I saw in the paper mention of a new tea shoppe in the metro area. It
is run by a woman who lived in France for 12 years and decided to start
her own. It is located in a major antique area so she gets a lot of
foot traffic. I thought this a good location. She makes the pastries
and serves a limited menu. She had a good selection of teas. All the
teas from India were from recognizable estates. I got a pot of
Makaibari green Darjeeling FOP. All the 16oz pots were $5 and 26oz
$6.50. Since they're not topped off you're lucky to get 2/3 of either.
Nobody can make a pot to satisfy me. The only thing I know about tea
shoppes they are expensive for what you get. What I saved on the free
day at the Nature and Science museum I spent for lunch and tea. Most
of the tables were full on Sunday and the owner made sure to chat at
each. We had a short discussion on Darjeeling white teas. She seemed
embarrassed when I asked the cost per oz on the Makaibari. She said $3
and I told her $10/100g was the standard cost of any estate tea from
anywhere let alone something that was more premium. I was probably her
first customer who understood metrics. My local tea shoppe is doing
well. The last time I was in I thought the help pesky and annoying.
If I was running a tea shoppe every pot would be one liter.

Jim