{"id":26880,"date":"2020-02-26T09:21:14","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T17:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?p=26880"},"modified":"2020-06-24T11:41:49","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T18:41:49","slug":"steep-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/steep-la\/","title":{"rendered":"Steep LA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tangerine Pu-erh tea at Steep LA. All photos by Anna Mariani<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Samuel Wang and Lydia Lin opened their teahouse Steep LA in Los Angeles\u2019 Chinatown last July, they were surprised to find out that it was exactly what local tea aficionados had been waiting for. <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Because of the widespread popularity of boba tea, a sweet tea-and-milk concoction with tapioca pearls invented in Taiwan<\/a>, they thought initially that they were going to spend a lot of time convincing people to try a beverage with less sugar and without boba. As it turned out, that was not necessary: customers regularly tell Wang and Lin that a tea concept like Steep LA<\/a> was long overdue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowing Down to Share Good Tea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The concept for Steep LA was born at the intersection between the idea of offering good tea and slow living, a lifestyle both Wang and Lin believe in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTea is one way to practice slow living,\u201d explains Wang. \u201cYou naturally have to wait for the tea to steep, naturally have to pour. It forces you to focus and pay a little more attention and still you\u2019re able to have a conversation.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where the Chinese tea ceremony, also known as kung fu or gongfu tea, comes into play. Originally, traditional Chinese tea ceremony was a social gathering where tea was shared. Wang admits that today even in China a lot of tea rooms treat tea like coffee\u2014an individual experience rather than a shared one. To incorporate tea ceremony into their concept, Wang and Lin retained the traditional social element but packaged it into a more modern way, easily accessible to seasoned tea drinkers and first timers alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is immediately evident from Steep LA\u2019s interior design. The space, which is reminiscent of a Scandinavian living room, exudes calm with its neutral color palette, while its d\u00e9cor, which includes two sofas, armchairs, and plenty of green plants, invites customers to slow down. Inspiring the overall design is the famous designer piece, the Y Chair by Hans Wegner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Counter and seating space at Steep LA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted the space to have a Chinese influence but I didn\u2019t want it to be Chinese,\u201d says Wang. \u201cHans Wegner designed the chair based on a Ming dynasty chair. To me that\u2019s the most Chinese-Scandinavian design that\u2019s available. We built everything else around it. All the other chairs and tables are mid-century modern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the interior design, the tea menu encourages customers to enjoy tea together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf people have a conversation while pouring hot water in a teapot and drinking tea, we\u2019re happy,\u201d says Wang. \u201cIt\u2019s not supposed to be expensive or complicated, it just needs some love and friendship and a social aspect to it\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steep\u2019s Kung Fu Tea service, which comes with pastries and dried fruit, is ideal to be shared by up to four people. Customers get a sleek Fellow temperature-controlled kettle, a tea tray, and teaware, and can try their hand at tea ceremony with guidance about temperature and steeping time and a handy timer. Having all variables as controlled as possible, customers can focus on enjoying their tea and engaging in conversation, if they wish to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Samuel Wang prepares tea using traditional Chinese methods in a modern setting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Streamlined Tea Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wang and Lin personally source the tea served at Steep LA. Wang mostly sources oolong and black teas from Taiwan, whereas Lin sources green tea and pu-erh from China. Beyond Kung Fu Tea, the tea menu also includes Shaken not Stirred (choice of tea with optional milk and sugar, shaken to order) and Cold Brewed. Every drink, with the exception of Kung Fu Tea, comes in a single size of 16 ounces. With a small team and little storage space, Wang and Lin had to make sure everything was streamlined and efficient. A single size ensures less formulas and ratios to remember and also less single-use cups overall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tea First, But There\u2019s Food Too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
13 spice marinated beef over rice.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Serving food was not in the original plans for Steep LA until their landlord made it part of the lease agreement. However, the small selection of food items from their in-house kitchen\u2014including small bites like radish cakes and tea-infused tomatoes, as well as filling and flavorful bowls\u2014has garnered the attention of food-centric press, even though it is carefully designed not to overshadow the tea experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do we make sure that the food doesn\u2019t affect the way you taste tea?\u201d says Wang. \u201cWhether it\u2019s food having tea as an ingredient or food not taking away from the flavor of tea, we\u2019re a tea house first. That\u2019s why we won\u2019t have anything on the menu that is super spicy or super sweet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking Down Barriers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name \u201cSteep LA\u201d and the logo were born out of a bilingual thought process: \u201csteep\u201d is a word that is specifically associated with tea, unlike \u201cbrew,\u201d which is used for coffee, beer, and other beverages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Chinese, there\u2019s also a separate word to express a more refined way to brew tea and that Chinese word is our logo,\u201d says Wang. \u201cI wanted it to be equally Chinese and English.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kung Fu tea service<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the same time though, Wang didn\u2019t want people to feel a cultural or language barrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is very much an American establishment selling Chinese tea,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to make sure that people understand that there\u2019s no barrier here; English is spoken here, the menu is only in English. We want our customers to feel like they don\u2019t need to take a language class or understand Chinese culture to be here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking down barriers and bringing the local community together are important goals to Wang and Lin, which is why Steep LA is also an event space hosting recurring dumpling making and tea tasting classes, a photography exhibition, and, in the future, tea and food pairing events and chef collaborations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pioneering a lifestyle of slow living while bringing people together is possible\u2014Steep LA<\/a> is doing it by changing the way people see the traditional Chinese tea ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steep LA wants the community to experience the modern Chinses tea ceremony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1149,"featured_media":26883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}},"beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[17,29],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSteep LA - 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