Tay Tea @ ABC Home

Enter into the always whimsical ABC Home, right off Union Square. Make a sharp right turn past the entrance, and you'll be greeted by the Tay Tea display.

Pretty, isn't it?
ABC houses a most dreamy, magical collection of trinkets from jewelry to essential oils, floors of rugs, mirrors, and plush couches. The mark-up on most their items are fairly absurd, and so I save the bulk of my visits for looking before I dash into the attached (and more fairly priced) ABC Kitchen for lunch. Think $60 for a copper tea strainer, $30 for a mini-glass test tube which functions as a vase, $80 for a reclaimed vintage spoon. Satisfying for the eyes. Not so much for the wallet.

But teas, even when they're "high-end, artisanal, exclusive," are still affordable. An luxury within reach. Tay Tea is based in upstate New York (where they have a tea bar!), though you can find them at various locations in the city.

The Tay Tea line includes five black teas, an oolong blend, three green teas, seven rooibos blends, two herbals, and three blooming (aka flower craft) teas.

This rooibos blend is called A Day in Provence, and the scent is heavenly. Sweet and light, the rooibos is blended with red and black currants, rose hips and rose petals and a trace of lavender. Wish they would turn it into a perfume ;)

Here's a look at Tay's Tea sampler box. I'm crazy about these little tea tasting sets and confess it has as much to do with the aesthetics as it does the taste. Most tea companies sell tasting/sampler boxes for those who can't settle on one flavor. A little of everything is fine solution, will do a future post soon on my favorite tea tasting sets. Tay's offers two types of tasting boxes: one called Wake Up, a compilation all their caffeinated green and black teas. The other is Relax and included all non-caffeinated teas.

ABC also carries many tea cups and tea pots, which they've conveniently arranged next to Tay Tea. Ideas are starting to brew in my head...maybe we should devote a generous chunk of our kitchen space to a tea and tea-ware display! Impractical but beautiful.

ABC Home
888 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
(212) 473-3000

Tay Tea
72 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Andes, New York 13731
(845) 676-4997