Teahouses’ Unique Blends Are Not Just in the Cup
NYTimes.com By GREGORY DICUM
At Om Shan Tea, the air is filled with the clatter of small earthenware teapots, the sound of ethereal gongs and flutes and quiet animated conversation. Tea drinkers cluster on reed stools around low tables surrounded by antiques from tea-drinking lands.
Patrons can choose a Gong Fu presentation, with a stream of different vessels and cups. Oshan Anand, the owner of this year-old teahouse in the Mission district of San Francisco, sits at an antique tea table of dark wood and stone and pours tiny cups of pu-erh, the aged Chinese tea that, like wine, is often known by region and vintage.
Om Shan Tea is the newest of a breed of Bay Area teahouses that are reimagining the world’s ancient and diverse tea drinking customs for modern tea drinkers. Each is an expression of the founders’ sensibilities, and each draws fervid followers.
Samovar, in the Castro, makes tea drinking a stylish affair. Teas from around the world are served as they are in their home countries: Japanese maki bowls of rice and seaweed with ryokucha brown rice tea ($17), English tea service with scones and Devonshire cream ($19), Chinese tea with dumplings ($19) and masala chai with curry ($17). Russian tea is poured from a gleaming samovar ($9 for a bottomless cup).
“We bring the world’s tea traditions under one roof,” said Jesse Jacobs, who opened Samovar in 2001. “It’s contemporary and hip but also respecting tradition.”
Visitors to Numi Tea Garden in Oakland can enjoy a tea ceremony that involves small clay pots on a bamboo tray next to a Buddha figurine and a set of tools.
“You get the Buddha’s belly all wet for good luck,” said Ahmed Rahim, an owner of the Numi Organic Tea company who developed this whimsical take on traditional Chinese tea ceremonies.
The Bay Area loves its coffee, but there is a certain sameness to its coffeehouses. Its teahouses, though, all seem to have unusual offerings. Menus include rare teas and obscure herbs, with teatime snacks from around the world
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