Tea Drunk

Serenity now! This small tea house offers some limited and superior tea leaves to assist with unwinding or resetting oneself. You may feel like a tea connoisseur while enjoying the ritual offered here. This place begins or continues your education in the way of tea. They offer courses and tastings to further your journey as an enthusiast of fine tea.

Not only are you able to have a steep or four but you may purchase for enjoyment elsewhere. The menu is filled with options specifically curated for individuals with an appreciation for quality tea. You won't find tisanes (herbal or blends) here. The focus is an educational approach to higher quality teas vs the traditional (USA) views of what is considered tea. Whether you are a beginner or savvy tea drinker, this place is worth its weight in tea. So start or continue your Tea Drunk path here.

We didn't do any research before stumbling in this adorably decorated Chinese tea house on a rainy Sunday afternoon, but I'm sure glad we did! Be prepared to spend some money because they serve fine and rare hand-picked teas but it was a worth while experience. The man working was very kind & knowledgeable. You get to pick your own tea pet which is fun and we ended up ordering the Bai Ye - Xi Chun - 2017 (Pao - Tea House Service Only) which was a rich and highly caffeinated oolong. (I would have done a tea flight but my companions weren't tea drinkers.)

Complaints: They were playing modern music - I think I would have preferred traditional Chinese music to go with the theme, but it wasn't too loud. The bathroom was also pretty run down and not decorated cute like the rest of the place but oh well.

"Have you ever had tea before?"

I thought that was a weird question to get from the girl manning the tea house upon walking in. Maybe:

"What can I do for you?"
"What kind of tea do you like?"
"Welcome to Tea Drunk."

Or even,

"Hello."

But I suppose I just look like a guy who walks into tea rooms having never had a sip. Also, who has never had a sip of tea before?

I feel as though I've gotten off topic. I suppose I was just confused by the question, and the continuously odd service from the tea house girl.

I've had tea before. As a non-coffee drinker, I've actually had a lot of tea. I'd even had Tea Drunk tea at their residency at The Met. And let me tell you, Tea Drunk tea is fantastic.

They don't serve bags full of generic, stale garbage. They have canisters full of meticulously hand-crafted leaves sourced from secret locations in the mountains of China. They have only the finest Green, Yellow, White, Wu Long, Red and Black teas hand-picked by heritage farmers who have dedicated their entire lives to getting you this tea. And it's delicious. Delicious, and very, very expensive.

Did you know there are teas that would cost you $1200 for 28 grams? The finest China White.* Or maybe it was the Jun Shan Yin Zhen #1 (2016, a very good year for Yin Zhens). A yellow tea.

There are also far more reasonable teas that are still much more expensive than you are used to teas being, but still quite delicious. If you care about tea, this place may just blow your mind. Get some of the less expensive varieties for drinking in or preparing yourself at home, and you'll taste the difference.
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*Just kidding, I think that's a variety of heroin.

Amazing selection of tea from experienced and knowledgeable staff. It has a zen vibe in there. Great for date night or if you want to step up your tea game.

Firstly, I want to say that I'm so beyond disappointed by what could've been an amazing experience - I've never felt so disrespected or unwelcome in an establishment.

The short: cool concept, good tea, but literally the worst, rudest service I've ever experienced in my life.

The longer: we get in, sit at a table, and look at a menu. The owner comes over.

"Is it your first time here?"
"Yes... if it was your first time would you do a tasting or a single pot to share?"
"It's not my first time here..."

Literally at that moment, we should've left, but I really wanted to experience the positives some fellow Yelpers wrote about in their reviews.

But, we stayed and ordered the regular green tea tasting ($49). She set us up, poured the tea, but was totally uninterested in interacting with us or answering any of our questions.

We have NO idea what teas we tasted (she didn't explain or answer any of questions in detail - literally got quiet, one word answers), she didn't give us a drinking buddy sculpture for the table (she'd given it to everyone else who she laughed, interacted and provided suggestions for), and overall we felt so totally unwelcome and uncomfortable.

When I was leaving, I paid at the bill on her iPad, and was thumbing though a photo album. I asked a question about the photo and she said: "if you want to learn about tea, you can find more information on our website."

