Home

Introduction

Brewing Puerh

Ripe Puerh

Sheng Puerh

Hong Kong

China

Articles

Buying tea online

Links

Contact Me

Buying Puerh Tea in Hong Kong

Note:
- These rankings are based on my personal experience of buying puerh tea from them. Each person has a different experience.
- These rankings only concern puerh tea, not other chinese teas.
- These rankings will change as time goes by (updated on 22 Nov 2010).

In terms of trustworthiness, quality of teas and pricing, the recommended puerh shops in Hong Kong are:

1st
Lau Yu Fat Tea Shop (established 1961)
www.teahouse.com.hk - puerh page - facebook page
Shop 2113, 2nd Floor, Phase 1, Lok Fu Plaza, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2338 1872
Owner: Teamaster Lau Kwok Ho and his son
Nearest MTR station: Lok Fu

Comments: Mr Lau has been in the family business since 1961, and has personally witnessed the growth and development of puerh in Hong Kong as well as possessing decades of puerh storage experience. Prices are reasonable and fair, and Mr Lau and his son will gladly teach you how to appreciate and store puerh. I like Mr Lau for his candidness and honesty when it comes to sharing his thoughts and experience about appreciating puerh and studying trends in the puerh marketplace. There is no pressure to buy cakes and you are allowed to try as much tea as you like.

2nd
The Best Tea House Co. Ltd (established 1988)
www.besttea.com.hk / Youtube page
Great Wall Factory Building
11 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2743 9915
Owner: Vesper Chan Kwok Yee
Nearest MTR station: Lai Chi Kok

Comments: BTH sells good tea, being the largest dealer of "dry-stored" tea in Hong Kong. Mr Chan must be credited with the courage of bucking the trend and storing his tea in dry conditions, hence giving him an advantage over his competitors who, like Henry Trading, stored almost all their tea in wet conditions to cater to the demands of the Hong Kong dim sum market. BTH is also known for creating the 1988 Menghai 7542 "88 Qing Bing" which started out at HKD300 but at July 2010 is retailing for HKD18,000, representing a 5,900% return on investment for a holding period of about 9 years. There is slight pressure to buy cakes if you try their tea. As at July 2010, BTH is selling the purple sky for HKD2,800, the 1997 7542 Shui Lan Yin for HKD3,800, the red mark for HKD150,000 but will apply a 15% discount if you are a VIP customer. I am a VIP customer so contact me if you need help in this area. :)

See Marshaln review on The Best Tea House...

3rd
Cloud’s Tea Collection
www.cloudsgrouphk.com / www.cloudsteahouse.com
Owner: Kam Pong Chan and Cedric Chan

Comments: At the moment you can only order online. Email them to find out more.

4th
Lam Kie Yuen Tea Co., Ltd (established 1955)
www.lkytea.com
105-107 Bonham Strand East, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2543 7154
Nearest MTR station: Sheung Wan

Comments: Lam Kie Yuen primarily supply all kinds of tea wholesale to restaurants and overseas retailers. They produce their own cakes occasionally. They are not puerh specialists, but if you are visiting Hong Kong, it is worth considering dropping by as they are located on Hong Kong island (the rest are on Kowloon). They have made it to this list for their pricing honesty and quality of teas. There is slight pressure to buy cakes if you try their tea. I discovered puerh from them (formerly i was drinking oolongs and longjing).

5th
Henry Trading Co., Ltd
www.henry-trading.com
Shop 1003, David House, 8-20 Nanjing Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2782 1568
Owner: Teamaster Lee and his son Henry
Nearest MTR station: Jordan

Comments: Mr Lee and his wife set up shop about 9 years ago and they produce their own private label cakes from time to time. They have made it to this list because they probably sell the cheapest aged puerh in Hong Kong (however they are mostly wet-stored and some are exposed to daylight in his showroom). Mr Lee believes in pricing his puerh reasonably. Mrs Lee named the company after their son Henry who has a day job but occasionally turns up at the shop to help out. They have aged puerh all the way to 100 years old. As at July 2010, the red mark is going for HK$100,000 and the blue mark is going for HK$60,000. There is also no pressure to buy cakes and you are allowed to try as much tea as you like. It is advisable to call before visiting as their shop may be closed.

6th
Sin Fook Tea House
Shop 18, Lower Ground Floor, Kowloon City Plaza, 128 Carpenter Road, Kowloon City, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2320 8739
Owner: Mr Meng Sun Siong
Nearest MTR station: Lok Fu

7th
Wing Ngai Tea (Hong Kong's official sole distributor for Menghai)
www.wingngaitea.com
35-37 Apliu Street, Shamsuipo, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2380 2998 (call before visiting)
Nearest MTR station: Shamsuipo

Comments: Wing Ngai owns sole distributorship of Dayi in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and you will see them at every tea expo. It is run by a bunch of businessmen, hence they do not know much about storage and appreciation of tea versus the rest. They are however familiar with the speculative market and will share their views if you ask. There is slight pressure to buy cakes if you try their tea. They do not mark up their tea unreasonably. You should only contact them if you are looking to buy new genuine Dayi for investment purposes (as they do not like to sell single cakes). They sell nothing else.

