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New Coffee Shop Brings Organic Options to Kew Gardens

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | July 24, 2016 10:45am
 Aziz Chalisa, an employee at Ateaz, presents organic teas available at the store.
Aziz Chalisa, an employee at Ateaz, presents organic teas available at the store.
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DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

QUEENS — Coffee and tea lovers looking for organic options can now head to Kew Gardens.

Ateaz, which opened at 116-29 Metropolitan Ave. on Tuesday, offers dozens of organic teas and coffees from all over the world.

The company started several years ago as an online boutique. After opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Tamworth, New Hampshire, in 2014, Ateaz decided to launch its second outpost in New York.

They picked Kew Gardens because “it’s all residential and the neighborhood's demographic is changing,” said manager Gary Kahlon, 31, adding that a lot of young people have recently been moving to the area. 

The store, open from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., offers free Wi-Fi and aspires to be a neighborhood hangout for students who need a place to read, families looking for a quick snack or neighbors who want to catch up while sipping coffee, the manager said. 

(DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska)

“Our motto is 'building community one cup at a time,'” Kahlon said. “It’s just a friendly environment where you can sit down, have a cup of coffee and chat.”

The store offers 30 tea flavors from around the world, including mint from Morocco, chamomile from Egypt, jasmine from China and darjeeling from India, Kahlon said.

It also has a large selection of drip coffees as well as organic frappes and espressos. 

“Our biggest thing is freshness," Kahlon said, adding that each of their teas and coffees emits a very strong and distinct aroma. "If you don’t smell it, it’s not fresh anymore.” 

Patrons can also purchase loose leaf teas and coffee beans.

Pastries at Ateaz come from Omonia Café in Astoria and sandwiches are from LIC’s Bimmy’s. In the future, the shop will also offer bagels and croissants from Martha’s Country Bakery.

Ateaz opened as Odradeks, an artsy coffee house near the Kew Gardens LIRR station, announced its plans to close on July 28.