Recently I went on a trip to New York City to visit my friend McKenzie, who is from Wales but lives in Canada during the summer. My friend Tiffany and I met McKenzie while studying in London and agreed to meet up in NYC.
The day was spent meandering through the city, trying New York City pizza in Greenwich, feeding pigeons in Washington Square Park, finding cheesy tourist souvenirs, visiting vintage shops and of course, drinking tea.
We went to tea cafes where we drank refreshing iced teas and browsed loose leaf teas. According to students at New York University, Argo is where tea drinkers gather on campus to enjoy refreshing healthy tea. Argo Tea is made to order iced teas, similar to a coffee shop, and packed with NYU students studying. Loose leaf tea dispensers line the walls; there were so many different flavors and options.
First I purchased a White Tea Acai Squeeze, and sampled a Sangria Fruit Tea. Both came with fruit slices inside each cup and were delicious. There were many cocktail-inspired drinks that were actually full of antioxidants—Mojitea, Sangria Tea, and a Mimosa blend of jasmine and orange juice.
I purchased a box of Masala Chai tea as well as Chocolate Mint Iced Tea with tapioca bubbles. Any of their teas can be purchased with tapioca bubbles to make Bubble Tea. ArgoTea is modern, trendy, and hopefully the next big thing for tea lovers.
Next we stumbled upon DavidsTea where we spent the better part of an hour browsing and sampling teas. The walls are lined with bright colorful tea accessories and blends. The current available collection features carnival flavors such as Cherry Snowcone, Caramel Corn, and Root Beer. McKenzie noted how different these flavors were compared to the traditional tea stores in London.
We sampled Watermelon Mint and smelled some of their other unique flavors—Pink Lemonade, Chocolate Macaroon, Magic Dragon, Crème Caramel, Happy Kombucha, and Pineapple Oolong. McKenzie went for the “Oh Canada,” a rooibos maple leaf-inspired blend complete with small maple leaf sprinkles. I ordered a Guava Cadabra “pop” iced tea which is sparkling iced tea.
DavidsTea is known for their incredible marketing team on social media, as well as their excellent customer service. I also purchased a hot tea travel mug complete with a tea infuser attached to the lid, a colorful “Cotton Candy” rooibos and “Birthday Cake” rooibos.
Many flavors were like something you could order in an ice cream shop, however everyone around us seemed to be clamoring for Matcha Matsu and detox blends. Both tea cafes had an overwhelming amount of flavors and options and provided a fun, friendly experience.
