Cha-An
Tea house · East Village
230 E 9th St 2nd FL, New York, NY 10003
Highlights
Indulge in an East Village gem where unique Japanese sweets and an extensive tea selection create an inviting atmosphere for afternoon delights.
Indulge in an East Village gem where unique Japanese sweets and an extensive tea selection create an inviting atmosphere for afternoon delights.
"In 2004, Tomoko Yagi opened the doors to Cha An, and to this day, people line the stairs to get to a Japanese haven of tatami benches and washi-paper lamps. It has a global tea catalogue but specializes in sencha and matcha. The latter gets whisked in bowls and also makes its way into beloved desserts like ice cream, mochi, tiramisu, affogato, and even a matcha sake cocktail. Cha An takes prepaid reservations for the savory afternoon tea set; otherwise, expect a wait. Or get drinks and some sweet snacks to go at its sister cafe, Bonbon, a few stores down." - Caroline Shin
"Run by Shin Won-Yoon and her husband Stefen Ramirez, 29B is meant to be a social and interactive setting vs. a traditional tea ceremony, although they do try to keep the reverence close to Korean tea traditions. As tea dealers, they import a variety of single-origin, natural agriculture-conscious teas sourced from farms in Taiwan, Japan, India, China, and Korea where Won-Yoon is from. If you let them know what you’re in the mood for, they’ll curate an experience that will leave a lasting impression. There’s also a whole corner of the East Village shop dedicated to beautiful ceramics and glassware handcrafted by Japanese and Korean artists to peruse." - esther cho, with warm welcome, kenny yang
"Dubbed an 'East Village ambassador for Japanese cuisine' by the New York Times, Yagi's mini-empire of restaurants includes dessert spot Cha-An." - Emma Orlow
"Tomoko Yagi has been serving classic Japanese parfaits at her iconic Japanese cafe, Cha-An, for over 18 years. The cafe’s version was instrumental in popularizing the parfait in New York, Yagi says, because it was one of the first Japanese parfaits that she can remember being sold in the city." - Chihiro Tomioka
"An Asian restaurant dream team is hosting a charity dinner this Monday, November 11 at Madame Vo BBQ with dishes from Malaysian cafe Kopitiam, Japanese dessert shop Cha-An Teahouse, Taiwanese restaurant 886, Chinese fast-casual Junzi Kitchen, and Thai stalwart Somtum Der." - Stefanie Tuder