I'm not sure why I paid $50 to be directed to google...

A traditional throw back tea joint just as if you were in china. This place prides itself on serving only Chinese tea and has a vast selection.

We ordered a pot of red tea and you're ask to choose a tea spirit animal to accompany you on the taste journey. The monkey was summoned. I flashed back to a Mulan scene.

The staff properly washed the red tea leaves for the first steep (you're not suppose to drink the first steep). I was pleasantly surprised of their knowledge.

The first real steep was poured and quickly transferred to a pot without the leaves. At this point I was happy they knew all this (red tea is a flash steep and you must transfer the solution to another containment Quickly).

The staff informed they'll be back for two more steeps. The second steep they informed me this pour will become stronger. I became giddy at their knowledge and yes it's true with red tea. The middle steeps become stronger than the previous.

I enjoyed coming here for the experience and glad a place like this exists. It is on the pricey side for tea, but the experience is great if you never been to a tea house.

I ADORE TEA DRUNK! The 老板娘的妈妈 is super cute and friendly! She just arrived from China and is supporting her daughter in this business venture.

The "tea sommelier" was fabulous! She studied cultural anthropology and is essentially using her degree to understand the cultural nuances of tea and tea culture! She's extremely knowledgeable with such a authentic soul and energy.

The tea tasting felt curated for us, with a price point that I think definitely translates into a solid value proposition! The teas were all very different, very unique and exactly as described by their tea sommelier. I would 100% recommend people checking them out!

Wish yelp allowed me to post videos since I have a nice overview in video form of the experience :). If the owner sees this and you have the functionality to add videos to your page, let me know and I'll send it to you!

Definitely a one of a kind experience!

My best friend and I came here to celebrate her birthday. Both of us love tea and we wanted to expand our palettes.

The tea room was empty and we were greeted by the owner. I asked her to recommend a tasting menu for us and she pointed us to the wu long tasting due to wu long's variety of flavors.

While waiting for the owner to assemble the cups and get the tea leaves, my best friend and I each chose a tea pet. (They drink the tea with you :) )

The owner prepared wu long tea in three categories. The tie guan yin, pheonix tea, and cliff tea. She was very knowledgable about each tea and was eager to teach us. She was also very friendly and we ended up staying an extra hour to chat with the owner about tea and eventually we talked about other things as well ^_^ .

The owner even brewed us the green tea samples for free! (I think she wanted to make green tea for herself but ended up sharing with us)

While the teas are a bit expensive, I think they are worth the price due to the quality of the tea in addition to the knowledge coming out of the experience. Each tea in the wu long category had its own distinct taste. The tie guan yin was a gentle aromatic tea. The pheonix tea had a subtle passionfruit flavoring and blended perfectly with the tea. The cliff tea was the strongest tea and had the most earthy flavor. I highly suggest ordering the wu long tasting!

Also, come on a weekday when there are less people. My best friend and I came on a Friday and the place was empty. The owner will give you her full attention :) .

Whoo hoo, another tea room located! I happened upon this cute little tea room by accident in the East Village. The name was intriguing so I had to stop by.

Unlike my usual haunt in Berkeley, Tea Drunk has a bar made of wood that has a drainage system for tea like Teance does. But they also have individual tables that has a slot underneath that also drains tea which is so cool! They also have a variety of tea tools, tea pots, and cute little tea pets. I drank with Abu, the monkey tea pet.

But onto the tea. They have a good variety of different teas from oolong to red tea to green tea etc. I also learned cliff tea is a varietal of oolong tea-- pretty cool. Prices are about what I'm used to at Teance but I would say that their collection of tea seems smaller than Teance's.

In the end, I tried their tea that came from a monk. This monk doesn't want his tea to be sold-- if you want to taste it, by all means do so. Instead, you donate for that tasting, whatever you want. Other teas were around 9 bucks. But this monk's tea is an amazing red tea. Not too sweet or bold, just mellow.

The server was knowledgeable and efficient in getting the teas brewed and he also seemed very personable. I can't wait to come back on my next trip to NY.

Wonderful experience. This is definitely for the tea connoisseur. The tea had a lot of subtle and complex flavors. Overall great experience.