Busy Days...

The last few working days in Year of the Snake had been a nightmare. There was so much to do that I had, for a moment, secretly wished that the Apocalypse would come and put an end to everything. The 4-day CNY holiday was no consolation to my exhausted mind and body - I was only made busier by all the gatherings and meals. Now on the 14th day of CNY, it's pretty obvious that bad luck is going to stick with me this year. Just a glance at my to-do list is enough to make me SCREEEEEEEAM!

This blog will probably be reported to Blogger for disturbingly depressing content if I go on like this... fortunately, my cupboard is always fully stocked with powerful antidotes to depressed mood: tea!

The newest addition to my first aid kit is this Tea Almanac from teakha. In the neat bamboo box there are 15 different kinds of tea, one for each day of CNY. The teas come in linen pouches which can be reused as coasters. Isn't that lovely? ;)

I love sipping tea when I feel overwhelmed. To me, a nice cuppa works like an anchor; it grounds my restless soul in the present moment. It clears my mind - even if briefly - so there is no more rumination about yesterday or worry about tomorrow. The only thing on my mind is the very cup of tea that I am drinking. It's a peaceful, almost zen-like state. That's why I always feel better after a tea break. :) 

Now writing the abstract for an upcoming presentation... I gotta make myself a large pot of tea as I can be smashing my keyboard any minute. See you, I hope it won't be too long before my next update. 

Ceylon Tea Set @ teakha

I know, I know, this is already the third time I write about teakha. To prevent any misguided suspicion, I have to declare that this blog is NOT affiliated to teakha in any way, and I do not know its owner Nana or staff personally. I must confess that I am a big fan of this little gem though, so I never get tired of blogging about it! :)

Some days ago Hellish and I booked a travel package to Ceylon Tea Trails through SIA Holidays. The package, which was marketed as a "tea-tasting holiday package", came with vouchers for TWG Tea (HK), Another Fine Day and teakha so as to ensure that we would be drinking tea in Sri Lanka, HK, and even in our dreams. I loved the vouchers, or to be more exact, I desperately needed them... because I was broke after purchasing the luxurious holiday package... :0

In the evening before our pilgrimage to the home of Ceylon tea, we visited teakha as we thought its relaxing atmosphere could put us in the mood for holiday. Weekdays is a great time to visit teakha as it is notoriously busy on weekends. The only problem is that you will need to hurry there after work because it closes at 7:00pm. Be prepared for a dizzying run up Ladder Street! 

When we reached teakha it was almost 6:30pm, yet the ladies in the kitchen were still pretty busy.

There were 2 teakha vouchers in our holiday package. EACH voucher entitled us to 2 free Ceylon tea sets (worth of $100). Nana was pretty generous wasn't she? 

The Ceylon tea set consists of a scone and a cup of Celyon tea. The whole cafe was filled with a toasty, sweet aroma when the scones came out of the oven. Rhapsodic reviews of teakha's scones can be found all over the web; I can testify that they are not paid reviews because their scones are really really good! I used to think Smith & Hsu in Taiwan made the best scones in the world, but now I am not so sure. It's actually hard to make a comparison because teakha's scones are rather unconventional. They have an interesting texture which resembles that of chewy cookies, only more crumbly. You can find crunchiness and softness in the same bite! God knows how many painstaking experiments have been done to work out this perfect scone recipe. I guess I like teakha's scones better than ordinary ones because they are moister and softer. It should also be noted that their scones are meant to be eaten without cream or jam - the scone itself is sufficiently buttery, and whatever is inside (we had fig and roselle) is flavourful enough to render any jam unnecessary. We especially loved the roselle scone! 

