MODERN TWISTS ON TEA

Inspired by modern coffee bars, contemporary tea houses are embracing painstaking presentation and surprising flavours in Hong Kong

Taking inspiration from the cool, contemporary style of its sister coffee brand, The Tea Academics (the-academicsgroup.com) has a menu of signature tea lattes using soya and almond milk. Try a Pu’erh made with fermented dark tea, dried mandarin peel, cocoa powder topped with gold foil, or Tieguanyin, an Oolong tea latte made with halffermented Oolong and Tieguanyin tea powder topped with silver foil.

The curated collection includes umami-rich usucha, ceremonial-grade matcha ground from green tea leaves, and the antioxidant-rich Yunnan white tea, which has a mild, floral flavour. Looking for a healing brew? Pink chamomile is thought to provide mild pain relief and better digestion, while the inspiring iced tea menu includes Blue (Oolong, butterfly pea, pear and osmanthus syrup). To further enhance the experience, teas are beautifully presented on trays in handcrafted teaware.

Kiki Tea ( facebook.com/kikiteahk) stands out from the Taiwanese bubble tea crowd by showcasing quality ingredients including premium Taiwanese tea leaves, black sugar and cane sugar, along with handmade pearls and pressed-to-order Teapressos. New teas on the menu include hibiscus rose tea topped with rose cream mousse served either iced or warm, and iced jasmine orange green tea. For an extra HK$5, the tea bar’s famous ‘bubbles’ can be added, which include brown sugar pearls, mini taro balls and even Sichuan pepper flavoured pearls.

At Hong Kong’s first handbrew teabar, Green Ginkgo Tea ( greenginkgotea.com), tea baristas are on hand to explain the origin and tasting notes behind the Japanese and Chinese brews it serves, and the menu features rare & award-winning leaves. Specialising in sencha, gyokuro and matcha, it also serves up waffles and matcha gelato floats if you’re feeling peckish. Want to expand your tea palate? Then sign up for Green Gingko’s monthly tea subscription.

From sea salt yin yang to masala chai, the signature tea menu at Teakha ( teakha.com) features a distinctly international flavour, while its brewed teas include Darjeeling first flush and white peony, which are served hot or iced. It does a nice line in scones too, from Earl Grey lemon to matcha white chocolate.

Its tea leaves are sourced from small plantations globally by sister brand Plantation by Teakha ( plantation.hk), which also offers introductory tea workshops.