Tea gallery

my son, his fiancee, and myself were looking forward to visiting the
tea gallery on allen street today-

our experience was less than satisfactory- i had heard so many good
things about this teashop-but we were very disapponted-

instead of being graciously invited into the tea shop we were treated
rather rudely-we wanted to have a cup of tea-this was not offered to
us-we
were asked f we wanted tea tastng at $24 --we did not want anything
for free
this was not what we were expectng-Michael Plant and friends always
have good things to say about the the tea gallery-

we left and wlll not return-

joanne r. aka jpr54_

On Jul 20, 5:28 pm, Michael Plant <mpl...@pipeline.com> wrote:
> > my son, his fiancee, and myself were looking forward to visiting the tea
> > gallery on allen street today-
> > our experience was less than satisfactory- i had heard so many good things
> > about this teashop-but we were very disapponted-
> > instead of being graciously invited into the tea shop we were treated
> > rather rudely-we wanted to have a cup of tea-this was not offered to us-we
> > were asked f we wanted tea tastng at $24 --we did not want anything for
> > free this was not what we were expectng-Michael Plant and friends always
> > have good things to say about the the tea gallery-
> > we left and wlll not return-
> > joanne r.
>
> Joanne,
> Hup ho, I see my name!
> Sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience. You know, The Tea Gallery is a tea and teaware shop, not a sit-down-and-drink-tea shop for the most part. Did you make it clear to the person you spoke with that you wanted to come in and drink tea because you had heard about the shop? Perhaps that would have been more productive. Can you be more specific about the rudeness you mention? The situation you describe doesn't sound rude on the face of it. Again, sorry you walked away unhappy. I should add that I have no financial interest in the shop, I'm a custumer. (Joanne's post can be read elsewhere.)
> Michael

I need an explanation of what exactly is a tea and teaware shop? what
type of experiences did u have have? Beside calling ahead of time-what
should I expect-
everytime u go to the store do u purchase tea-and then leave or do u
sit and chat with owner over several cups of tea?

I apologize-i t was not my intent to imply that u were an owner-just
a customer- and someone whose opinions i value-

On Jul 20, 8:54 am, joann...@ wrote:

I have been to several tea venues in New York, and they are all less
than satisfactory~
Franchia was a total letdown, I went there 3 times and they couldn't
brew a green tea right; T Salon & T Emporium, I would be surprise if
they are still around! The tearoom upstairs was like a Harry Potter
set, and the white tea in the jars might well be older than my
granny. Teany was the doom of tea drinkers.
As for Tea Gallery, I didn't have a good experience with the place in
the beginning, but that was because I went there twice (once in the
torrential rain), and found the place closed on weekdays! Then I found
out that I have to all ahead to inform them, which I subsequently did,
and the time I spent there was wonderful.
The Tea Gallery does not profess itself a place that sells ready made
tea for you to drink, it does not expressively sell you tea, and there
are no serving staff around to show you to the table. If you like
looking for a tea place like The Tea Box @ Takashimaya, Wild Lily Tea
Room, where it is a commercially established with full set of staff in
waiting and tables where you can sit down and drink tea undisturbed,
you have probably gotten a wrong impression. There are only about 2
tables in The Tea Gallery, where guests sit around and Michael or
Winnie brews tea painstakingly for the guests to sip and sample. You
probably have misconceived ideas that The Tea Gallery is a regular
teahouse. It isn't.
It's like walking into Urasenke Chanoyu Center and ask for a cup of
tea because you are thirsty.
Kevo

On 2008-07-23, Kevo <Kelmo8818@> wrote:

> Franchia was a total letdown, I went there 3 times and they couldn't
> brew a green tea right;

I haven't had a lot of other Korean wild green teas, but I think
Franchia (and Hangawi) do a pretty good job of brewing green tea - they
use very cool water, especially for the first and second picked stuff.
The taste is light, and more subtle than most of the Chinese green teas
I've had.

Usually, when I've been there, they have you brew the tea yourself, so
I'm surprised you said they can't brew the tea right - I've mostly seen
them give you a ceramic infuser tea cup or a small pot, along with a
thermal carafe of water, at the temperature they think is right for that
tea, and let you brew everything after the first brew yourself.

w

On my last trip to SF Chinatown I'm eating in a restaurant by myself
and I notice the kitchen and service staff sit down around 2:45pm to
eat. I'm taking notes on what the chef was eating and who was suppose
to waite on who. A large group walks in around 3pm noting how they
had the place to themselves. I wondered how they would get served
since everyone as sitting and eating. They were told lunch was over
at 2:30pm and dinner was open at 5pm. There was a lot of huff,huff
and watch this $200 cheque walk out the door. Everybody continued
eating and I had the place to myself. It was wonderful.

Jim

PS My local tea shoppe has a nice Korean tea called King Green. Its
their only one.

Kevo wrote:
> On Jul 28, 8:28?am, joann...@ wrote:
>
> >
> > you still have not answered my questions---i appreciated answers ppl
> > gave me-and "i don't treat tea shops as i like"--
>
> Hi Joanne, I think you shouldn't be so soured and hound endlessly for
> others' opinions. Many other poster have given you their experience at
> The Tea Gallery, and Michael too (he says it is always a delightful
> experience), and I don't see the valid point of you still pursuing the
> topic.
....I thought theres the door was a typical NY attitude according to
West Coast media bias...