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
Is the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC Still Happening? What Became of It and Its 2019 Tea Booths
Read the post →: Is the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC Still Happening? What Became of It and Its 2019 Tea BoothsIs the Coffee and Tea Festival NYC still on? What happened to it, and to the tea booths I photographed in 2019: Mansa Tea, Ippodo, Teapasar, Teavana and more.
In my cup this week
Alishan High Mountain Oolong
From Alishan, Taiwan: a lightly oxidised high-mountain oolong, buttery and floral with a soft, milky sweetness. Mine is an old tin; Red Blossom Tea sells a fresh one.
Updated October 20, 2026 · Where to buy · 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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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…
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Russian Spirit of War and Tea
Vodka was the Russian soldier’s ration. Tea was what he wanted.
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The Sacred Metal Horn
A warrior, a samovar, and the strong tea that goes with both.
Recently updated
Older posts I have revisited, with new notes, prices and links.
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More stories
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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…
-
Russian Spirit of War and Tea
Vodka was the Russian soldier’s ration. Tea was what he wanted.
-
The Sacred Metal Horn
A warrior, a samovar, and the strong tea that goes with both.
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.