Sympathy for the Kettle

I miss this place SO MUCH!  I hope they reopen soon.  This was my go-to tea place & i haven't found another place as charming & relaxing.  

I loved that SFTK served such delicious teas in real china.  They took tea seriously.  One of my favorite features was that they had tiny glass bottles of the samples teas that you could smell to help you choose what to drink.  It makes so much sense!  I go to other "tea places" & they stare at me like i'm a Martian when i ask to smell their teas.

SFTK also served amazing pastries, often sourced from local independent shops.  They had Red Velvet Cake from Bread-Stuy in Brooklyn--it's amazing!

I'll be ordering their delicious Blueberry Yoghurt tea from their online shop. (It turns a beautiful shade of purple if you add cream) & praying they reopen soon.

If any of you Yelpers have suggestions of comparable places, PLEASE CONTACT ME!  I was nearly heart broken when i saw that this lovely shop had closed.

i actually held off writing a review for Sympathy for the Kettle because I didn't know what words could do this place justice. I don't think I'm any more confident, but here goes: it's amazing.

Teas: It's really phenomenal.

I've talked with Jodi (the owner) a couple of times, and I found out that she only got into teas in college while she was in Germany. She really liked how they put flowers and fruits in the tea, and said she actually didn't like the teas in England with the milk and such. I think that actually speaks a lot about the teas that the store has. I've tried the different teas, and they're all a little on the light side, as if you wouldn't need to put in anything else. Also, the best teas are the ones they blend themselves, and those are floral/fruit heavy. But anywhere, here's my take on bunch of their teas...

a) apricot: Standard black tea-- high quality. The apricot smell is sweet, and the taste is light. It's enjoyable, and doesn't leave that bitterness that some black teas have.

b) Fruit medley: I come from a family of tea drinkers. The only one tea my mother approved as a gift for her before this was the sencha I got from a temple store in Kyoto. Yeah, it's that great. It's great iced. I actually don't like to drink this with strainers, because I like to eat some of the fruits... that's a confession...

c) Yerba Mate Royal: Standard high quality. It's good, but it's not Tiger Lily Tea Room's Lemon Grass Yerba Mate...

d) Paris: A really smooth and soft black tea blend. It'd make a great starter tea for someone who doesn't really drink black teas. I forget what's inside so you'll have to excuse the vague descriptions...

d) Scarlet: I think this is my favorite tea from them so far. It's a lot like Fruit Medley-- a lot of fruits, but has cherries. Normally, I hate cherry flavored things, but this has real cherries! The tea is strong, and has that puckery sweetness. Amazing.

E) Citrus Ginko green tea: Smells absolutely amazing. A little on the light side for green tea. The citrus is very faint once actually brewed. the ginko and green tea mix well, and leave a clean feeling.

F) Strawberry Papaya Green tea: I can't really tell the two fruits' flavors once actually brewed. A little light for green tea.

G) Blueberry Yogurt: If I hadn't had the Fruit Medley or Scarlet befor this, I would have thought this was amazing. But this has less flavor than the other two. The blueberry is really really really faint. The yogurt... I couldn't really tell..

H) Peach Ginger: My favorite black tea from Sympathy so far. The peach smells so amazing, and is really great. The ginger is just light enough so that it tingles in your mouth, but not so that it overpowers the peach. It's surprisingly refreshing for a black tea.

***

Atmosphere; I really like it... even though it's too pink for my tastes. It's bohemian, without being snobbish. Also has boardgames! (owner: Yeah, I've seen some epic battles over if a word is Scrabble approved or not)

***

Service: So friendly, and so helpful. The first time I talked to Jodi, she even gave me extra teas so I could take to my boss at work. Though, I did find a hair strand in one of my teas the other day...

***

Final note, go here for the blends that Jodi makes herself. The teas are great and high quality, but for a lot of them, you could find better ones. But the blends, you can't find them anywhere! And all the ingredients compliment another so well.

Also, it's closed on Mondays.

