Alice in...New York?

Alice may be in Wonderland, but she is also on the UES – in two locations, to be exact. As I was doing some Christmas shopping last week, I stumbled down a rabbit hole and into Alice’s Tea Cup, the tea café, gift shop, and restaurant with locations on 64th Street between 3rd and Lexington and 81st Street between 2nd and 3rd.

The first thing to catch my eye when I walked into the 81st Street location was a lovely collection of tea sets featuring Alice herself and all of her Wonderland friends. I marveled at dainty cups, saucers, and teapots depicting various scenes and characters from the story and, intrigued by the fairytale ambience of the little tea shop, began to explore further.

Other gifty items included mugs, tea cozies, dessert plates, and a wide selection of teapots. There were also various gift books, magnets, t-shirts, and, a bit further back, a section devoted to fairy paraphernalia such as wings, glitter, wands, and dresses. This place could easily put many a little girl into a fairytale frenzy.

Wrapped up in the shop’s whimsical feel, I had yet to notice the full-service restaurant on the other side of the gift section. But, when I came to the end of the gift shelving, I peeked around the corner to discover tables set as though in anticipation of a tea party. Bright décor and a mural that looked like it was taken right from Wonderland created a quaint yet magical setting that would serve as the perfect backdrop for a mother-daughter lunch or a tea party for girls of any age.

Tempted to treat myself to a one-person tea party, I decided instead to focus on the task at hand – Christmas gifts – and approached the guy at the register for help.

“Excuse me? Do you have any gift sets with assorted teas?” I asked, eyeing the fairy wings next to the counter.

“No,” he replied apologetically. “But we do sell loose tea in two-, four-, and eight-ounce bags, so we could easily put something together.”

Even better.

While I do like tea and have tried what I consider to be quite a variety of different kinds, I had never been faced with as overwhelming a tea selection as I saw behind the counter. Luckily, the employee who was helping me recognized the confusion in my blank stare and quickly began suggesting teas, even letting me sniff the various leaves to help me choose the ones I liked best.

From Chamomile Flowers to Organic Ginger Orange Peach, Evening Comfort to Mango Flip, they all smelled unique and refreshing. Nearly a half hour later (and with much clearer sinuses), I left Alice’s Tea Cup with an assortment of loose teas as well as mugs and tins to put them in, all gift-wrapped in pretty purple and pink bags, happy to have checked a few more items off my shopping list.

Inspired by the classic Lewis Carroll tale, a love of fine teas, and a bit of fairy dust, Alice’s Tea Cup is one rabbit hole I plan to fall into again soon.