Chinese High Tea, Zensation, Redfern
Some people can’t get through the morning without a cup of coffee, but for me it’s tea. It starts innocently enough with a simple black, then irish… english, green, white, peach?! Having enjoyed a few of the more traditional High Tea offerings around Sydney I couldn’t but jump at the chance to see how a Chinese High Tea would differ from its western cousin.
As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, Zensation in Surry Hills is holding a number of Chinese High Tea sessions, an enjoyable 2 hours which serves nicely as an introduction to a few of the different Asian varieties of tea. Starting with a ruby red Hibiscus Flower tea our Host (and store owner) Raymond Leung gave us a brief overview of the teas to be served and introduced his staff members (two of whom are incidentally his daughters). His passion for teas is clear in his voice and the store clearly reflects his background in interior design with wonderfully whimsical lanterns strewn about the store, fabrics and colours bringing the small store to life.
A total of 6 teas were served all with accompanying side dishes, the staff were kept busy moving around the store for the relatively large group of approximately 20 people. As each tea was served to the tables Raymond would relate a little about each tea and explain the history behind each. One of the staff members demonstrating was a qualified Tea Ceremony master and it was truly mesmerising watching her technique as she prepared each tea without hesitation, her hands moving with a swift precise motion.
I find that trying to describe the taste of tea to people is almost impossible for me. I can’t seem to describe the taste of tea as clear and defined with a musky scent without feeling a bit of a twat in the process! One of the things I love about tea is that it isn’t all about the taste, it’s the atmosphere it creates for me while I’m sipping at one of my favourite brews and that was very much what this High Tea experience tries to create for you.
Hibiscus Flower Tea
White Peony served with Assorted Chinese Almond Cakes
Eating these Almond cakes was a blast from the past! I haven’t eaten them for years and the first bite took me back to being a kid and prying open the tin box to get at these crumbly almond cookies. The almost drying sensation of the cakes made it a great match for the mild white tea.
Zensation Jade served with Edamame
Despite the Japanese snack, this particular green tea originated from the North West region of China.
Milky Oolong served with Custard Egg Tart
My favourite tea of the day! Following a rather elaborate preparation the tea is then poured into the taller cup (male cup). The round cup is then placed on top and the entire set up flipped over to be drunk out of the smaller cup. The tall cup retained a beautiful floral scent and the resulting tea was amazingly fragrant with a strong enough flavour to compliment the egg tart.
Pu-Erh served with Steamed Dim Sum
The Pu-Erh tea is fermented for a number of years and is stored in cake form. The resulting tea was a deeply dark brown colour with an almost earthy taste. The leaves which result from the cake can be steeped up to 10 times without any loss in flavour.
Bouquet Tea served with Rice Dumpling
Our final tea was a beauty! Also known as a blossoming tea, a tightly stitched together flower with needles of tea is placed in the pot and slowly unfolds as the heat starts to penetrate. Despite its visual appeal it was probably the weakest tea of the lot and apart from the sheer fun of watching it unfold found it rather forgettable.
As an overall introduction to asian teas I found the session a lot of fun. I’ve tried a lot of these varieties of teas before but getting a quick history behind the teas as well as just relaxing in the rather eclectic looking shop made the two hours almost fly by as I simply chatted to L as we enjoyed our tea. For people interested in something a little more in dept, Zensation are looking into starting a Chinese Tea Appreciation Course! Details are hopefully coming soon.
Zensation are running the Chinese Tea Appreciation courses as part of the Sydney Chinese New Year festivities. Bookings are essential and sessions are $30 per person and include a 20% voucher at the end.
Zensation
656 Bourke St
Redfern, NSW, 2016
Ph: (02) 9319 2788
Author
By Minh
Minh is a food, photography, tv loving girl who on occasion likes to think that she can cook. I can't hold my drink for what its worth and have an unhealthy obsession with green tea products.
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This article was written on 02 Feb 2009, and is filed under Chinese, Sydney, East.
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I saw this event publicised but didn’t get around to booking myself in. A great mix of teas on offer and yes those almond cookies remind me of my childhood too! I love the bit in the middle and yes the crumbly texture is perfect for tea.
Helen’s last blog post..Mario mushroom cake and an R2D2 cake
Flipping the oolong sounds like fun. It’s interesting how tea focused this was, compared with Western high teas which seem to be more about the food.
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Tant Pour Tant
i found out too late about this otherwise i would of considered it!!
Looks GREAT!!
How fantastic! I love that drinking tea has become so mainstream now – and these blends sound wonderful
shez’s last blog post..new shanghai chinese restaurant
What a tea-riffic event. Your photos capture the essence of tea drinking even if you think describing it in words is difficult!
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Helen: Luckily we booked on the Thursday and I think we were probably the last two to squeeze in on the morning session, afternoon was booked out!
Arwen: It was interesting that they called it a High Tea, it was probably more of an introduction than anything. But I still appreciated the nibblies!
sydneyguy: It was heaps of fun! If you’re lucky they might still have a few spots for this weekend’s session.
Shez: I thought it was a nice introduction for people who didn’t know much about asian blends. The friend that came with me is pretty picky when it comes to tea and wasn’t a fan of some of their choices.
Belle: Thank you!!
Never been to high Tea before but this looks great! Also a recent tea lover
$30 a head for this experience is something I’ll def be looking into
wish i could got work on saturday and its a friends birthday sunday, oh well next year
I love the evolved and sensual flavors that teas can take on. There should be more tea connoisseurs in this world! Thank you for sharing your tea experiences (and reminding me about wonderful almond cakes)!
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This looks fantastic! Great find too and yes I love those almond cookies although some find them too dry, I think they’re perfect for tea. Great post!
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