Tea and Sympathy

Being about the same size as Joe's Coffee, I was expecting a similar experience from my visit to Tea and Sympathy. What I got was the plea sent surprise of a more personal experience in a British-run tea shop.

Tea and Sympathy is actually divided up into two separate stores. The dining area and the tea shop. The tea shop had about four people in it when I first walked in, quite a crowd when one considers the size of the shop. They did their business, laughed with the guys behind the counter, and went on their way. After they left, my classmates and I got a chance to speak with the owners. There were no chairs inside, so we instead had to rest on the low windowsill.

The shelves, all behind the counter, were lined with all kinds of different authentic tea as well as tea paraphernalia, such as teapots, teacups, and saucers. The doorway was modeled to look like a telephone box, which I found quite charming.

The two men behind the counter were happy to strike up a conversation with us. Both of them were actually from England, and had very clear accents. One of the two men, Robert, said they both left England and came to New York because it was cheaper, which I found amusing because New York has a reputation for being expensive. Declan, the other of the two, also mentioned that he liked how there was an actual summer in New York, and how it didn't rain every day. I asked him if the stereotype about it always raining in England was true, and he laughed, saying it certainly was. They mentioned that two other men worked with them, an Italian and a German.

Both were very friendly and I wouldn't think it too far of a stretch for some of their consumers to return to this shop specifically because of how nice the people working here were. They kindly answered all our questions and asked some about us, too. At one point, my eyes were drawn to a portrait on the wall to the side. I asked who she was, commenting on her royal appearance. I was told she was the owner of the shop, and that she had the painting of her and her dog commissioned.

My classmates and I attempted to go into the other building, the dining area, but were informed that the seating was full and we were not permitted to enter until it cleared out. Because of that, I was unfortunately unable to go in.