Cup after cup, Miles Kirsch serves tea at Herbert Von King Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant

“Tea really cuts through a lot of the fear that we have when interacting with strangers,” Kirsch said. “It breaks down a lot of barriers and kind of grounds you in the interaction.”

Every month, Kirsch sets up a small table and camp stove and offers up tea and conversation in a different public space. He wasn’t always a tea lover. Kirsch came to appreciate it after his travels through the Middle East, North Africa and Singapore.

“Tea kind of became redefined in my mind as this thing you drink when you’re sick, even if it doesn’t taste that good to this incredibly diverse and exciting beverage that I could explore,” he said.

A couple of years later, the Bushwick resident was making his way through a chilly Sunset Park, and all he wanted was a hot cup of tea.

“I was freezing cold and a little bit of warmth on a really cold day, something you can put your hands around and maybe hold to your chest that can make the big difference from feeling really cold and isolated, from feeling full of life and love,” he said.

An idea started brewing. What if he just served tea for free?

“Not everything has to be so transactional and instead just brighten people’s day with a simple gesture of kindness,” he said.

He set up his first tea stand at Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick.

“It was an incredible day,“ he said. “A bunch of friends came by. So many strangers visited the tea stand and were really thrilled by the idea.”

Now, Kirsch pops up at parks a few times a month. He serves tea at events held by mutual aid groups and at his own home where he hosts community conversations.    

“All of these things are all in the name of building community, creating connections and increasing the amount of trust that we have for one another in New York,” he said.

For infusing a sense of humanity in the city, Miles Kirsch is our New Yorker of the Week