Where I'm from, Trinidad and Tobago, tea is a prime way to start the day. A hot cup of tea is paired with a piece of toast or an omelet. When I migrated to the states I’d notice that the preferable hot drink is coffee. By going to college I grew to realize that coffee was the ideal morning, afternoon and evening drink for students. While I’ve confided in Starbucks, yet tea is still my first love so one can only imagine how ecstatic I became when I found Tea Talk.
Tea Talk is a locally runned store that was started in 2012 by Jenna McCarthy, who is of Chinese descent. The creation of the store had been a dream of McCarthy’s mother to own a tea house even though her mother was not able to attain this dream. In 2012, McCarthy and her brother agreed to finally make this dream a reality.
The store serves a wide range of hot and cold teas with over 150 loose teas and over 60 bubble tea flavors. Some of the hot teas include: Ginger Oolong, Jasmine, Peppermint, Green Rooibos and cold teas can come in a variety of mixtures such as Cherry Blossom Green, Tropical Green, White Vanilla Grapefruit and more.
Though I love the store for their hot teas, their most popular drink among customers, including myself, are their bubble teas also referred to as Boba.
Their Bubble teas attract both the young people as well as the adults here in the Hudson Valley. Tea Talk has a range of menus all of which can be themed from Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Mario, Disney Princesses. Their menus usually reflect trends that are occurring. While visiting I spoke to a customer, LewAnn Taylor, 25, who expressed that her favorite bubble tea drink is Princess Aurora. The drink is a blend of strawberry, lavender, vanilla milk plus yogurt pops but Taylor often substitutes the yogurt for mango pops instead.My favorite drink is the Lycee mixed with White Peach and Lycee jellies. It’s has just the right amount of sweetness to fulfill my sweet tooth!
Inside the store it preserves an Asian cultured ambiance. Floral paintings, Asian inscriptions, pottery and other trinkets décor the room. There are couches and benches set up near the entrance of the store where customers can enjoy their tea in a relaxed space.
Tea has always been a part of my life but I would have to say that finding Tea Talk has magnified my love for teas even more. As my time as a senior draws closer it saddens me to think of leaving the Hudson Valley, more importantly leaving behind Tea Talk. Hopefully I can find a place just as great as this one.