The Wisdom of Tea

When I moved back to the U.S. with my family at the age of 12, I was truly a fish out of water. We landed in St. Paul, Minnesota during the heart of winter, arriving into a arctic landscape of below-zero temperatures, towering snow drifts and nordic restraint. I was in junior high then and I cried every day -much to the dismay of my studious, older sister who was frequently summoned to the main office to comfort me. Her refuge was her studies, and she was none too happy to leave them for my despair.

I desperately missed the Indian and English friends we left behind in Kumasi, Ghana as well as the tropical warmth and openness of West Africa. It was only recently, since I took up the habit of visting teahouses like Podunk, (E. 5th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery) and Verdigris (13. S. 3rd Street, Hudson, New York) for a little teatime that I finally regained a sense of belonging that had evaded me for so long. It was the little things that made living in Africa so special. There is the simple memory of my mother receiving a little jar of "starter" yogurt from one of our Indian friends so she could make her own Indian-style yogurt at home. The magical sight of myriad, flickering candles arrayed around the end of our neighbor's balcony, as we celebrated the Hindu Festival of Diwali; the long, dusty car trips from Kumasi to Accra (the capital of Ghana), and from Ibadan to Lagos, (the capital of Nigeria).

My mother would prepare Samosas and fried egg sandwiches to eat on these trips. To this day, I can't eat Gulab Jamin, an Indian dessert of fried balls of dough in a thick sugar syrup, without thinking of my younger sister. As a child, she was addicted to my mother's homemade Gulab Jamin. Any leftover Gulab Jamin would mysteriously disappear when it was her turn to be downstairs while my older sister and I took "forced" afternoon naps upstairs.

It was a drastic change for our family to relocate to the Northwest suburbs outside Chicago and our family rituals were strangely truncated. There was the erratic Sunday afternoon tradition of eating my father's famous curry and homemade Halvah. If we reached for multiple glasses of water as we ate, my father would laugh delightedly. Forget the fact that we were all breathing like dragons due to the spiciness of the dish. His recipe remained his top secret.

If my father decided to make Halvah, I knew he was in a jovial mood. We were not as well-acquainted as I would have liked. Drinking chai has allowed me to tap into a larger genetic connection that restores the dislocation of our relationship. After my father died two years ago, I found solace in preparing my morning chai. Grinding the spices - black pepper, cardamon and cinnamom - was both contemplative and restorative. It was comforting to engage in the daily ritual of boiling the water and tea, setting it aside, boiling the milk and then rebrewing it all together. A soothing habit during a difficult time. I've since stopped this practice as it's more fun to drink other people's chai.

My father was happiest when life was simple. After leaving India to obtain his PhD at the University of Minnesota, he spent his entire life traveling all over Africa working as an agronomist (in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Togo) - he was always on the go. On those Sunday afternoons as he prepared Halvah, he was content. Taking a little butter, he would mix in a few tablespoons of flour, add powdered milk and then brown it all together in the frying pan until it crumbled together and voila, dessert.

On Thanksgiving, he would play his records of Bollywood Musicals and Ravi Shankar; we would eat Turkey and stuffing to the accompanient of sitar music. Later, after I moved to NYC, I went in search of Indian food and sitar music in the restaurants on E. 6th street in Manhattan and Jackson Diner in Queens (when it was THE place for Indian food).

My old friend Goyal, himself an Indian deity of goodwill and common sense, owns Dresse Shoppe, (Second Avenue at 5th Street). Dress Shoppe is a small store specializing in all manner of Indian goods: bridal earrings, quilts, kurtas, prayer beads; you name it, he has it. At our first meeting (back when his store was next to the old American Express office on 9th Street between Lafayette/Broadway) Goyal said to me after looking at the name on my credit card, "If you're Indian, I'm Dutch." At least once a year, I drop into Dresse Shoppe to say hello to Goyal and his wife. While I'm there, I always buy beautiful, colorful silk kurtas for all the girls in the house,including me, or long ornate Indian bridal earrings. Funnily enough, I never leave that store without being convinced by Goyal to buy one additional thing.

Last spring, I read an Indian novel, Sacred Games, by Virkram Chandra. It was a compelling, epic story that touched on class, love and life against the backdrop of the kudzu-like corruption in India. It was recounted through the eyes of the main character, a detective who finally captures a legendary gangster. In the story, the detective, along with many other characters in the story, frequently stops to drink chai throughout the course of a day. I think of them often whether I have an hour at Podunk, or ten minutes at Pakistani Tea House. In these moments, I am able to reflect as I sip/slurp my sweet, milky aromatic chai, and return to a community that is familiar to me.

