I saw in the paper mention of a new tea shoppe in the metro area. It is run by a woman who lived in France for 12 years and decided to start her own. It is located in a major antique area so she gets a lot of foot traffic. I thought this a good location. She makes the pastries and serves a limited menu. She had a good selection of teas. All the teas from India were from recognizable estates. I got a pot of Makaibari green Darjeeling FOP. All the 16oz pots were $5 and 26oz $6.50. Since they're not topped off you're lucky to get 2/3 of either. Nobody can make a pot to satisfy me. The only thing I know about tea shoppes they are expensive for what you get. What I saved on the free day at the Nature and Science museum I spent for lunch and tea. Most of the tables were full on Sunday and the owner made sure to chat at each. We had a short discussion on Darjeeling white teas. She seemed embarrassed when I asked the cost per oz on the Makaibari. She said $3 and I told her $10/100g was the standard cost of any estate tea from anywhere let alone something that was more premium. I was probably her first customer who understood metrics. My local tea shoppe is doing well. The last time I was in I thought the help pesky and annoying. If I was running a tea shoppe every pot would be one liter.
Jim