I can’t recommend this place enough so if you are in the city, you must go.

[te-company-blog]

This Week's Featured Tea is the 066/Frozen Summit Reserve.

http://www.te-nyc.com/collections/rare-reserve/products/066-frozen-summit-reserve

The Frozen Summit, also known as Dong Ding, is the archetypal oolong tea.  Its journey starts in the hills of the Lugu Township of Taiwan.  Harvested by hand to ensure their quality, the leaves begin to wither, removing excess water and allowing the oxidation process to begin.  The Frozen Summit oolong tea leaves are left in a climate-controlled room to go through a fermentation process, allowing the Frozen Summit tea to reach oxidation levels of 40%.  Once the tea leaves are near their optimal oxidization point, they are wrapped tightly to begin their shaping and tumbling process.  It allows the leaves to finalize its oxidization process and form their compact shape.  With notes of walnuts and wild honey this medium-bodied variety of oolong, this is the perfect accompaniment to your afternoon snack.

[johannakolodny]

Finally, two years late, I made it to @tecompany and it confirmed my suspicions that I should have gone sooner. For the indecisive like me, they offer a flight of three tea tastings. I look forward to making my way through all their offerings over time. The pork and rice bowl could easily become a weekly ritual. #taiwanesefood #tea #oolong #taiwan #lunchbreak @cacmatz (at Té Company)

[purpleduckpictures]

This tea is good. #tecompany #oolong #tieguanyin (at Setting Sun Teahut)