Here are a few of my favorite places:

Podunk (E. 5th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery). I mentioned Podunk in the Hot Chocolate post but Podunk's real focus is tea - really, really good tea - all kinds of it. Elspeth and family have created an oasis of calm in this small, sweet tea room filled with little mismatched chairs and tables. When I open the door to Podunk, I am assailed by the scent of love - in the smell of scones, cardamon cake, ginger cookies and lefse, just to name a few - baking in the oven. I bring only special people to Podunk because it is truly a temple of tranquility for me and a select group of others. I know this, because we see each other at Podunk regularly. If you meet the wrong person at Podunk, chances are high you will not see them again. I can attest to that! There is something in the air that repels bad energy pretty quickly. Elspeth carries a large selection of teas; green, black, herbal, and a large variety of custom-blended chais. She is extremely knowledgable about what a particular tea can do for the gentle drinker. In that regard, she will take time with a customer to decide on the right blend. Lately, Elspeth makes me a decaf ceylon with chai and rooibos added in. This soothes me, before I set off to meet my Wednesday/Friday evening clients. Podunk is completely unique. The only other place that carries the same scent of love in the smell of the food is PieNThigh in Williamsburg. I don't say this lightly because I am always searching out, and visiting tea rooms all over NYC.To establish my credentials, here are a few places of note:

Chae An, a Japanese-style tea room (on 9th street between 2nd Avenue and Third). (Don't tell Elspeth but I go there only when she's closed, which is hardly ever because Podunk is closed on Mondays.) A large part of Chae An's charm is simply ascending the smooth, wooden stairs one flight to the tea room. I always have a slight feeling of anticipation as I do that. At the entrance, there's a little counter with seats (sort of sushi-style) where customers can watch the chefs making the 15-grain porridge, which arrives with tiny side orders of pickled plum, seaweed, little potato dishes etc. That tea is finished off with a black sesame creme brulee or green tea ice cream.

Chae An also offers traditional teas sets with scones and cookies as well as tiny shumai dumplings. The space is very soothing. There is a private, little room with tatami mats and low tables. The tea selection is extensive - I recently broke away from always selecting chais and tried an Assam, which was very smooth. The customers are predominantly Japanese, which I think attests to the high quality of the food/tea.

Sanctuary Tea Room- This was mentioned a few blogs ago, as a Thursday night date destination. Sanctuary T has an impressive selection of teas. I love their chai tea for breakfast. It comes in a large, glass tea cup and tastes very creamy and smooth. I order it with soy. Sanctuary T is interesting because it's a tea room that has also positioned itself as a lounge. They offer tea-infused cocktails which are quite good.

I always see a good-sized good crowd in there around 9:45 p.m., when I walk home after meeting my Friday night clients. All of the food at Sanctuary T is prepared with varied tea infused flavors, and it's very tasty. Being small plate sharers, Carl and I are delighted with the portion-size at Sanctuary T. We usually share the salmon and the roasted vegetables.

At the urging of one of the waiters, I tried some new teas: Russian Caravan - it has a deep, smoky flavor, and Imperial Wedding, which has a very layered taste - sort of green and black together and pungent. We often go there for breakfast on Saturday mornings because little one's ballet/gymnastics class is nearby (at Watts/Thompson Street). A few weekends back, we met Carl's very special friends, Steve and Nancy, who were visiting from San Francisco, for breakfast. It was a great success. A lot of the staff at Sanctuary T is Serbian. They are extremely warm and hospitable in manner which adds to the pleasant experience. As I listen to them talk, it's fun for me to translate to myself. I lived in Belgrade in 1986, and big daughter is half-Serbian so it's like being home.

Common Ground - A very very cool, hippiesque coffee/tea space at Jane and Horatio Street. When I have my once-a-month Council meetings at the 15th street/7th Avenue site of my office, I disembark the 1 train at Sheridan Square and walk down W. 4th street to Common Ground. The walk, and the chai, prepare me for these War Room-like meetings where my co-workers and I develop strategies for tackling the multiple obstacles challenging anyone who works in the mental health field.

Early in the morning, Greenwich Village is still charming, and it's a very sweet time-warp walk. At that time of day, we pedestrians are civil and courteous to each other. I pass sleepy people heading into what must be the neighborhood deli to get their newspapers and coffee. This is reassuring to me as I watch, and read about NYC housing becoming a domain of the wealthy, very wealthy and superrich.

Lately, I've been talking Carl and little one into taking a trek up to Common Ground on Sunday mornings for breakfast. It's fun to jump on the No. 1 train and get them to walk from Sheridan Square. Little one likes to act like her legs don't work, but I'm able to distract her until we reach our destination. Even for little one, the well-kept brownstones and picturesque streets we pass are entrancing. Tartine is actually accessible at this time - with a few early birds reading the paper and drinking coffee. They (unfortunately) do tea bags there, but it's still a charming place.

At Common Ground, I always order the Masala chai and the grilled cheese sandwich on multigrain (the only time I eat bread). Carl loves the coffee. For some reason, he makes a lot of requests of the lady owner. She is fiercely sweet in manner and kind. I can see her becoming annoyed at him. To thwart this, I do all the ordering. In this way, my Common Ground frequent-buyers card gets quickly filled up, and I get a free drink. I've already gone through one.

I'm not quite sure what the story is with Carl and fierce sweet lady owner. He's usually not demanding in that way (those who read this blog know that Carl refuses to go to fancy places). On a recent walk to Common Ground, Carl told me Cafe Cluny was "wierd" and he quashed any ideas of breakfast there. Carl is an old hippie. It's possible that he's too comfortable at Common Ground. So it's the reverse - hippie as demanding consumer. Big Daughter loves this place too. I brought her there one morning for breakfast. She had an iced mocha, a piece of cherry pie, an everything bagel and half of my grilled cheese - it didn't add an ounce to her skinny little body. Go figure.

