Subtle Tea… A Cuppa to Go
Take two all American boys from Long Island, New York add a trip to Europe and steep; the end result is Subtle Tea. A terrific tea bar located on Madison Avenue at East 30th Street, Subtle Tea serves up delicious loose leaf teas to go. Customers choose their pleasure from a vast list of exotic flavors, opt for one of three sizes and whether the brew should be served hot or over ice.
The Subtle Tea concept is a simple yet terrific one: serve tea in a manner similar to how premium coffee bars have been glorifying a Cuppa Joe. Patrons step in to the warm and contemporary shop, choose from a divine menu and depart with a delicious and perfectly steeped cup of tea in hand. Tea lovers are finally offered the same to-go comforts coffee lovers have been afforded all these years. All teas are steeped from high quality blends developed by Florapharm Tea, a German tea company founded by two former pharmacists.
Subtle Tea is the brainchild of two brothers, Tim and Todd Cella. The brothers had been contemplating opening a business and Todd, the older of the two conceived of the Subtle Tea concept while traveling in Europe. After two years of planning, procurement of financial partners and a storefront within Manhattan, the tea bar was launched in August of 2006. They now have plans to open ten tea bars over the course of the next five years, the next one being planned for the West side of Manhattan.
So far the Subtle Tea patrons have ranged from novice to slightly more experienced tea drinkers. Many are drawn in by the dessert like flavors, as is evidenced by two of Subtle Tea’s best sellers: Almond Cookies Green Tea, a Chinese Sencha flavored with coconut and almond and 8 Treasures of the Shaolin, a blend of 8 green teas flavored with strawberries and pineapple. Tim Cella, the twenty-eight year old owner you will often find behind the counter personally favors the 8 Treasures variety. His enthusiasm for tea abounds, no doubt his customers have absorbed some of his passion for this particular flavor.
Other teas that are popular at Subtle Tea include their Organic English Breakfast tea which is a blend of Ceylon highland teas; Manhattan Earl Grey a high quality blend of black tea with bergamot, sunflowers and mallow flowers; Chai Americaine, a traditional chai blend with a spicy yet creamy flavor; Digestive Herbal Helper, a tisane of chamomile, peppermint and lemon balm. The tea menu is broken down into morning, afternoon and evening varieties. It provides for some fun reading, either from the large chalkboard mounted on the wall behind the tea counter or from the paper menus that can be taken home for a longer study. With names like White Himalaya Pineapple Spice, Party of The Jungle Black & Green Tea and Carnival Fruit Blend it seems as if there is a celebration in every cup. There are a few non-flavored teas for the purists and the owners intend to expand this selection as soon as they are able.
Subtle Tea
121 Madison Avenue at 30th Street
New York, NY 10016
212-481-4713
Open Monday thru Friday 6:30-8, Saturday 7-7 and Sunday 8-6
Free Local Delivery
I guess the abundance of tea merchants is a good tradeoff for having to live in the city. The pickings are kind of slim out here in the heartland.