Just My Cup of Tea

(above:  photo I took of Kaly Soto's “Sipping Serenity in The City” article for The New York Times)

Tea has such restorative powers; dating back to Ancient Asian cultures, it has even been used a medicine, which makes sense why the art of drinking and making tea are taken quite seriously throughout the globe. Even so, tea parlors are often more of an oasis than your typical restaurant experience. In the March 10^th issue of The New York Times, I read an article by Kaly Soto, entitled “Sipping Serenity in The City” which just made me smile. In writing the piece, Soto explored some of New York’s best tea party spots like Tea & Sympathy, a riff on lyrics from The Rolling Stone’s song “Let it Bleed” and which Vogue magazine’s , red-headed, cat-loving style maverick, Grace Coddington has noted as one of her foodie favorites. Along her exploration, Soto infuses personal anecdotes, vocabulary (that help us differentiate between regular tea and “high tea”), and even gives a little history lesson about the beloved aromatic beverage. If you’re a follower of this blog, you know that Alice’s Tea Cup is one of my go-to spots for all things whimsical and delicious, so I was delighted to see when Ms. Soto gave it a riveting review. Alice’s is named after Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which is notable from the murals of scenes from the book throughout to the names of items on the menu like The Mad Hatter tea special. Others on Soto's  tea-spree included The Russian Tea Room, (the more opulent of New York's tea parlor offerings), The Palm Court at The Plaza (where they pay homage to Eloise with her namesake tea), and many others of interest. By the end of the article I was craving tiers of scones and finger sandwiches.

Check out the article here and comment with your favorite tea spots!

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