Amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown Suzhou, lies a fortress of solitude. A place where you can sit, have some cake, and all the tea you can handle. Those in, “the know,” call that place, Good Flower and Tea.
Just off of Shiquan Street on Ping Qiao Zhi Street, Good Flower and Tea is easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, but that's kind of the point. The staff’s incredibly friendly and very knowledgeable about their teas. The owner has been fascinated with tea for years, and it shows. How do you want to feel? They've got a tea for that. Whether you drink tea for its taste, health effects, or because you want the tea crowd to like you, they have you covered.
If you truly are into tea, this should be the first place you check out in Suzhou. There are walls of flower teas, herbal teas, red teas, green teas, and I think I saw Mr. T and Ice-T chatting in the back with the Bloody Mary mix couple and a pierogie baroness. The air is thick with the smell of cakes baking upstairs. It's the perfect place for relaxing the day away, talking to friends, reading a book, or getting your tea-fix on.
I fell into a self-induced hypnotic trance watching all of the busy people pass by, silently, on the other side of the window. I slipped unimpeded in and out of consciousness. Suddenly, it was three hours later and there was drool all over my arm, like a glazed ham amount of drool. Falling asleep in a tea house is a sure sign to drink more tea. A strong red tea later, I was ready to hit the road.
If only they could get Mr. T out front yelling, "I pity the fool who don't buy this tea!"
I know it could never happen, but how great would that be?
 "Good Flower and Tea")
 "Good Flower and Tea")
 "Good Flower and Tea")
 "Good Flower and Tea")
H: o