And the tea. Full-bodied and smooth, it carried milk really well. It was only slightly sweetened so we could appreciate the well rounded fruity taste of fine Ceylon tea. There aren't many places in HK that take tea-brewing as seriously as teakha does. I enjoyed my cuppa with the latest issue of Monocle. I do apologize for the offensive pretentiousness, haha... ;) 

Tea can be found in every corner of teakha. Love these little details :)

We definitely need more cafes like teakha - you know, a cafe that has its own character and puts thoughts into its food - in HK. We will most certainly be back! :)

INFO 

teakha (website)
Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Opening hours: 11:00am-7:00pm (Wed - Sun)

MingCha x teakha Tea Pairing Class

Finally visited teakha in Sheung Wan in late August. It has recently started an interesting series of tea pairing classes with MingCha. I was interested in joining the class, yet given the suffocating hotness in HK I had been reluctant to move my lazy ass to Tai Ping Shan Street... until I received Eric's invitation. I decided that an evening in a charming little cafe with my good friends might be what I needed in the face of endless work. 

I was sweaty all over after a walk from Sheung Wan MTR Station to teakha in the roasting weather. When I pushed teakha's glass door open, it was like I had entered another world. The turquoise and whitewashed walls gave the petit cafe a fresh and clean feeling. The wooden communal table and open kitchen imparted casualness to the place, creating a welcoming atmosphere that made every guest feel like home. 

Class began as soon as all the 10 participants had arrived. It was led by Tea Master Vivian Mak, a sweet, energetic lady who is also the founder of local tea brand MingCha. In an animated manner she gave us a basic introduction to the types and manufacturing process of tea, which prepared us for subsequent tea tasting. The small class size made interaction easy - everyone was free to ask questions or share his/her tea-drinking experience. This had certainly made the class more interesting and informative. :)

As the theme of our class was black tea, we were given 4 kinds of black tea to taste. To facilitate comparison, Vivian used a standardized brewing time of 1 minute for each tea. Shown above are the dry leaves of Lapsang Souchong, sourced by MingCha from Wuyi, China. With its unique smoky aroma that results from smoke-drying over pinewood, it's an unforgettable tea for sure... but I really can't say I like this liquid version of bacon. Vivian said Lapsang Souchong was highly sought-after by Western but not Asian tea drinkers, perhaps because Westerners were accustomed to beverages of strong taste (e.g. whiskey). This seemed very true in our class: our Caucasian classmates loved it unanimously while the rest of us thought the taste was too overpowering. :P 

This is another black tea by MingCha: Tanyang Golden Rim from Fujian, China. Can you see the golden rim of the leaves? :) It is a robust black tea with hints of fruitiness. I thought it was pretty decent. :)

Owner of teakha, Nana, shared with us two black teas in her collection. This is Khongea Assam Tea from India. The tea leaves were finely cut as they were CTC-processed (CTC = crush, tear and curl). Vivian told us that because of the large surface area of the leaves, CTC teas infused quickly and required only a short brewing time. No wonder this tea became bitter after brewing for only a minute! 

Finally, we had Forest Black Tea from Taichung, Taiwan. It's lighter than the other 3 teas, slightly sweet but very fragrant, and it has a floral undercurrent. It's definitely my favourite of the day. 

After we had tasted all the teas, we were served a freshly baked apple pie. We were supposed to pair it with the 4 teas by ourselves and see which combination was the best. But since it was already after 7pm, mindful tea pairing had become a mission impossible to us.  Without much hesitation we shoved the tea cups aside and wolfed down the pies right away! :P Sorry, Vivian... but the pie was just TOO delicious! The crumbly topping was buttery and crispy, and there were lots of fruits in the hot pie. The fact that Eric (who hates desserts with fruits) had finished the whole pie quietly was a solid proof of how marvellous it was! ;)

Hungry as we were, how could we be satisfied by the apple pie alone? (At that point, we had completely forgotten about tea tasting!!) Fortunately there was homemade ginger ice cream to appease our growling stomachs. The ice cream was rich and very smooth - unlike cheap homemade ice cream that often contains small pieces of ice - which went really well with the crunchy ginger cookies. The balance of sweetness and spiciness was perfect. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed by teakha's desserts!

