Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar

I visit Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar almost every time I travel West (for example: Nashville, or hiking in the Blue Ridge). It is located on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it is one of the few tea shops that stays open after dinner. Their selection of tea is on the smaller side, but they do carry some of the most interesting teas in Virginia. Highlights include a selection of Japanese Green Tea that goes beyond Sencha and Matcha and rotates frequently. They also have a decent collection pu-erhs, blacks, greens and white teas. Below are some photographs from the tea shop at night, when the scene changes a little from enjoying tea to more of a hookah bar and music venue.


Above is a view of their "shoeless" sitting area for enjoying tea. The seating is not for lounging but for contemplation and tea enjoyment.


The mirror wall.



The counter with tea tins in the background.

While there I enjoyed a pot of Gyokuro and left with a cup of pi lo chun to go.

More tea travels

For the holidays I traveled to Nashville, stopping briefly in the Asheville and Knoxville. I used google and teamap to help me scout locations before my trip. I found three possible tea locations in Asheville, one in Knoxville and one in Nashville. All of the places I found on google and teamap were a disappointment. Two of the locations did not carry tea-just stuff, most of which was not related to tea--one place was no longer, one place served high tea but did not have a wide selection of tea and was more concerned with the art of Victorian High Tea than tea the drink.


I found the most interesting tea shop that I have been to in Nashville--and this one I found by word of mouth. The shop was mostly a kitchen wares store with a corner in the back piled high with tea bags--large bags full of loose leaf tea (see picture). I talked with the owner about tea and I tried to get him to show me some tea so that I could decide what I wanted to purchase--at this point I was in need of tea replenishment. At first he was reluctant to show me any teas--it was as though I first had to prove I possessed great knowledge of tea by telling him what I was interested. I could not just say that I wanted green tea, I also had to tell him the type of tea I wanted (gyokuro, sencha, dragonwell, etc) as well as the location I wanted the tea to be from. Once we got past this step and I started to decide on some teas, he warmed up to me (and, I suppose, me to him). I was still, however, skeptical of the way he stored his tea; in a disorganized fashion in plastic bags. It was also hard to decide on teas because the smell of plastic overwhelmed the smell of the tea. After smelling numerous teas, I decided on a Dragonwell from a freshly opened bag and a Tung Ting Oolong. I also received four sample teas when I purchased the Dragonwell and Oolong, the one I am most looking forward to is called "witch's brew" and is a long leaf pu-erh.

This store was a welcome find--and the only one of the two places worth writing about--after being disappointed in Asheville and Knoxville. I do, however want to share the rest of my tea adventures in Asheville and Knoxville.

Asheville is a cool city with lots of good coffee shops, it however lacks a shop dedicated to Tea--in the sense that a shop carries a wide variety of tea and its primary concern is tea, the actual brew. Below is a photograph of the one place there that billed itself as a tea room and actually served tea (there are at least two other "tea rooms" in Asheville, one sells clothes, the other jewelry and other assorted house gifts).

I do not have a photograph of the tea shop in Knoxville because I called them beforehand and asked them what tea they carried. The answer, "ummm... I don't know..., Earl Grey and Constant Comment." This sentence along with the fact that it was called Applecake Tea Room is why I decided to skip this establishment.

The last tea shop I visited was in Charlottesville on my return from Nashville. I have been here many times, and it deserves its own seperate post.


Tea shop in Asheville




bags of tea piled high in Nashville

Third picked wild green tea

The third picking of the green tea from Mt. Jilee, Korea has been my go-to tea since Thanksgiving. The unfortunate side-effect of this is that I am down to my last brew of the leaves which means it is time for some photos and a brief overview of the tea. The photographs below show the dried leaves, the color of the steeped tea and the leaves after three steepings. The tea has a much more bite to it than the color of the liquor would suggest and it finishes with a sweet and nutty flavor. The advantage of this tea over its first-picked cousin is that the third picking maintains its flavor longer (whereas the first picking looses a lot of its appeal the older that it gets).

Franchia, NYC

Franchia is the tea house I visit the most in NYC, simply because it is very near to Grand Central, my usual arrival point. Franchia also serves a range of Korean vegetarian fare that is prepared very well. The tea selection is not large, but the tea it does have is excellent. The highlight of the tea menu is the selection of Korean tea, particularly the wild green tea--of which they have a first, second and third picking. The tea is from Mt. Jilee, Korea and each picking is very unique. The first picking has the subtlest and purest taste, while the third picking is stronger and not as pure (because it was picked later). Each picking is visibly different: the first picking has more buds and is downy (maybe fuzzy would be a better descriptor) while the third is darker and not downy. This is also the only tea shop that I know sells Korean tea. The interior of the tea house is also very calming and interesting (see photos).

Tea in New York City

Yesterday I traveled from Richmond to Poughkeepsie, via New York City. And I visited two tea shops while in NY. The first tea shop I visited was The Tea Gallery, but it was closed. This saddened me because it was the tea shop I really wanted to go to. I am now relegated to staring at their website until the next time I visit NYC; http://www.theteagallery.com/.

Carytown Teas

A view of the interior of Carytown Teas, located across from the CVS and Ukrops at the western edge of Carytown. (I will hopefully have more photos to share later).


This tea house review is going to look at my everyday tea shop, Carytown Teas. I live six or so blocks away and as far as I can tell, Carytown Teas has the biggest selection of tea in Richmond.

Carytown Teas claims to carry over 100 varieties of tea as well as teaware and limited baked goods. I like this store because it is all about tea and Patricia (the owner) and Misty (the tea mixologist) are friendly and always trying to please whoever walks in the door--spreading their interest in tea. They are also the most knowledgeable tea shop purveyors in Richmond, at least out of the tea shops I have been to (TeaCo, Cuppa Tea, Torman's).

The strength of Carytown Teas is their different tea blends and selection of pu-erhs. Their weakness is in the variety of green and oolong tea (ofcourse, almost every tea shop in the US has this problem, as far as I am concerned).

So go to Carytown Teas to get some loose leaf tea or a cup to go if you are in Richmond or passing through looking for good tea without frills (at least almost without frills).

Tea on the James River

Today, I went to the James River and brought some Pi Lo Chun and a portable tea set with me. It was a little windy and chilly, but otherwise beautiful.