Tea shops and ways to serve tea?

At Davids, they (theoretically) put the correct amount of tea and temp of water in a perfect mug or a filter bag in a to-go cup and you take it out when it is to your liking. I like that as I can stop it early or let it go, depending on my tastes.

At another shop I went to, they also pre-measured the tea and water into a French Press and gave me a small hour glass for 1, 3 or 5 minutes I think. I found that worked well for hardier teas, but the water was often too hot for sensitive teas and it got bitter. I also don’t personally like french presses, but that is just me.

Other than that I don’t often drink tea out, other than Tim Hortons. I think ideally, they do a certain temp and amount of tea to water, then tell you the recommendation but let you do it yourself. If I were to go a gongfu ceremony or something though, obviously I’d like them to do it all and just tell me when to drink.

As I plan my own tea shop, this is something I’ve thought about a lot – and I still don’t have a good solution. I like the hourglass idea, though it’s hardly exact. When I get tea from a shop, I set my own timer starting from when I see them pour the water. In my (still theoretical) shop, I’d measure the tea correctly into the cup, then give a recommendation about how long to let it steep. If I’m serving in a gaiwan, I’d give them a pot of hot water and a list of steeping times for multiple steeps. I’d love to hear from others who have visited many tea shops. Is there a graceful solution to this?

Less conventional, but oh-so-peculiar: bubble tea! Add some milk, honey, and tapioca pearls. Check out Honey Bubble in Atlanta!

For a more traditional tea experience, I’ve love frequenting Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party.

(hints)
Open near a college/area with “young intellectuals”
Name your place something fancy a la Underwater Tea Party!
It’s all about design.

(links)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/honey-bubble-atlanta-2
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dr-bombays-underwater-tea-party-atlanta

I know this is way too basic. you will have thought of all this already…This was a recent experience that showed my what not to do…. I went into a tea shop in Colorado Springs yesterday. First of all, the teas were all in pretty clear glass jars (about 1.5 gallon size) with no samples to sniff other than taking the whole jar down and opening it by my self. I brought jars over to the counter one at a time as I looked around. I asked for 3 oz. of each (a pretty large amount but the tea wasn’t overly expensive. She bagged them up in cheap plastic bags (not the 4 mil. we all try to use. She wrote the name of the tea but no steeping parameters. I asked her about it and she didn’t even know what I was talking about.

Sooooo… I would suggest:
1.The tea should be in sun-protected containers with a smaller container for sniffing.
2.Have people know something about tea. (Really, I’m not that particular, or snobby about tea) But they should be able to say something helpful.
3. Have labels with printed directions and ingredients list.
4. Have water temps set for the appropriate teas and give them some kind of timer and tell them how long you suggest. ( I have a Breville so I have been so spoiled with never having to set temp and time. ;p )
5. Many times I’ve used a sand timer at tea shops. They look cute and work well. It lets newbies begin to realize that teas are all different and have different ways of brewing without getting to technical.

I don’t know if this is particularly helpful but I just had to get this experience off my chest. :D

Thanks for the ideas! I really like the sand timer, because if a person is super new to tea, it’s simple. Sure it isn’t that accurate with finer teas, but at least they won’t greatly over steep it.

I really like the way Harney in SoHo steeps tea for tasting. I have yet to have an actual sit down tea in their tea parlor, but the people at the tea counter definitely know what’s up.
Here’s how a tasting goes down:

-You tell them what tea you want to try
-They set a digital timer, use the appropriate water temp and steep the tea in a little ceramic cup.
-When the timer goes off, they drain off the tea into a teacup and present the steeped leaves for you to examine while you sip. They will resteep as many times as you request.

The people behind the tea bar are also really knowledgable. I asked if they get trained on tea when they join and apparently they all get sent up to the location in Millerton to get fully trained before being allowed to staff the tea bar. Great stuff!

They only issue I have is that if you ask to see or smell a tea, they just pour it out the the large tins that the store loose tea in and let you sniff it. Once you’re done, they pour it right back in. How many people have sniffed, handled, possibly sneezed or coughed onto the leaves I’m about to buy? Makes me a bit squeamish though I buy the tea anyway. I wish they had a system like David’s. Each tin lid has a little well where the tea for sniffing is stored so the tea you buy from the actual tin is mostly untouched except for scooping tea out for sale.

How does Verdant serve their tea? I was going to visit, but my flight had to be cancelled :(

Proper Tea in Manchester: the tea was brought over in a glass teapot with a spacious metal infuser and you are provided with a decanting container for once it has brewed (as designated by the preset timer the staff give to you) and you just pour it into there. They also leave the teapot for you and offer you a free refill to resteep the tea again. It’s not the cheapest place but the service I found was very very good.

Mariage Freres. They brew the tea for you and transfer the tea to a leave free teapot after the proper time for steeping. It is severed in an armor coated teapot. No guess work, no timing involved on the customers part.