29B Teahouse

East Village

New York City

Bars

Modern Teahouse with Small Plates, Biodynamic Wine, Sake and Insta-Worthy Matcha Beer

Cuisine:

Japanese| Sushi

Price:

$$$

Features:

Date Night Dine at the Bar Light Bites Natural Wine No Reservations Quiet Conversation Sake / Soju Small Plates

About 29B Teahouse

& why it made the Carpe City list

Sleek, chill and eco-minded, 29B is a favorite of ours for small bites, bio wines, matcha beer and their specialty, high-end teas.
A Great spot for a proper conversation as the mood is tea-house chill and pretty quiet compared to its boisterous neighbors.
This is a serious tea operation with rare teas from around the world and even a tea tasting menu.
Not just for the tea enthusiast. 29B has a great staff and were happy to explain to our group’s novice tea drinker about the tea styles and the proper methods of preparing and serving them.
The teas are pure, and they source them directly from the farmers. The farms use traditional agricultural methods and no pesticides.
In addition to tea they offer a small selection of tea-infused drinks bio wines, sake, soju and beer.
Their rotating seasonal menu of small plates is well done and can be enough for a light dinner.
No reservations.
Try the Matcha Beer

Carpe City Trivia

What exactly is matcha?

For those of us who take a bit longer to jump on the new food craze bandwagon, here is the scoop on matcha. Matcha is green tea, but unlike traditional green tea, it is produced, prepared and consumed quite differently. With traditional green tea you steep the leaves in hot water, discard them and then drink. With matcha you are actually drinking the leaves. The leaves are in a bright green powder form that you mix with hot water, whisk with a fancy bamboo brush until it froths and sip away.

Matcha gets its bright green hue due to the high chlorophyll levels as a result of shading the leaves a couple of weeks before harvest. After shading, the leaves are hand-picked, dried and stone ground into powder. Since you are consuming the leaves you get a serious superfoody punch of antioxidants and vitamins. You also get a proper caffeine jolt, but it is said to be a calmer jolt due to the presence of the relaxation inducing amino acid L-Theanine.

Drink it straight up frothy or in a smoothie, with fruit, put it in your baked goods or as at 29B in your adult libations. Cheers!

What is matcha