A Tea Addict's Journal

Tea is everywhere in Hong Kong. From breakfast to dinner, if you go out to eat, you’re going to be served tea. If you go to have set lunches/dinners, you will also have tea (or coffee). You can buy bottled teas. They’re everywhere.

However, just like Phyll says, there is a problem with locating good tea in Hong Kong. It’s not easy. Most teashops are what Toki has described as either the corporate gift stores, or just your local regular tea stores. They might be fine for your regular tea drinker (and still beats most American tea establishments by a mile), they don’t really carry much that is interesting. Puerh is even harder to come by.

The reason I go to the Best Tea House often, even though they’re quite out of the way, is that the teas are good and there are lots of varieties. Good company aside, it is one of the few places where I feel I am learning something new every time I go just by drinking different kinds of tea. That’s unlikely to happen elsewhere.

I am also hoping to use this remaining two weeks in Hong Kong to give myself more exposure to other kinds of tea. Many of these I probably won’t even get to taste in the mainland, as selection there is actually worse, but what it does mean is that I have some sort of a reference. It gives me a starting point from which I can compare my tea tastings and eventual purchases. I fully expect to get ripped off in China, I just hope I won’t get terribly ripped off 🙂