Happy Lunar New Year!

Rabbit painting by Tsui Po

 

Many thanks to our dear tea friends and patrons for your continued support and patronage.

Gong Hay Fat Choy from all us at the little tearoom on Howard Street. May the Year of the Rabbit bring you good health and fortune.

 It's been quite a year for the tearoom and I'm looking forward to what the rabbit will bring. Hopefully not more snow or sleet or the icicle that nearly took out my eye. This past month has introduced us to many new tea friends and we've discovered new developments in the New York tea community. I'm keeping a close eye on our friend Kingston's new Brooklyn venture. I got to handle some royal yixing at his place and Brandon was there to record it. He continues my last post on his blog WrongFu Cha. I can hardly wait for his official opening.

The past few months have been devoted to tasting and testing some exclusive teas from The Mandarin's tearoom. While this is the Tea Gallery blog, my dual job identity means some overlap and I'll be using this space to review teas from both companies. Check back soon to see what we've been drinking these past weeks.


Our Big February Event:

An Evening of Chinese Tea and Tradition:
The annual Coffee and Tea Festival comes to NYC this month and we're sponsoring a special VIP tasting and presentation at the show! For the first time ever, The Tea Gallery and The Mandarin's Tearoom will be showcasing Chinese tea and it's culture in an exclusive evening event on Saturday the 19th from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Much of what we'll be sharing is based on the lecture series we do for private audiences and educational programs. We'll take a brief look at the historic forces that shaped Chinese tea and influenced the rest of the world. We'll also explore ancient tea myths and learn how to develop a modern palate for tasting teas. The second part of the evening is a tasting reception where tea masters, Michael Wong and Timothy Hsu demonstrate traditional brewing styles and serve signature teas of the tearoom. 
Learn more at: VIP Tasting Event.
When: Festival starts February 19-20, 11am - 5pm
Where: 7 West 34th Street (between 6th and 5th Avenue), New York, NY 10001
Due to space constraints, seating is limited and participants are urged to buy tickets ahead of time to reserve their spots. Tickets to the VIP event can be purchased along with Saturday's admission or purchased separately: Get Tickets!

10% off any teas or accessories purchased during the events. We will also be raffling of free admission tickets ($20.00 value each) for the upcoming NYC Coffee and Tea Festival at our weekly Wednesday tasting events on Feb. 9th and 16th.

February 2010 - Wednesday night tea tasting schedule: $20.00 per person

• February 9       Puer Tea              6:30 - 7:30pm
• February 16     Oolong Tea          6:30 - 7:30pm
• February 23     Japanese Tea      6:30 - 7:30pm