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Tea Time!
Tea Time!

Yang Chun Lei, a century-year-old herbal tea shop struggles to survive

By Shell Zhang

ost people nowadays go first customers just walk by his shop Chai as a threat to his business.
for soda and alcohol for a and give the herbal tea a try. When “When it is time for our community
Mdrink. But in the old days, a they find the tea is really effective, to be redeveloped, we have to leave.”
cup of herbal tea was a more popular they visit regularly. “Some Western- Yang says he will strive to continue the
choice. They would gather at a herb- ers are also our regular customers,” he family business. “It is a family asset
al tea shop to chat with one another says. passed on through generations. I have
while having herbal tea. Although the business has been to protect my family’s name.”
Yang Chun Lei, a herbal tea shop quite successful, Yang says he has nev- Want to try the 24 Herbs and stay
in Wan Chai, has been in operation er thought of expanding the business healthy? Pay a visit to Yang Chun Lei
for 105 years. It is one of the few tra- scale. He says the major concern is the at 29 Spring Garden Lane, Wan Chai.
ditional herbal tea houses in Hong quality of herbal tea. The preparation
Kong. Yang Wen-jia, the third gen- of 24 Herbs now requires manual la-
eration owner of the shop, says he bour. But if they increase the scale of Edited by Edith Chung
inherits the shop from his father and production, he is afraid that the tea
grandfather. quality might be compromised.
“You can say it is our uniqueness, “If you do not produce the tea
or just being simple,” Yang laughs as yourself and rely on factories to manu-
he explains why there is only one item facture, the tea will no longer be fresh
on the menu. Different from other after being packaged and then trans-
herbal tea stores, Yang Chun Lei only ported here and there,” Yang says.
sells “24 Herbs” (二十四味). He ex- He admits that the herbal tea in-
plains that 24 Herbs is good for health dustry is shrinking, but says his store
and therefore they focus on producing still manages to survive. “We have the
this kind of herbal tea. advantage of cost since we own the
Yang explains the key to enhance store. We do not have to pay rents.”
herbal tea’s effect is to keep it fresh and Yang says he does not view the
maintain the temperature. He says at recent revitalisation projects in Wan