I went to Chinatown last month with two of my old friends from Leadership Academy. I was on a mission to find a new type of loose-leaf green tea I could bring home to enjoy. The three of us stopped inside the famous NYC Tea Ren tea shop but left soon after entering due to the unfriendly staff who watch shoppers like a hawk. I decided it wasn’t worth doing business with any of them. Theft must occur there very frequently because I can’t imagine why else they stalk every person who enters.
Onward we walked, continuing my search for the perfect tea shop.
We found this one tea shop off to the side of Bayard Street called Sun’s Organic Garden. It was stunning inside. The walls are lined with glass containers filled with organic teas created and blended by the shop’s owner.
I strolled around reading the names of the beautiful teas. You could tell this was not a Teavana or David’s Tea. The shop’s owner put time, thought, and care into each individual mix.
I didn’t particularly know what I wanted to buy. There were so many options. Containers of tea lined shelves spanning from the floor to the ceiling. They were sometimes several levels deep with containers hiding out of sight. I read somewhere online that her small shop has over 70 organic teas alone.
The first kind of tea I bought was one called Sweet Winter. This tea contained apple and a variety of spices like rosemary and rosehip, among others. The tea had a great aroma and looked so fruitful. Upon going home, I made myself a cup just to try it out.
The tea was naturally sweet and very pleasant but I probably wouldn’t buy it again. I prefer bitter teas of the green variety. Leading me to my next purchase:
I also bought Green Bull– the healthier alternative to Red Bull. I didn’t even get the reference to Red Bull while in the tea shop. I was too focused on the ingredients and overwhelmed by the selection around me to take notice of the play on words. “Green Bull” is a green tea blend of loose-leaf tea with Japanese matcha. Matcha is actually loose-leaf tea ground up into a fine powder. Since matcha contains the full tea leaf, it is naturally high in caffeine. Green tea leaves release some of their caffeine when steeped in hot water so containing both, green bull packs a nice punch and is an excellent choice if you want something that will wake you up in the morning.
The lemon and ginger are an added bonus since I love both flavors. I’ll definitely be buying more green bull on my next visit to Sun’s Organic Garden tea shop.
Follow My Blog
