Gong Fu — Pleasant St.

Last weekend I got to pop into Gong Fu after a little dress fitting with Courtney and Avery.

I don't know HOW, but I finally visited the store for the first time ev-hair back in January. We spend a lot of time in the East Village, but somehow, I just never went in.

The shop has been open for over 10 years and it is so impressive. If I was visiting from out of town, I would be so pumped on seeing a shop like this.

Too cool, Des Moines.

The front desk is like an old drug store desk, and the workers wear cute little black bows with their white shirts and aprons. They measure and weigh the tea and package it up reaaaaaaaal cute and send it home with you.

The owners, Mike and Rusty, started the business in the Midwest and specifically chose Des Moines after wanting a venture away from corporate life. They ran in the Gobi Desert together (okay, what.) and then started brainstorming inspriations from there.

We exposed ourselves to thousands of teas, dozens of steeping and preparation techniques, and much of tea’s history and lore. We also examined tea and tea-inspired aestheticism as an outlook on life and bought into this outlook wholeheartedly. We toured both coasts of the United States, visiting a total of 57 different teahouses in the process. We met many wonderful people during our travels – growers, brokers, blenders and teahouse proprietors – each with a terrific story to tell about what brought them to tea.

We took our inspiration from an assemblage of these people and places, and began the task of designing our shop and amassing the teas and wares that we planned to provide to our customers. It was, and is, hard work, but very enjoyable and altogether rewarding work at that.--Mike and Rusty-founders and owners

Zach and I got this little tea infuser when we visited in January, and he has gifted me several bags of tea since we have been married. I was using those little balls and chains? You know? But the chains would break, yadda yadda.