AsianWeek

Chinatown's Cups of Tea
Imperial Tea Court offers Chinese varieties from the rare to the common

he motto "experience the tradition" is no idle boast at Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco Chinatown. Opened in 1993 by Roy and Grace Fong, this teahouse specializes in high-quality and rare Chinese teas that are served and sold in a setting that evokes the urban teahouses in China throughout history. "Tradition is a very important part of our philosophy," says shop manager Lisa Lim. "Imperial Tea Court has forgotten teas, rare teas. It's almost as if we have a lot of old, lost recipes." Off-season, Imperial Tea Court may have anywhere from 80 to 90 tea varieties, to more than 300 in the spring and summer, the peak time for tea harvests, according to shop operations manager Morris Lee.

Teas sold at the shop include herbal, white, green, oolong, black, pu-erh ( a dark tea), and scented and specialty varieties. Prices range from a modest $7 a pound (wholesale) for chamomile to an eye-popping $117 a pound for monkey-picked Tikanyin, an oolong tea that is actually picked, very painstakingly, by human hands, Lee says.

Just one look at the display case shows that the Fongs have gone well beyond the standard-issue teas. Lined up in little dishes with cards bearing their names are several tea varieties, including long strands of "jun shan yin shen'' tied together in a bundles with a red/gold ribbon, leaves of "rose black'' tea mixed with a dried rose petal and light green strands of "silver needles,'' and even a sturdy-looking compact six-inch-wide "tea ball" of compressed tea.

To amass his teas, owner Roy Fong gives a lot of personal attention to selecting them. He travels to the tea-growing regions of China, working with cultivators and processors, and even orders tea to his own specifications.

"Authentically Chinese" extends to the decor, too. "Everything is imported from China, except the lightbulbs," Lee says. That includes the rosewood paneling, the green fabric octagons on the walls, the tables, the marble floor tiles, and the lanterns and bamboo bird cages (which are for sale) dangling from the ceiling. The framed drawings on the wall are the only evidence that you are in San Francisco: one is of Coit Tower, the other of the Transamerica Pyramid.

To help you with the total tea experience, the shop stocks all the necessary paraphernalia: kettles, teapots, cups, canisters and cookbooks. It even carries a CD and tape, called "Cha Tao," of instrumental tea music played with traditional Chinese instruments.

And like teahouses in China, Imperial Tea Court can be a meeting place. On most Saturdays, the tables are packed with men from the surrounding neighborhood, all drinking their favorite teas and showing off their caged finches and other songbirds.

"Americans like to walk their dogs. In China, people 'walk' their birds. They love to show them off,'' Lee says. "Here, some people drop by just to see the bird people.''

The clientele, however, is diverse, and ranges from tourists from all over the country and the world to neighborhood residents, Lee says.

In addition to its retail business, the Fongs have wholesale and mail-order operations. Many of their teas show up in trendy Bay Area restaurants, such as Berkeley's Chez Panisse and San Francisco's Slanted Door.

Moose's in North Beach has a tea section on its menu that reads like the introduction to a repertoire of fine wines. Yunnan Supreme is described as "Fully oxidized black tea from tender young 'gold tips.' Bright in color and aromatics, this tea can stand up to milk and sugar." The menu also cautions: "Because these whole leaf teas are briefly infused in low temperature, pure water of the correct pH 7.5 ... will yield three flavorful infusions."

Tasting a cup of tea at Imperial Court is no hasty affair. An electric teakettle heats the water at your table. Then the leaves are brought to the table in covered porcelain cups and saucers. The first cup of water is poured over the leaves that loosens them and opens up the aromas before the tea is poured off into a round metal draining tray. More water is poured into the cup, and you grasp the cup and saucer in the palm of one hand, with thumb resting on the edge. Finally, you sip from the still-covered cup between the cup and the lid. (Most teas cost $3-$5 per cup; Jasmine pearl tea sampled recently, tasted floral and aromatic, with a pleasant long aftertaste.)

Good water is as important as the tea leaves because it will bring out the great flavors in tea, Lim says. Water should be heated to the proper temperature, depending on the variety of tea, she says, and that is always a balancing act. Green tea leaves of the best grade typically take almost lukewarm water; darker leaves typically take water that just reaches the boiling point. Ideally, spring water with a pH of about 7.5 should be used, Lim says.

Imperial Court, located at 1411 Powell St., San Francisco, is open 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. daily. For more information, call 415-788-6080.

©1999 AsianWeek. The information you receive on-line from AsianWeek is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, retransmitting, or repurposing of any copyright protected material.