Tea

Excessive school work and a visiting girlfriend has meant that my blogging has been non-existent these past 10 days. Now it is redemption time, and what better way than with tea? Despite a rainy day, said girlfriend and I went exploring to see what Hong Kong had to offer concerning the aromatic beverage.

It is no secret that tea plays an important role in Chinese culture and history. Legend has it that it dates all the way back to 2737 BC, and since then traditions and rituals have flourished. Tea has been used as acceptance for a marriage proposal, as betrothal gifts, for its antioxidants (and long list of medical benefits), as a social gathering, as art, and as signs of respect and hierarchy.

Tea has an (if not equally) important role in British culture, so it was fitting that the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware is the former residence of the commander of the British forces. Located in Hong Kong Park, it is a two-story colonial building housing an informative exhibition on the production of various types of tea, the etiquette and rituals of drinking tea, as well as 600 pieces of tea ware - and all for free.

Right next door is the Lock Cha Tea Shop. After wandering the first floor browsing an impressive Chinese seal collection, we headed to the tea shop downstairs. An extremely friendly staff-member sat us down, recommended two flavours, and showed us how to rinse the cups and brew the tea. The teapots used were about the size of a fist, the shape, size and material determined by what tea was to be brewed in it. Each pot could be steeped 5-6 times, and at 48 HKD each, it wasn't much more expensive than Starbucks. However, looking at the menu, some aged Pu-erh cakes (Pu-erh is a variety of tea from Yunnan Province in China, and is sold in cakes about a foot in diameter) cost 10.000 HKD, so one shouldn't just order anything.