Friday, June 5, 2009

A Night Out With a Tea Sommelier

by today’s Urban Chameleon contributor

Last night I was put on to a restaurant spot in Bloomingdales in NYC that serves tea cocktails. It was very strange to enter Bloomingdales department store at 8 o’clock at night looking for the club. We were lost for quite some time first in the bedding section, then cookware, then the shoe department, which I almost got lost in and debated whether or not I should try on a pair of these slip on Prada’s but kept it moving trying to find this club. Finally a worker closing out their shift pointed us in the right direction telling us to continue walking all the way to the back and then up the stairs.

When we finally reached the stairs the texture and the vibe of Bloomingdales completely changed. It felt as if we entered into some other kind of dimension. The restaurant is shaped like a 1920’s train car that probably seats no more than 20-25 people. A line of windows covers one side of the wall to give you a beautiful view of the city and you feel as if you are much higher up than you are. Chris Cason from the tea company Tavalon who is the creator of these delightful tea cocktails came over to introduce himself to us and explain how he came up with the recipe. He recommended the white rose for me, which was like nothing I had ever experienced. This was not like boiling a kettle of water, dipping a tea bag and pouring some gin into it or even like a hot totti (by the way the drinks are cold) but this drink truly captured a perfect and delightful balance of tasting like a high end tea made into a cocktail. I had also never chatted with a tea Sommelier. I just liked the title.

I won’t tell you exactly where the restaurant is located as I think you should definitely have the experience of trying to search for it in a department store yourself but I will tell you that this delight is only available every Thursday at Bloomingdales.

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