8th
Sun Sing Tea (established 1996)
www.sunsingtea.com
Rm 3201, 32/F., Soundwill Plaza, 38 Russell Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Shop 16A, Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2832 2889
Owner: Kings Yeung and Henry Yeung
Nearest MTR station: Causeway Bay / Tsim Sha Tsui

Comments: Sun Sing ("New Star" in Cantonese), like BTH, is run by businessmen and the owners are never there. The young lads who attend to you are coy about providing information about their teas and their recommendations are not entirely reliable. Another point to note is that their teas and teaware are priced higher than other dealers because they have to cover their rent at Causeway Bay (they are located opposite Times Square) and hence you would be better off heading to other stores if budget is your concern and you want a good deal. Sunsing caters primarily to tourists (U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Europe) who may have heard about them from a magazine or live in a nearby hotel. A commentator remarked over a tea session that at present Sunsing doesn't have good stock in their warehouses compared to say BTH, as they have sold most of them and now they are only left with a display glass cabinet containing antique cakes. You will not be allowed to try certain cakes without paying. There is slight pressure to buy cakes if you try what you are permitted to try. Customers are allowed and encouraged to purchase samples of any cake to try based on 1/30th of the price of a cake (or less, in the case of newer tea). Sun Sing conducts puerh tea courses regularly, in Cantonese.

No basis to evaluate (have not bought teacakes from them) but they specialise in puerh and sell good tea

Tong Ngai Development
Room G11-12, Fook Sing Court, 378 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2545 9855
Owner: Ms Lam
Nearest MTR station: Sheung Wan

Not necessary to visit

Ki Chan Tea Co. (established 1942) (does not allow tasting of teas; told me "all are Menghai"; bought a few samples and they were bad, worst samples I bought in Hong Kong - think they were poorly stored in air-conditioned rooms for years. Tasting of teas are not permitted under any circumstances.)
www.kichantea.com
174 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2573 0690
Nearest MTR station: Wanchai
Shop C-8, 1/F, Queensway Plaza, 93 Queensway Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2573 2902
Nearest MTR station: Admiralty

Rich Nest (Hong Kong) Trading Co. (doesn't accurately recall the age of his teas; offered me tongs of poorly stored tea and told me they were extremely good for investment purposes, would skyrocket in price and that I should buy in bulk to make it worthwhile. Moderate pressure to buy teas after trying.)
Units 12A & B, Kwan Yick Building Phase 2, 343 Des Voeux Road West, Hong Kong
Units 3A & B, Koo Sing Building, 187-189 Des Voeux Road West, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2545 7698
Owner: Mr Chan Chung Mau

Tea Zen (quoted me US$1300 for a 1999 zhongcha cake that is worth US$130; US$77 for a 2009 Yiwu Mahei that is worth US$25)
Ground Floor, 290 Queen’s Road Central
Tel: +852 2544 1375
Owner: Mr Ngan

Tam Yuet Ming (too far away from the city, I spent 3 hours getting there and back - standard teas and not worth the visit)
Rm 6, 8/F, Sunwise Industrial Building
16-26 Wang Wo Tsai Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2407 2272
Owner: Mr Tam Yuet Ming

Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium (prices are way above market as the target markets are the PRC and U.S. tourists; this is the place to go for the highest markups - up to 500%. There are no teamasters here, only salesgirls. Moderate pressure to buy teas after trying.)
www.yuehwa.com
Level 7, 301-309 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3511 2222
Opening Hours : 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Nearest MTR station: Jordan

These are general tea shops like Teavana in the U.S.. They sell all kinds of tea and shop staff are not specialists in puerh. Also tend to have higher markups as situated in main shopping areas where rent is high.

Fook Ming Tong (established 1987)
www.fookmingtong.com
G/F, Exclusivities, No. 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong
Shop 3006, Level 3, IFC Mall, Central, Hong Kong
Shop 3225, The Gateway, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
B2, Sogo Department Store, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
7E143, Departure Hall, Passenger Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport
5P100, Check In Hall, Passenger Terminal 2, Hong Kong International Airport

Comments: Fook Ming Tong's original owners sold out to a Japanese company around 2003 and has since lost its original lustre. I tried to taste teas once but they were quite reluctant to allow me to try teas and they only let me try the first brew, with water that was too hot and without washing the tea properly. Sad...

See Marshaln review on Fook Ming Tong...

Huan Ying Tea Boutique
http://www.facebook.com/HuanYingTeaBoutique
Room 402-3, 4/F Wanchai Central Building, 89 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong SAR.
Call for an appointment
+852 2567 8976

Mingcha Tea House
www.mingcha.com.hk - facebook page
12D Wah Ha Factory Building, 8 Shipyard Lane, Hong Kong (map)

Ying Kee Tea House (their cakes have no proper label indicating exact year of manufacture or origin but they claim that "all are Menghai": teas are overpriced. Tasting of teas are not permitted under any circumstances.)
www.yingkeetea.com

Hulu Tea & Living (quoted me HK$50,000 in Aug 2010 for a tea storage clay container. Go figure.)
Unit A, 1/F, Fortuna Building, 63-69 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2110 0868
Owner: Mr Li F Y
Nearest MTR station: Central

Lock Cha Tea Shop (established 1993)
www.lockcha.com
Upper Ground Floor, 290A, Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2805 1360
Nearest MTR station: Sheung Wan
The KS Lo Gallery, Hong Kong Park, Admiralty Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2801 7177
Nearest MTR station: Admiralty

Last updated: November 22, 2010