Matba News
Baccarat in Midtown
Our final destination for the progressive NYC tea tour culminated with the ultimate experience of Afternoon Tea at the Baccarat in Midtown at 28 West 53rd Street. Sheer crystal elegance, infamous perfectly spherical fresh rose orbs, and a destination dripping in beauty.
We were escorted to the Veranda where our group enjoyed a leisurely tea while the hustle and bustle of the City hummed in the background. Modern, black and white, crisp, and clean. This was the first time the Baccarat has served tea on the Veranda. The menu on the table announced the pleasures that were to follow. Mariage Freres Tea were the featured teas, and there was a selection of four hot teas, and one iced tea to choose. Assam, Earl Grey, Baccarat Blend, Interdit (green oolong blend), or Yuzu Temple (Iced, a citrus green tea).  The gourmet savories included :
| The vegetarian savories were equally as impressive and included:
Scones and Sweets were served together. The Warm Homemade Scones were coconut flavored and served with a very generous portion of Devonshire Cream and Seasonal Gelee. The sweets included:
 |
Afternoon Tea at the Baccarat was the perfect culmination to a day of tea filled adventure in The City. Kudos to Susanna for navigating the ins and outs of NYC traffic! She got us safely to our destination and back home again.
T2tea
 Destination number two on the NYC tea tour included a stop at T2tea in Rockefeller Center. This colorful tea shop is located at 620 Fifth Avenue with the entrance on 50th Street. The huge storefront catches your attention with the wide variety of colorful products. The shop is crammed full from floor to ceiling with towering displays of teas to purchase. This central display table held multiple rows of loose leaf tea so you could see the unique qualities of each tea. Another area of the store had four different iced teas brewed to sample. All very yummy and full of flavor.The store manager, Marcus, captured our attention as he demonstrated the brewing technique to create several iced matcha lattes. We sampled cinnamon matcha, genmaicha matcha, and chocolate matcha. Using the bamboo whisk, he blended the powdered flavored matcha with hot water, added some soy milk and a touch of honey, whisked a bit more, and then poured that over ice. We all taste tested the creations, and enjoyed each one.  The long line at the register confirmed that tea enthusiasts never have enough tea! There's always something new and different to add to the tea shelves at home! Angelica stood in line with the cinnamon matcha. She was hooked!  |
Radiance Tea House, NYC
An adventure into NYC with fellow members of the Mid Atlantic Tea Business Association took us to three distinct tea destinations. Our first stop, and meeting point to connect with everyone, was at Radiance Tea Room in midtown Manhattan. This traditional Taiwanese tea shop features a large selection of books, a beautiful variety of tea ware, and the opportunity to enjoy some delicious foods and flavorful tea. This was the summer quarterly meeting for MATBA, and about 20 members from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania journeyed into the Big Apple via car or train to experience this adventure that was coordinated by Darlene Meyers Perry (R) of The Tea Lovers Archives and her blog, The Tea Enthusiasts Scrapbook and Jo Johnson (L) of A Gift of Tea. While at Radiance Tea House, we enjoyed a tea tasting of Eastern Journey. This lovely blend is a combination of green and black tea flavored with rose, jasmine and sun flowers. Take your taste buds on a journey! Merchandise of all types was on display in this brightly lit location. The tea room, located at 158 West 55th street is between 6th and 7th Avenue. The culture of the East has been brought to this tea room both in the food and teas that they serve and in the merchandise that fills the shelves.  |
2017 Summer Seminar
New York City Tea Time Adventure-MATBA does Tea in The City!
July 17, 2017
Darlene Perry and Jo Johnson have put together a tremendous walking tour and afternoon tea itinerary for the summer meeting.
It's count down time........MATBA takes on the Big Apple on Monday, July 17th! If you haven't registered for this informative tea tour yet, you have a few hours left. Come be inspired and take back some fresh new ideas for your tea business. There is sure to beauty around every corner.......
.
