Happy new year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. It was a somewhat quiet one for me, with one daughter in Australia and the other in New Zealand. The house was left with my youngest daughter, my husband, border collie and me. We filled the after dinner hours with games that made us laugh (guess the name on your forehead), though!
I was in New York recently, and though I think I fell out of love with Manhattan, I was absolutely in love with Brooklyn!
Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social and ethnic diversity, independent art scene, indie shops, rich and diverse culinary scene, craft breweries and food festivals. Here, my very dear friend, Ro and I rested our tired feet in Kettl, a Japanese tea shop and gallery. With a very simple store front on Greenpoint Avenue, this haven of a tea shop was just what I needed after a morning of piercingly loud sirens and congestion in Manhattan.
On the menu was top quality traditional Japanese green tea of various styles:
Sencha – typical green tea
Gyokuro – luxurious green tea
Houjicha – roasted green tea
Genmaicha – a blend of sencha, matcha and toasted brown rice
Matcha – green tea powder
One could enjoy the tea traditionally hot, or drink them western style as a latte, which is what we did. I had the houjicha latte. It was absolutely delicious!
Kettl’s creativity didn’t stop with just the latte’s. The matcha chocolate buckwheat crunch was many leagues above your typical rice crispy crunch. Just one square of white chocolate mixed with matcha, sprinkled with roasted buckwheat kernels was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. But I also just had to try the milk chocolate with houjicha. I think this was my favourite and will try to make this at home.
Kettl also sells beautiful Japanese handmade ceramic tea cups, tea pots, and other tea accessories as well as hosts Japanese tea tasting classes. I unfortunately did not have time for this, but it is definitely on my list for my next visit.
I later found out that their two offices are in Brooklyn and Fukuoka, Japan, which happens to be the home towns of my father (Brooklyn) and mother (Fukuoka)!
70 Greenpoint Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Japanese Restaurant
If you would like to try a unique twist on traditional Japanese food, I highly recommend Rule of Thirds, located on Banker Street, a 9 minute walk from Kettl. As you walk through the ‘Winter Village’ of Rule of Thirds to get to the restaurant itself, you are transported to what feels like the alleyways of Tokyo.
The food is delicious and very unique. For cocktails I had the Douglas Fir Bank made with sesame shochu, ging, peach, vetiver, lime, umeboshi and douglas fir (of course!) and Ro had a warm cocktail made with roasted barley shochu, amaro, calvados, and Japanese black tea. For dinner, we shared maitake (mushroom), duck heart, clams and karaage (Japanese fried chicken). Every dish was delicious!
171 Banker Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
If you visit New York sometime, do take the subway to Brooklyn. You can stroll around Greenpoint (the area that is named after the main street, where Kettl is located) and Williamsburg, then take the ferry back to Manhattan, if that is where you are staying. Enjoy!
I wish you the very best for 2025!
With warmest wishes,
Lisa
