Here in often pretentious Santa Fe there is finally a good tea house run by someone who knows a lot about tea. It goes by the unlikely name of "Maison et The" which baffles me still (one would expect "Maison de The" I would think).
The menu is pretty extensive, and the waiter couldn't explain the various Darjeeling offerings, but to his credit he asked the proprietor and brought back some answers. I had a Darjeeling Arya 1st Flush which was pure delight at $3.50. My daughter had some sort of composed infusion called Jamaican Rum at $2.50 which was overly fruity and sweet. As you can see, prices were indeed reasonable for table service, in fact it's a much better deal than most Starbucks offerings.
The tea is presented in very effective infuser mugs, which, though not exactly fine china, held heat very well, and being clear, allowed me to admire the beautiful color of the Arya. The hot water was poured into the mug in the kitchen, and it was very hot indeed. Hurrah! (Well---- at 7,000 feet above sea level, it was as hot as they could get it.)
I later talked Darjeelings with the proprietor, who was able to tell me precise geographical locations, from memory, of major estates, and who passed along much tea lore (I didn't know that Margaret's Hope "travels" well, for instance). Prices for bulk tea were well below Santa Fe tourist levels, despite the fact that this establishment, located at Canyon and Palace, is in the heart of the most touristy location in the whole town. The Arya was $19 for four ounces, making it $76 per pound, and the most expensive offering in the house (and worth every cent). Other prices were considerably lower. There are easily 100 teas in their inventory.
I'll definitely go back there, probably pretty often, not for the ambience (which was pretty average and typical tourist Santa Fe) but for the good tea at very reasonable prices. We were there on an early November Sunday afternoon. It was not at all crowded, although as always in that part of Santa Fe, parking can be difficult. I imagine in the height of the tourist season it would be a busy place.