New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

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Cafe blends tea taste with cappuccino style near Union Square

Ward Pettibone for WSN

Press Tea, recently opened on Seventh Avenue, serves uniquely delicious tea-based drinks, enticing curious Greenwich Village Residents.

Located just a few blocks from Union Square, this innovative cafe has created a drink of its own. Allison DeVane, Press Tea’s marketing director, explained the drink that co-founders Richard Chen and George Kuan created.

“The idea behind our concept is that we wanted to fuse the concept of both tea and coffee,” DeVane said.

The secret behind the tasty teas is the machine that was invented and tweaked for nearly three years. Developed over a long period of time and through a process of brainstorming in a garage, travelling around the globe and hand-picking teas, the final product is a mechanism that utilizes the same technology of a cappuccino maker to create teas.

With four signature blend offerings — black, chai, green and rooibos — the level of caffeine starts highest at black, with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, and declines with each following blend. Mixed with a choice of milk and flavored syrups like vanilla and rose made in-house, the teas are then made into the final macchiatos, lattes and other drink forms.

“These [signature blends] have always been our base,” said DeVane. “Most people don’t understand the concept, so we say to think of it as [the blends being] your espresso, and from there you can make your drink.”

The signature hot blends by Press Tea come in an array of flavors from the rose black teapuccino to the green tea latte. They are delicious and reasonably priced.

Iced teas are equally irresistible, especially the refreshing passion fruit Formosa. Some of the iced drinks are even topped with the cafe’s thick mont blanc crème made with a mix of fresh berries.

When paired with a delectable tea-infused pastry, some of the drinks’ flavors are amplified. Flaky croissants or Earl Grey infused cookies are certainly worthy complement to the drinks.

Press Tea has been taking extra measures to educate their customers on who they are and what they do, especially to the NYU community. Press Tea is now accepting Campus Cash, and students can text “Campus” to 99000 for alerts on discounts.

LS freshman Leopoldo Gracia said he likes Press Tea’s tasty array of treats.

“My favorite tea is the Caramel Rooibos Latte,” Gracia said. “It’s the perfect amount of sweetness, and you still get the flavor of the tea. The setting was really cool too, so I may go there to do homework.”

Press Tea is located at 167 Seventh Ave. and is open Sunday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, March 4 print edition. David Bologna is a staff writer. Email him at [email protected]

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