Each of us was also served a glass of Indian Chai, one of teakha's speciality teas. I like to have chai with lots of sugar, but teakha's version is largely unsweetened. It's too spicy for my liking, but if you are looking for authentic masala chai it will definitely be your cup of tea. 

Overall, the tea pairing class was a fun experience... although we didn't really spend much time pairing the desserts with tea (obviously the extraordinarily delicious desserts were to blame :P), it was great to try different kinds of tea under guidance and have some seriously scrummy desserts! Just 2 humble suggestions for Nana's and Vivian's consideration: 1) distilled water, instead of water infused with lemon, should be used for palate-cleansing during tea tasting; 2) snacks can be provided to guests before tea tasting so that they do not have to drink tea on an empty stomach. Indeed, when people are less hungry it may be easier to engage them in tea pairing. ;P 

Last but not least - thanks Eric for the invitation. It's wonderful to have friends who love food around me! :D


INFO
teakha (website)
Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Opening hours: 11:00am-7:00pm (Wed - Sun)
* Visit teakha's Facebook page to get updates about upcoming classes and activities!


MingCha (website)
12D Wah Ha Factory Building, 8 Shipyard Lane, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
* Visit MingCha's Facebook page for more updated info about the company!

teakha Before What It Is

Lined with some of the coolest shops in town, Tung Street + Tai Ping Shan Street is my favourite neighbourhood in HK next to Star Street Precinct. Though its location is rather inconvenient, the cheap and chic tableware at Loveramics gives me the reason to drop by every now and then. The opening of teakha earlier this year has provided me with yet another incentive to travel all the way to this secluded spot in Sheung Wan. With its range of homemade baked goods and specialty teas, this quaint little cafe plus zakka store has received rave reviews from local tea lovers. 

teakha may be one of the newest members to the locality but it's hardly new in the foodie community. It was actually born more than a year ago, in Ship Street, in the form of a pop-up stall. :)

I adore pop-up retail. It's about surprise, experiment, fun, and exclusivity - what's not to love? ;) Unlike many designer pop-up stores that use limited edition goods to stir up competitions among customers and gain media attention, teakha - at least to me - was a low-profile stall about sharing and peace. Without massive promotions, it attracted a small crowd in the know that was truly enthusiastic about food and tea. The atmosphere was casual and laid-back, perfect for chit-chat or serious discussion about food among customers, or with the friendly stall owner Nana. 

Nana was responsible for everything at teakha - from brewing specialty teas to answering questions from customers intrigued by her project. I had been following Nana's blog for some time before visiting teakha (and finding out that Nana is actually my friend Eric's friend!). She impressed me as someone who was  artistic, adventurous, and passionate about cooking. And when I finally got to visit teakha, every bit of teakha - whether it's the beautiful piece of cloth that lined the box of scones, the experimental menu featuring original recipes with an Asian touch, or its pop-up nature - told me that my impression was probably right. ;)

The simple menu

Tea in brewing. Love this hammered copper pot! :) 

In Eric's hands: milk teas flavoured with red dates + honey and brown sugar + ginger honey respectively. Full-bodied, creamy, nectarous and hot, they made perfect beverages for a chilly winter afternoon. :9

Buttery homemade scones by Nana! They had a unique chewy texture that was surprisingly likeable. It would be even nicer if they were served warm, but of course we wouldn't complain given it's only a pop-up stall! 

I feel happy for Nana that she has finally found a permanent home for teakha. I loved it when it was a tea stall. I gather that its delicious food, delectable tea, and other-worldly charm, have been preserved in its new home. Better yet, the menu has been expanded and now you can sit down to while away the afternoon with your favourite cake and tea. I am so going to visit teakha in the near future! Anyone going with me? ;)

INFO

teakha (website)

Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Opening hours: 11:00am-6:00pm (Wed - Fri), 12:00pm-7pm (Sat & Sun)