Wild Lily Tea Room (Chelsea) I think they closed, but the vibe was English tea house mixed with Zen energy and nice. I remember feeling soothed and eating Japanese-influenced tea snacks.

Kiva Cafe - I talked about their hot chocolate a few blogs ago. They have great teas - it's always fun to smell the aromas of the teas in the jars on the counter. They make a really nice Chai along with an assortment of green and black teas.

La Colombe Torrefaction - they were in the hot chocolate blog, but they also have a really nice Lavender Earl Grey tea.

Amai Tea and Bake House (17th Street and 3rd Avenue) I wrote about them in a previous blog - A really special, Japanese influenced tea room.

Plaza Hotel (High Tea) I had High Tea here back in the 1980s when I was dressing punky and had a purple streak in my hair. It was the standard high tea and I did really like it. I know the hotel is gone, but I have to check to see if tea is still offered.

Brown - a restaurant on Orchard (between Hester and Essex) serves an amazingly brewed milky chai. For some reason, New York Magazine gave them a wierd review. I really like the food and the energy of this place. The chai comes in a little iron Japanese tea pot brewed with the milk and I swoon.

Alice's Tea Cup (Upper West Side ) I thought it was a cool space and I liked the food. They have a lot of good sweets.

Ritz Carlton Battery Park. Their afternoon tea is pretty cool with all sorts of whipped pudding-like things and interesting sweets, along with the scones, cream and cookies.

Neue Cafe at the Neue Gallery (Upper East Side)- they have traditional Austrian desserts (Sacher tortes and such) and good teas if you're up for the wait. It's usually crowded here. I liked the tea and desserts, but the atmosphere is a bit strained. I always feel like I have to rush.

Blaue Gans - Tribeca (Duane Street between W. Broadway and Church). They serve really good teas at breakfast, or in the late afternoon. The Vanilla 1900 tea is a real winner. I had Vanilla 1900 this morning at breakfast with a danish and I was set for the day. (I wrote about them in this week's blog under breakfast.)

Punjabi Deli (2nd Street and Second Avenue). All the cab drivers come here for their lunch/snack stop. The proprietor makes a good cup of really good "ghetto" Indian chai for one dollar. I say "ghetto" because it's a tea bag in milk/water with cardamon pods, spices and sugar and then frothed at the cappuciono machine.

Khushdies (Essex at Rivington Street)- same deal as Punjabi Deli. Their chai is so hot that I can take it on the J train over the Williamsburg Bridge, if I'm heading back to work. When I reach my office, it's the perfect temperature to drink. I sometimes buy some pakora to go and it's like the old days!!

Pakistani Tea House (Church at Reade Street). Also mentioned in the breakfast blog. Same deal as the above two places but I recommend an order of just-made Nan to accompany it. This is a perfect remedy for a migraine (I swear). Little one is now a convert so Carl has to buy two chais or I have none!!

Verdigris (13 S. 3rd Street, Hudson, New York). Part of the draw of visiting Verdigris is the beautiful drive to Hudson (about 2 hours). I love looking at the Hudson River as we drive over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Ten minutes later, we are at Verdigris, an inviting tea shop, bakery and gallery just off Warren Street, the main drag in Hudson. When I arrive at Verdigris, I experience a sense of homecoming. Kim, the owner of Verdigris, is a NYC native (she taught art at Long Island College) and has since relocated to Hudson. Kim is the unofficial mayor of Hudson. She has so much civic pride and caring for Hudson and this same, careful care is expressed towards her customers. At Verdigris, Kim offers a wide selection of teas for the discerning customer to drink, buy or sample -black, green, herbal, and many chais. There's a little tea library where customers can browse among little jars of her tea selections. Customers are encouraged to open the jars and smell the tea. Little one and I did this while Regina, the baker, warmed up our Broccoli and Pasta soups. I finished all of my Pasta soup on our visit two weekends ago. Normally I don't like beans, but the broth was wonderful with a light parmesan flavor. I hadn't eaten much that day and my stomach was rebelling with cramps. Kim suggested a locally-produced, herbal Five Mint tea to drink and sure enough, my stomach calmed down. The homemade cheese biscuits and cornbread which accompanied the soup were very savoury and hit the spot. Before leaving, I bought some tea leaves and tea chocolates (Chocodrops) for Christmas presents. Little one added homemade gingerbread cookies in the shape of flowers as additional presents (while eating at least two of them). Carl kindly bought me a beautiful book on Tea (which I read in bed when I got home). It's an amazing book about the history of tea. There are many other sweet baked goods offered at Verdigris, biscotti, pumpkin breads and other delectable sweets. Afterwards, we took a walk down picturesque Warren street and looked in some art galleries and little boutiques. It was the perfect afternoon.

*There's a place called Gramstand Tea (Avenue A at 14th) that I have been meaning to try. I mention it here as an incentive to get over there.