You’re roaming around the East Village looking for cafés that you could rest in. You spot a café and go to peek into the window; you see two tables and bar seating, you think,” Eh, it’s worth a shot,” and head in. As soon as you open the door you’re hit with a strong aroma of tea, you head up the small hallway and see a bunch of big metal tea canisters of tea neatly organized on the wall. You walk up to the counter and pick up a menu, you open it and flip through it. You hit the end and see that they have over 500 different options, you walk up to the counter and ask the employee,” Hey, what is this place called?” They respond, “Oh, this is Gong Fu Tea.”

Gong Fu tea is a small café in the East Village. The café has multiple types of tea, this includes white tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, pu-erh tea, and herbal tea. When you walk in, there is a strong aroma of herbal tea. They also have a spot in the front with some little snacks that you can buy to eat with your tea. The café has a bunch of cute tea wear and gifts around the area that you can look at while they are making your tea. When you get your tea, you have an option to put sugar cubes, sugar packets, or sugar crystals to sweeten your drink. This café has a fantastic atmosphere, they have quiet instrumental music playing in the background and the light is dim.

When I went there, I got their white champagne and raspberry tea (hot). I added two sugar cubes, which enhanced the flavor. When I tasted it, I was hit with a ton of delicious flavors, the drink mostly tasted of herbs, it has a touch of raspberry, and a drop of champagne. It was one of the best teas I’ve had in a while.

The second tea I got was a decaffeinated spice tea (hot). This tea was naturally sweet, which was surprising to me. It had a strong sweet spice taste, it reminded me of a strong Chai tea latte. This drink was one of the best teas that I’ve ever had.

The last tea I got was a vanilla chai tea with whole milk (hot). It had a delicious vanilla taste and it was perfectly sweet.

While waiting for my drinks to be made, I decided to buy a bag of vanilla rooibos. When I got home I made it and it tasted delicious.