Not my Cup of Tea

We rode the subway to Jackson Heights expecting buttery, spicy, and milky tea but found iced coffee waiting for us with open arms. The plan was simple: sample Tibetan butter tea and sip cardamom-heavy chai. But the 85-degree heat had other plans—and so did those who live there. While bubble tea was, of course, popular, a fun-loving woman and weed-smoking man pointed us  in the direction of coffee shops.

 Jackson Heights is home to every form of liquid; tapioca balls in strawberry juice, espresso, vanilla matchas, and gooey butter bombs tucked into quiet restaurants preparing for the lunch rush.  Although a lot of places line the streets of Jackson Heights offering Butter Tea, Chai, and Sweet Tea, the appeal seems to be lost in the face of coffee. The reality was obvious: residents chug chilly drinks and duck into AC-ed coffee shops way more than downing a hot cup of tea on a summer day.

Ask the young woman with long brown hair and a purple leotard; her lanky boyfriend can tell you–she loves coffee. For her, Burger King is only good for hot coffee, but Dunkin Donuts and the little French cafe rule supreme on iced coffee drinks. She’s even gone as far as trying to convince her coffee-free boyfriend to follow in her caffeinated footsteps, “For me, I’m a coffee girl, but he? He just started.”

Drawing By Jane Luce

This woman is not alone on her coffee grind. With a Coors Light beanie, pink laces on his black Jordans, and baggy black jeans hanging on by the skin of his belt and big enough to fit two of him, “Genie, like Aladdin” and his friends were “smoking a little weed real quick…before we head to work.” Genie recommended Cafe De Colombia Bakery on 83rd and 37th for pastries and coffee while one friend enthusiastically nodded and the other fidgeted with his gold lighter. The shop offers a variety of coffee with choices including Colombian coffee, lattes, espressos, and cappuccinos-there truly is something for everyone! While we may not have gotten around to trying this thirst quenching coffee, the menu and rave reviews have definitely convinced us to take another trip to Jackson Heights.

Tucked under the jackhammering near Roosevelt Ave and 72nd St., the smell of coffee beans sticks to the warm olive walls. Cafe Catmandoo’s vibe can be summed up by the quote on the wall–“ ‘Be KIND whenever possible. It is always possible.’ - his holiness Dalai Lama.” It's hard to feel like a stranger here, the bubbly owner happily drifts through the cafe, completing various tasks while humming to Ariana Grande playing softly and typing coming from everyone on their computers. Grinning before giving his name, Sonam, he spoke “My name? My name is Bond, James Bond.” Sonam spoke of the consistent coffee and momo crowd at his cafe. Understandably, the momos looked plush and heavy with filling, and the deep flavour of the coffee is dreamy for an avid drinker. But the $6 iced mocha and $5 oat milk cappuccino are rich and perfect to sip on while working.

Bubble tea stores yielded the coolest options for the moist summer heat; the cool, fruity drinks are perfect refreshments that temporarily relieve the icky heat outside. Jona Chen at Artisan gave us the lowdown on boba, noting that “my favorite, it's the Coconut one…people most get the mango passionfruit, the more fruity ones.” While there are less than five boba spots in Jackson Heights, on the hot Tuesday we were there–it was hard not to notice 20-somethings walking around and sucking on the colorful straws. Boba seems the outlier in tea, it's not heavy or hot. It is fruity and sweet, somewhat artificial, really more like a soda with its pure sweetness. Interviewing an employee at Cocoa Bubble, a name chosen to appeal to younger audiences,  informed us on just how much of a hold boba tea has on young people. Jeffrey Lin says, “Bubble tea is here to stay,” and by the looks of it, Jackson Heights couldn’t agree more.  

Photo by Jane Luce

This isn’t to say tea isn’t noteworthy or worth the Subway ride to Jackson Heights. But our expectations were the inverse of our experience. Although we came for briny Butter Tea and silky Chai, it seems we were the only ones who sought it– we didn’t consider how the wet heat of a sunny summer day would limit the number of hot tea drinkers. Tibetan Japanese yielded two bubbling hot tan teacups with butter already separating at the brim, $2 each for what seemed like our weight in butter. With sweat sticking to our bodies already at 11:45, the concentrated thick buttery taste felt just as suffocating. Equally stifling was the hot cinnamon and clove peeking through Raja Sweets & Fast Food, though on a cold December morning, it would certainly warm you right up. Asking for tea while sweat dripped down our interviewees left them looking as if we had asked if they knew any good saunas nearby. Give it a shot when the snow falls, but as for now, iced coffee is king here.