br Something’ e w i ng s MAY 2015 | BOROMAG.COM | 19 Story & Photos by Bradley Hawks The intimate teashop is bustling on a spring afternoon. Tea and Milk just opened about a month ago over Easter weekend, and they already have a substantial and loyal following. At first glance, you notice a pristine space with an intimate kitchen, a display case loaded with cupcakes, cookies and pastries, and a smiling staff poised to answer any question thrown their way. The spicy scent of chai drifts through the air like potpourri as one employee brews a batch. Another employee is busy on a puree of fresh taro root. Everything appears as a well-oiled machine. But the journey from concept to brick and mortar is one that took quite a while to brew. “We always met up at a bubble tea shop in Manhattan to talk about life,” explains Mathew Wong of his two business partners. “We were busy interning during college, and we realized we wanted to work for ourselves… We actually had two other businesses before this one. One was even a bakery, but we didn’t have the time to maintain it. So one day at the bubble tea shop, it just hit us. Why not try to make our own bubble teas, but really focus on the ingredients and the techniques?” Right about that time, Wong noticed an advertisement for the LIC Flea, which would be launching later that year. So he and his crew put their heads together and began working out recipes, trying various teas and creating their own brews. Soon, they were hosting a tasting panel for the LIC Flea. And now—a few seasons later—well, the rest is history. As they say, it takes a village. Wong confesses that the entire team behind Tea and Milk is much larger than the trio of partners. One friend works for City Cakes, and so she provides many of the baked treats. The rotating selection features quarter-pound cookies in red velvet stuffed with sweet cream cheese, decadently moist cookies full of molten chocolate morsels, as well as a variety of designer cupcakes. Another friend runs a street cart on Wall Street, and he shared his recipe for an exceptional banh mi. The Vietnamese classic is built on a wondrous French baguette—one of the most critical components of this popular sandwich. The bread is then stacked with pork, head cheese, paté, slivers of carrots, daikon and peppery cilantro, and then drizzled with fiery red sriracha. But the true star of the show, of course, is the broad array of specialty teas they offer. Procured from a variety of sources, flavors range from classic oolong to sweet peach, and green tea infused with green apple. Their pour-over coffee is from New Orleans-based Café Du Monde—the world famous purveyor of beignets. And then to these various teas, customers can add a variety of ingredients, like natural grass jelly, hydrated chia seeds, a special recipe of sweet cream, or even glistening onyx pearls of tapioca. “Technically, we aren’t a bubble tea shop,” explains Wong, acknowledging the negative connotations often associated with the sugary bubble teas offered at most places. “We are more of a concept tea and coffee house, focusing on natural, healthier ingredients. But if you perhaps want to add something to your tea, as well, it’s an option.” 32-02 34th Ave., Astoria 347-921-2056 www.teaandmilk.com and biggest fan Coffee from Cafe Du Monde Sweet Cream can be added
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