10:00 am - We will gather at Radiance Tea Room, Radiance Midtown West, 158 West 55th Street, NY 10019 (between 6th and 7th). This is a traditional Taiwanese tea shop with a wonderful selection of tea, food, tea books and tea-ware. 11:00 am - From there we will venture over to T2 at Rockefeller Center, 620 Fifth Avenue (entrance on 50th Street). A chic and modern tea shop with plenty of eye candy. These two stops will provide opportunities to indulge, shop and most importantly take in the different marketing options, gift selections and display features of two drastically different tearooms & shops! 12:00 - 2:00 pm We will trot on over to Baccarat Tea Room at 28 West 53rd Street, NY 10019. Here we will enjoy an exquisite tea room in a crystal palace. This is a top of the line New York tea experience. A special Tea Service provided just for MATBA. Please note: this is a special tea service being offered to MATBA on 7/17/17. The tea sommelier will share a little history about Baccarat with the group and guide us through the tea service. Due to the size of our group, this will probably be served buffet style. (Maximum - 25) 2:00pm - We will bid farewell for the day, but we know some will want to go back and spend more time at either or both of the earlier stops or just take some time to explore on your own. |  |
Enjoying Afternoon Tea
One of the perks of attending a Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association meeting, is that typically the event is held at a member's tea room. It provides the perfect opportunity for tea room owners to enjoy the labors of a fellow tea room entrepreneur. After the program and tea tasting, members were invited to visit the gift shop while the tea room was magically transformed into service for Afternoon Tea.
Requests for tea choices were made from an extensive list of loose leaf tea ranging from a variety of white teas, greens, scented greens, oolong, black, scented black, puerh, herbals and decaffeinated teas. Quite an impressive tea selection!   Afternoon Tea began with a generous portion of the Tea by Two House Salad with mixed spring greens topped with craisins, sugared almonds, and their tasty house vinaigrette. |  The middle tier highlighted the Tea Sandwiches which included a very fresh Cucumber Sandwich, savory Garden Vegetable topped with a tomato half, Carrot & Cheddar on Multi-grain bread and Curry Chicken Salad on a buttery croissant. Everyone remarked how tasty and fresh the sandwiches were.  |
And dessert included Strawberry Ganache Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake Tart and a specialty MATBA Sugar Cookie. All very yummy, indeed! And quite pretty, too.
Special thank you to Janet and Erin for a delightful and enjoyable afternoon.
Special thank you to Janet and Erin for a delightful and enjoyable afternoon.
Food Safety Modernization Act + Tea Tasting
Members of the regional tea business association MATBA gathered at Tea by Two in Bel Air, MD, a tea room owned by long time friends Janet Bradley and Erin Meyers and original members of the association. The April seminar typically features a special guest speaker, and for this meeting we welcomed Anupa Mueller of Eco-Prima Tea and Silver Tips Tea based in West Chester County, New York.
The first session of the meeting was a discussion about the Food Safety Modernization Act and how it affects the tea business, including the small tea entrepreneur. Anupa walked us through this important topic imparting valuable knowledge with an equal dose of levity, sharing the process as it pertains to her business and ours with the main focus on prevention rather than reaction. Following that program, Anupa conducted a tea tasting featuring Darjeeling teas from the Makaibari Estate in India.  We were able to taste a Makaibari First Flush which offers a lovely, cool taste with a little sharpness in the back of the throat. Following that, we sampled a Second Flush which produces a liquor that is thicker, sweeter, with more of a floral component. Typically, this is the American consumer's choice. And finally, we sampled a Risheehat 2017 forced plucking. This tea has a sweet nectar with no noticeable sharpness.  |   Special thank you to Deb and Mike Raab of Tea-for-All for organizing and coordinating this informative and interactive seminar. The Association continues to grow under their faithful guidance and behind the scenes efforts. Swag Bags were filled by fellow members and included an amazing assortment of tea samples from green through black, flavored or not, and even a Matcha flavored Kit Kat Bar!  |
April 24 Seminar
Members of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association gathered at Tea by Two in Bel Air, MD for the annual April Seminar on Monday. April 24. Members from NJ, PA, MD, and WV began arriving early morning. The event always begins with a welcoming reception, and the spread before us was a feast for our eyes.
 | The buffet table held blueberry bread, crustless spinach cheese quiche, miniature chocolate chip scones, and a grape salad with sour cream and brown sugar topping. The perfect way to start the morning! Iced tea and water were available, as was a wide variety of hot pots of tea, from a hearty Assam to a pleasant Ginger Peach, the options were many. The difficult decision was selecting the beautiful English china tea cup! |
Tea Bloggers Roundtable
 |
Grand Opening
New Jersey MATBA member Kathleen Edinger announces Grand Opening of TeaScapes set for April 29th. Best of Luck!  |
MATBA Members Working Together
 |
1-10 of 24
