Tea, outside the mainstream.
Rare, small-batch teas and the stories behind them, written from New York City since 2011.
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Latest
The Danish Tea Trade: Copenhagen, British Smugglers and the 1807 Bombardment
Read the post →: The Danish Tea Trade: Copenhagen, British Smugglers and the 1807 BombardmentCopenhagen grew rich shipping tea that smugglers sold in Britain. Then in 1807 Britain set the city on fire. The Danish tea trade and what to drink.
In my cup this week
Milky Blue Absolu
By Mariage Frères: a silky oolong scented with milky notes, sweet like caramel and crème brûlée.
Updated November 3, 2026 · ★★★★★ · Shop Mariage Frères (links to their Marco Polo tea) · Past cups →
From the archive
Sagan Dayla: The Siberian Rhododendron Tea
Sagan Dalya is a Siberian rhododendron tea drunk in Buryatia as a tonic: what it tastes like, how to brew it, and its safety limits. Read it →
A series from @TeaAndWar
War and Tea
The best flavors often come from things that were never meant to go together. Soldiers, hunters and campaigns from history, each paired with a tea, and the true stories of what people drank at war.
Latest from War and Tea
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The Danish Tea Trade: Copenhagen, British Smugglers and the 1807 Bombardment
Copenhagen grew rich shipping tea that smugglers sold in Britain. Then in 1807 Britain set the city on fire. The Danish tea…
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Tea in the Vietnam War: Smokeless Stoves, Brew Ups and Beer
Tea in the Vietnam War: smoke gave soldiers away. How a Vietnamese army cook hid his fire, how Australians brewed up on…
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What Cossacks and Russian Soldiers Really Drank: Wine, Vodka and the Fight for Tea
A Cossack was the first Russian to describe tea, yet most Cossacks drank wine and vodka. Russian soldiers wanted tea, and whether…
Recently updated
Older posts I have revisited, with new notes, prices and links.
More stories
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Tea in the Vietnam War: Smokeless Stoves, Brew Ups and Beer
Tea in the Vietnam War: smoke gave soldiers away. How a Vietnamese army cook hid his fire, how Australians brewed up on…
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Where to Drink Real Loose-Leaf Tea in NYC, Beyond the Milk-Tea Chains
Loose-leaf tea in NYC beyond Mixue and HeyTea: four tea rooms worth the trip, from Té Company and Kettl to Puerh Brooklyn…
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Is the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC Still Happening? What Became of It and Its 2019 Tea Booths
Is the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC still on? What happened to it, and to the tea booths I photographed in 2019:…
About
Writing about tea from New York since 2011.
I started Humble Tea Leaf when talking about tea in New York was mostly limited to Chinatown and a few niche corners of the city. I write about teas from around the world, from organic Japanese matcha to the Sagan Daila of Central Asia, and the traditions behind them.