I met up with a friend I haven't seen in ages. We've known each other since high school through our art club during my second or third year. I can't quite remember. Our friendship wasn't exactly close since club meetings were limited to once per week. I'm still glad we got to bond again. G suggested we meet up at a tea place called Harney & Sons.
It was my first time stepping into a tea place. Usually I'm skeptical, but why not give this place a try first. Located in SoHo, I walked past tall buildings and spotted the establishment. It was very empty for the most part. Half the store is dedicated to selling teas and teaware. The other half is a lounge where you can sit down and have tea with your friends. We sat for probably three hours and the staff didn't seem to mind. I bet we can even stay longer. I saw G sitting near a visible area so I can find our table. The walls are painted a shade of lilac purple. The atmosphere is calming and refreshing for the most part.
I took a long look at their menu. They pride themselves in their large selection of teas. To test them, I looked at how they organized Chinese teas. Indeed they were well informed. Chinese teas were separated into black teas, oolong teas, and green teas. A less informed tea place may place an oolong tea under green tea. Even for their Chinese black teas, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have many varieties rather than sticking with one variety. I went with a Keemun Maofeng (祁門毛峰) because it is a rather common variety of black tea of fairly good quality. You have a choice of picking a small pot or a large pot. I went with a small pot for $6 all to myself. With the tea cups giving, you have roughly 4 cups of tea to yourself. I think next time I can go for a second infusion (extra $3) or maybe go for the large pot ($8). I drink a hell lot of tea at home. In addition to ordering tea for a very long talk, I decided to try their scones ($6).
It was a fairly cool weather that day and I regret walking out in short sleeves while everyone else was in a hoodie on the street. I guess I was trying to be a bad ass and became a fool instead. Since I was half freezing from the AC, I was not in the mood for something ice cold. Hot tea was my best option. The little tea pot that your tea comes in keeps your tea warm which I like very much. It doesn't let the heat dissipate so quickly. The scones I order also arrived. You get 2 scones on a long plate that are heated. It is also accompanied with Devonshire cream and a raspberry jam. Since I don't handle things so delicately, I ended up crumbling a lot of my scone due to my rough handling of the knife. I enjoyed spreading both cream and jam on my scones, but I'm more partial to the jam. I prefer less cream and I couldn't finish the cream spread on my scones. Scones are lightly sweetened and have a soft interior. It was quite good though next time I would like to try something else on the menu like a cupcake or a plate of shortbread cookies.
Our last leg of the day took place at TJ's Coffee World in Chinatown where we did more talking and more sitting. Maybe another 2 hours. This time I was craving for something to soothe my throat and got myself a 16 oz lemonade ($2.30). It was very acidic for me so I added their watered down honey into my drink. Aahh, much better. It did taste like freshly squeezed lemon juice and did my throat some good.
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