On 2008-07-22, > wrote:

> I have been to a number of tea shops in New York City, New Jersey, and
> elsewhere.
>
> I was surprised by our experience at "The Tea Gallary".

> Then we were told that we could do a tasting for $24. It was a little
> bit strange. He wasn't very enthusiastic about serving us.
>
> I wandered around the store for a little bit, it was cute, but
> disorganized. I had trouble figuring out what tea was for sale.
>
> I think there might have been a little bit of a cultural barrier. He
> didn't seem to understand why we were annoyed.

Tea Gallery isn't really a normal store, and definitely isn't a
teahouse. It's primarily a shop to buy tea leaves, and I think the cost
of the tasting is both to ensure that people don't just come in to try
tea without buying, and to subsidize the cost of the different teas they
brew for you while you're there. They don't really keep regular hours,
or deal a lot with walk-ins, and they don't serve cups / pots of tea.
Most of the people who come in know this, so this might be part of why
he was less than enthusiastic.

I haven't been there for a couple of years, but when I did show up (with
little advance notice), Michael came down to the shop to brew tea for me
(even though I hadn't called in advance), and was very friendly and
helpful. He even tried to sell me a tea that was at least 50% cheaper
than the one that I probably would have picked on my own.

Their website explains pretty well what they do:
http://www.theteagallery.com/Articles.asp?ID=131

We love to have visitors but sometimes we close our doors to
the public for private events. It's always best to call ahead
and let us know of your plans so we can make sure you have a
happy shopping experience.
[...]
We offer private tea-tastings by appointment. A tasting can be
customized to the clients' specific interests. A basic session
is $24.00 per person with a maximum of 6 people per session.

Personal Chiu Jao Gong Fu classes led by Michael are also
available by appointment. $80.00 for 3 classes.

It's a boutique business, and the prices are higher than they might be
otherwise (or than they might be in a city with lower rent). But you can
try the teas before buying, and the business model makes sense to me as
long as there are enough people willing to pay - if you're a tea shop
owner, you constantly are getting people coming in wanting iced tea, a
cup of tea, tea to go, and for the amount of money that people are
typically willing to pay for this, a lot of times, sometimes it's just
not worth it.

I don't know this for sure, but I imagine, if you bought some tea leaf,
they might refund part or all of the tasting charge.

If you want to drink a cup of tea in NY, there are plenty of places that
will happily take your money.

w