I go to this place literally every time I'm in the area and I've gotta say, it's one of my comfort spots. Yes, this is the place I turn to for all my tea needs.
Prices are fair; if memory serves me right, it's about $8 for a "Pot for Two" which is served in an adorable tea pot with adorable cups and usually lasts you your entire adorable stay.  
Every single tea here is brewed to perfection and tastes absolutely heavenly so I never fear trying a flavor I'm not familiar with.
I never catch this place on a bad day, that is to say, it's never crowded when I go. Maybe it's cause I like my tea during odd hours of the day, who knows.
For me, this is the perfect place for a relaxing cuppa tea, some good conversation, and a lazy game of chess or scrabble.

But yeah, bottom line:
-Adorable decor
-Equally as adorable tea sets
-Delicious tea
-Intimate and warm atmosphere
-Board games

All that I want in a tea place, and more.
I only think it's a shame that it's so small... it'd be great if they could somehow expand or something.

This is a cute little tea shop.  They have a great selection of stuff to drink while there and to take home.  It's on the expensive side, though, so maybe not best for a casual tea.  Or for when you just want a drink, not an experience.  

For writers: They have free WiFi, but very little space.  Group writing here is a bit difficult and they don't seem to like it when you hang out for a long time.  Fair enough, since they have limited space.

Rose petal milkshakes. Lavendar cupcakes with bergamot icing. Dorian Gray tea (Earl Gray with bits of rose). Literally hundreds of loose teas sprinkled around the place, with all manner of tea-related treats.

There are not many seats in this pink, too-cute-to-be-believed tea shop--so my friend and I sat on the bench outside and watched the neighborhood go by.

No, this is not an inexpensive place--I think I spent $6.50 on a cupcake and small tea. If you're looking for coffee, go to Cafe Pick Me Up.

But, yes, the owner and patrons are beautiful--this place wonderful for a special, afternoon treat. Each time I've gone in the evening, all of the seats were gone.

...with the windows down and the system up.  

There are two essential reasons to love this place.  Reason 1) the tea is phenomenal, and 2) as the lyrics to the Eminem song alludes  to -it's virtually a big middle finger to Starbucks.  This place is everything that Starbucks isn't and I love it.  The most blaring silent and yet seemingly boisterous protest to the corporatization of the "experience" that adorns these havens littered with green and white symbols, yuppies, and meaningless jargon (grande et al.).   Yes, it is true that I paid near four U.S. presidents for a cup of Sencha green tea that I could have brewed at home, and yes I loved every minute of it.  Knowing that a place exists for us tea freaks, makes the expense worthwhile.

I have to admit the decor is quaint and reminds me of what I thought the Old Woman in the Shoe lived in (think nursery rhymes people), but the tea is second to none.

If you are serious about tea, you are serious about Sympathy for the Kettle.

A quaint, charming, slightly frayed pink confection of a tea shop. They advertise 150 kinds of tea, and the tea list is indeed overwhelming. My advice: decide 1) hot or iced; 2) green, black, or white; then 3) plain, floral or fruit-flavored. They do it right here, with loose leaf tea served in a ceramic teapot with a small handleless cup. Given the abundance of mediocre tea in Manhattan -- where even places that advertise themselves as "tea shops" still serve it watery, fruity, or with tea bags -- this is a welcome development.

Sorry, but I'm knocking off a star for the wince-worthy prices. Tea for one is $5.50, although it's a huge pot, of which I could drink less than half. A good experience, truly, but I just can't stomach the price.

Wonderful little place to sit with a friend and have a chat.
They do sell coffee but I'd recommend asking the knowledgeable staff for a suggestion on a type of tea to try.  I'm a very big coffee drinker myself, but tea is healthier and just feels better sometimes. The treats are tasty and go well with the tea.

Being the tea snob that I am, I never turn down the opportunity to check out a new tea spot. This place is really very quaint and cute and all that.. it would've been a dream tea house for me to play in circa 1988, but better late than never, eh?

Not pretentious, just chill - and boy, what a wide selection of loose leafs! Our very cool waitress recommended a special blend that she had made earlier in the day - peach&ginger + vanilla black tea. Purists like Irene and myself...don't use honey or sugar when we wanna really taste it - and it didn't disappoint this hypercritical pair. Suitably impressed.

This is such a nice place. They have a very eclectic tea collection. I recently bought Black Current Green Tea and it is delicious. I also bought an Earl Grey cupcake to walk with. Very rich, very good.

The place itself is beautifully decorated, enhanced by the competing aromas of the intermingling tea.

The people that work there are so, so nice. I think I'd go back just for them.