The Hotness: Subtle Tea Teahouse

Subtle Tea (Flatiron), 121 Madison Ave @ 30th St.
My tea drinking began in college when heavy coffee consumption started ripping apart my stomach lining. After a vacation to Stockholm this past March, I became even more interested in its added health benefits after noticing that the Swedes, happily peddling their bicycles in the slushy streets, just didn’t seem like a coffee culture. Maybe I was just giddy with excitement in the enjoying a foreign culture, staying in a hotel owned by an ABBA bandmate, or (most likely) my painful sore throat craving hot, southing liquids. In any case, I was struck by both the ubiquity of teahouses and the apparent calmness of the Swedes. Again, I could have constructed this correlation in my delirium of Swedish cough syrup and 7 Eleven candy, but I noticed an improvement in my usual high-strung tendencies and decided to continue my little tea drinking case study back home. This was challenging as I’m also a coffee drinker and am surrounded by 6 Dunkin’ Doughnuts and 4 Starbucks in my neighborhood. Thankfully, I stumbled into Subtle Tea before I had too many glazed doughnuts under my belt. Nestled in one of Manhattan’s dead zones on lower Madison Ave., Subtle Tea is like a ruby in the emerald city. This intimate, earth-hued standout is not a full-service restaurant, but they do have lots of goodies including Rice to Riches rice puddings and an assortment of pastries and sandwiches. Nobody should leave without trying one of their teas—an enormous selection of custom-blended premium loose-leaf teas, categorized as “Morning”, “Afternoon” or “Evening” to help customers gauge caffeine intake (distinguished by the amount of oxidation that a type of tea undergoes…the more oxidized, the more caffeinated.) and a selection of fruity ice teas. More upsides? There are no angry baristas yelling across the room, long lines, or weirdoes lurking in the corner (it’s too bright inside to effectively lurk). The interior has welcoming natural accents like wood paneling and green walls. There’s also a communal table, free WiFi and plenty of outlets—to appease their younger crowd (definitely not the stereotypical tea drinker set). In addition the teas and snacks, they also offer a variety of gifts and even…coffee (gasp!). The staff is always helpful and friendly—offering recommendations for the newbie.