Direct access to tea production bases
At Tea Hong, we have always worked directly with tea producers to bring to our customers premium quality at the best price. Most of these producers have been generations of tea planters, processors or fresh leaf gatherers who work in ancient methods deep in the mountains of pristine natural environments. Some are in virgin forests.
Since we make it a practice to pay directly at market prices, and treat all people as equals, we have established a strong and intimate bond with these producers. They have a preference in selling to us over collectors for export companies, whose margin depends on undercutting the supplier. That is why you can find the wide range of exclusive quality products in Tea Hong.
Others just sell tea. We help to sell better products, in better ways
Since 1998, our tea master Leo Kwan has pushed the arena of tea business beyond traditional buying and selling to provide consultation and specialist training for tea house operators. Two years later, he was doing the same for hotels, celebrity chefs (some in Michelin starred restaurants) and tea importers, spreading from Hong Kong to Japan, UK and Europe. That was long before all those “tea sommelier” classes even appeared.
Intimate understanding of tea
Another key element is our specialist experience with a huge range of products. Tea selling is not a matter of simple buying and reselling. Deep understanding of specific varieties, selection, timing, source network, post-production processing, packaging and storage are key know-hows to maximise product values of each specific variety. Many of our in-house quality management processes are proprietary.
That is another reason our tea selections always taste better.
Leo sometimes takes clients to visit farms. This one in Taiping near Huangshan in Anhui, China
Discussion with a Swiss client in a tea farm in Wudong where rare quality Phoenix oolongs are made
Tea presentation for Japan's Iron Chef Yuji Wakiya and his visiting tea tour group
Vocational tea students from Japan at a certification test by Leo
Tea demonstration during Slow Food 2004 in Turin, while conversing with the president of the organisation, Giacomo Mojoli
An important market education tool by Leo is his very own Tea Guardian website.
Not All Teas Are Created Equal was Leo's first attempt in market education. Four impressions, out of print since 2005
MingCha was Leo's first tea brand. When opening a teabar on Oxford Street London, Jane Pettigrew, the tea writer and educator, came to say congrats
Been there. Done it. Tea Hong is an unplug from Leo's previous luxurious tea brand direction
Leo used to run retail spaces in Hong Kong, where rent is the highest in the world. Now restricting Tea Hong to online, we aim at delivering the best quality and value
Tea is our passion
Leo had been head of the delegation of traditional Chinese oolong producers to Terra Madre, the international Slow Food conference. Since 2000, he has conducted classes and presentations for audiences of various levels of expertise in London, Paris, Turin, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Brands and tea products he previously developed had won international recognitions and awards; to such known extent that even a luxurious brand seeked to co-brand a line with his.
Behind our drive to excel is our passion to advocate the use of finer teas, because we love them so much ourselves. Leo himself even resorts to using his own resources to set up the much referenced tea guide and commentary site: TeaGuardian.com
Hong Kong — the advantage to deliver the best
Tea Hong is based in Hong Kong. ( That’s where the Hong in our name comes from, not what some others might have thought. ) It is the only global city on the Chinese soil that practice common law. We are therefore close to the largest and most diverse tea production base in the world and yet maintaining all international practices in trade and food safety. Most importantly, information integrity.
We are also right in the center between the other important quality tea production bases in India, Nepal, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Japan. Hong Kong is currently the largest wholesale center for fine wine and we hope it’ll be for fine tea soon.
As a top global logistics center, delivering your purchase from Hong Kong is also optimized for the world.
These mean great quality at good value for you when you buy from Tea Hong.