Hong Kong's Best Tea Leaves: 6 Hidden Shops Locals Buy From
Skip the flashy mall boutiques. While tourists line up at TWG Tea and Fook Ming Tong, locals head to narrow Sheung Wan shopfronts where third-generation masters still roast tieguanyin by hand, and dusty Kowloon warehouses hiding vintage pu-erh worth thousands per cake.
Here's where Hong Kong loose leaf tea lovers actually shop.
Time for Tea — Central's afternoon tea specialist
Location: Stag Building, 4/F, 148 Queens Road, Central
Website: timeforteahk.com
This elegant boutique is the exclusive Hong Kong distributor for Mono Filio teapots (those gorgeous German-designed glass teapots you can't find anywhere else in the city). The founder's passion shows in every selection—from organic Earl Grey made with Darjeeling First Flush to their signature Fasting Tea blend.
Why locals love it: Curated collection bridging British afternoon tea tradition with Eastern tea culture. No pushy sales, just expert guidance. Featured in Expat Living, Honeycombers, and Prestige.
Price range: HK$80-150 for premium organic loose-leaf teas
Get: Their decadent Earl Grey or Fresh Mint (caffeine-free)
Fukien Tea Company — Sheung Wan's 72-year-old institution
Location: G/F, 6 Mercer Street, Sheung Wan
Step into this narrow, dusty shopfront and you'll find third-generation tea master Patrick Yeung, now in his 70s, greeting customers at a small wooden table in the back (usually with his white cat lounging nearby). He's been working with tea since age 12.
Why locals love it: One of only three remaining traditional tieguanyin roasters in Hong Kong. Patrick offers free tastings and serious tea education without the sales pitch. His signature 60-hour roasted tieguanyin uses methods that have nearly vanished from mainland China.
Price range: Budget-friendly with exceptional value
Get: Tieguanyin oolong (Iron Goddess) in various roast profiles
Yee On Tea Co — Aged pu-erh specialists
Location: G/F, 147 Des Voeux Road West, Sai Ying Pun
This humble neighborhood shop holds one of the largest stocks of aged pu-erh cakes in Hong Kong, dating from the 1960s to present. Their professional warehouse cellars use traditional Hong Kong storage—the city's subtropical climate creates ideal conditions for natural aging with distinctive camphor notes.
Why locals love it: For pu-erh collectors, this is the spot. Founded in 1973, they stock legendary vintages including Chi Tse Beeng Cha Yellow Label and produce their own "Taste of Hong Kong" limited-edition series.
Price range: HK$35 for 10g samples to HK$4,500+ for collector-grade vintage cakes
Get: Start with their aged pu-erh samples before committing to a full cake
Lock Cha Tea House — An oasis in Hong Kong Park
Location: G/F, K.S. Lo Gallery, Hong Kong Park, 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Admiralty
Founded by Wing Chi Ip, one of Hong Kong's most respected tea masters, Lock Cha sits next to the Museum of Tea Ware in a serene park setting. They've been importing quality pu-erh directly from small producers since the 1990s—back when few others had such connections.
Why locals love it: Over 100 premium single-harvest Chinese teas. You can sample up to five loose teas at your table before buying. Bonus: they serve excellent vegetarian dim sum (American Express Essentials rated it among the world's best vegetarian restaurants).
Price range: Mid to high-end with exceptional quality
Get: Rose Pu-erh or Selected Phoenix Oolong
The Best Tea House — Vesper Chan's legendary warehouse
Location: G/F, Great Wall Factory Building, 11 Cheung Shun Street, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon
Tea master Vesper Chan famously purchased the entire stock of the legendary "88 Qing" pu-erh cake in the late 1980s—now worth thousands per cake. His teas have appeared in Oscar and Cannes Film Festival gift bags. The back room is an "Ali Baba's cave" of carefully dry-stored vintage collections.
Why locals love it: Vesper pioneered dry storage of pu-erh in Hong Kong when everyone else used wet storage. He personally conducts gongfu tea courses in his 3,000 sq.ft. Chan Tea House tasting room.
Price range: Entry-level aged pu-erh from ~HK$100; collector pieces reach HK$100,000+
Get: Young sheng (raw) pu-erh if you're starting out, aged vintages if you're serious
Green Ginkgo Tea — Hong Kong's first hand-brewed tea bar
Location: Shop 1A, G/F, 1 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan
Owner Shawn Mak created Hong Kong's first hand-brewed tea bar on trendy Tai Ping Shan Street. Each cup is brewed like pour-over coffee—with meticulous attention to leaf quality, water temperature, and teaware. Try their "tea Omakase" where baristas create personalized brews based on your mood.
Why locals love it: Premium Japanese teas from Kyoto and Shizuoka rarely found elsewhere in Hong Kong. Chic Japanese-Nordic minimalist design that's Instagram-worthy but actually matches the quality.
Price range: HK$48-68 per tea, minimum charge ~HK$68
Get: Sencha green tea or seasonal sakura leaf tea
Skip these tourist traps
TWG Tea (IFC Mall, Elements) — Fake heritage marketing. Founded in 2008 but uses "1837" to suggest centuries of tradition. OpenRice reviews describe the tea as "barely supermarket grade."
Fook Ming Tong (multiple malls) — Once great "back in the eighties," now just "average quality tea at luxury prices," according to tea experts. Only tourists buy from them.
Nathan Road kiosks — Variable prices based on how touristy you look. Poor storage conditions. Fancy gift boxes hiding mediocre tea.
How to spot the real deal
Genuine shops share common traits: staff who encourage tasting before buying, clear pricing, proper storage (away from light), and knowledge shared freely rather than used as sales pressure. When a shopkeeper spends twenty minutes explaining roasting techniques without pushing the expensive shelf, you've found it.
Start here: Time for Tea for an elegant introduction, then Fukien Tea Company for old-school education. If pu-erh is your thing, make the pilgrimage to The Best Tea House - just prepare for the industrial neighborhood to contrast sharply with the treasures inside.
Alternatively, we invite you to visit our showroom in Central for personalized, expert guidance.