New York Tea Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to facilitate gatherings of tea enthusiasts to assist in the growth of the tea community. 

 

Anyone bitten by the ‘tea bug’ can attest that the more they learn about tea, the more there is to learn about tea.  Each answered question opens up many more unanswered questions.   

 

New York Tea Society's membership consists of tea enthusiasts on a never-ending quest to learn about tea, teawares, and tea culture. We gather to taste and discuss green, white, oolong, black, and puer teas from China, Taiwan, Japan, and India. We visit tea houses, tea events, road trips, and have tea socials at each other's homes. 

 

Whether you are very new to the tea world or have been learning about tea for many years if you enjoy tea in any way, and spend some time in New York City, then New York Tea Society welcomes you. 

 

New York Tea Society is also working on getting group discounts from tea-related businesses for our members.  If you own a business and would like to create a special offer for New York Tea Society members, please Contact Me.

 

The only requirement for membership in the New York Tea Society is a genuine passion for all things tea. 

We hope to meet you soon.

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The members highlighted below have all demonstrated true team spirit in helping to build the tea community by volunteering in the roles designated below their names.  They are the core support team behind New York Tea Society's success in growing the tea community.

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ROY LAMBERTY

President/Founder

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I am the proud founder of the New York Tea Society.  Tea has become an unexplainable obsession in my life, which I have ceased to try to explain long ago.  I have been a successfully employed chef since 1989.  As a chef, flavors, textures, and aromas have become my second nature.  Cooking and tea came together in 1994 when I became a chef's apprentice who enjoyed using tea in his recipes.  Admittedly, at the time, there were more tisanes and herbal teas, such as chamomile, earl grey, mint tea, and jasmine tea, which were more common on the market. However, it did begin to open up my world of tea knowledge.  I soon explored on my own and discovered other green, red, and oolong teas. 

 

It wasn't until  2011 that a friend introduced me to pu'er tea, and my world would never be the same. My taste of a 35-year-old aged sheng pu'er led to a trip to China, where I discovered other teas such as longjing tea, da hong pao, sheng, and shu puer, and most importantly, I discovered gongfu cha! I spent my time there in tea circles, enjoying the wonderful world of gongfu cha. 

 

Upon returning to New York City, I quickly realized it would not be easy to find others with whom to share tea, teaware, and tea stories.  I decided to open a Meetup group, expecting to find maybe 12 or so members to geek out over tea with.  Surprisingly, I quickly found myself surrounded by the beautiful NYC tea community and am now introducing myself to you!  I hope to meet you very soon and share tea.  

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KINGSTON LAM
Executive Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kingston Lam owns Orchid Tea House, where he sells, trades, and collects antique teaware from the Song Dynasty thru to the Chinese Republic Era. His passion for tea and tea culture has led him to gather a large collection of teaware in NYC. 
Kingston is currently the Executive Director at NYTS. This role keeps him busy expanding the tea community by planning, organizing, leading, and hosting the many events and gatherings NYTS offers.

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JARED PATULLO

Director of Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jared Patullo was born and raised in South Florida. He then lived in Washington, D.C., for a few years before moving to NYC. He currently works at a corporate bank as a Senior Analyst of Product Strategy. 

Jared's Tea journey started long ago. While growing up in Florida, his father was a practicing acupuncturist and OT who used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Chinese herbs and tisanes (especially chrysanthemum) were drunk regularly, but exposure to real tea was minimal. It wasn't until much later, when he was gifted some high-quality Japanese Gyokuro that he realized how good loose-leaf tea can be. 
In search of more wonderful loose-leaf teas, Jared was introduced to Chinese Puerh tea, specifically Raw or Sheng Puerh. After visiting a few tea houses, meeting tea friends, and finally moving to New York, Jared continued to chase great Chinese teas. Finding both online tea communities and the NYTS, Chinese tea, teaware, and tea friendships have become a big part of Jared's daily life. Jared loves to share tea with everyone and loves to help continue to grow the tea community. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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