Traditional herbal teashopsShopkeeper pours chrysanthemum tea into a bowl.Sugar cane and water chestnuts are soaked in water for later use in making sugar cane juice.
Sha JiayiSha JiayiSha JiayiSha JiayiFading from modern life
The owner of an herbal teashop pours herbal tea from a copper pot.
Photos & text by Natalie Siu, Noel Tang & Sha Jiayi
Natalie SiuNatalie SiuSha JiayiSha JiayiChrysanthemum tea is stored in a metal pot before being poured.Plastic covers are used to keep out dust.
In a traditional herbal teashop in Sai Wan, copper pot is used to hold herbal tea.
Popular places for social activities in the ’60s and
’70s, traditional herbal teashops are no longer what
they used to be.
Decades-old herbal teashops are mainly found in
old districts like Sheung Wan, Sai Wan and Yau
Ma Tei.
During the prosperous period for these shops,
people used to order cups of herbal tea, seat
comfortably and listen to radio dramas and
Cantonese opera while gossiping with their
neighbours.
Today people go to these shops either for nostalgic
reasons or simply for a quick gulp of herbal tea.
Nowadays most of them just stand in front of the
counter, pay, drink and then go.
With the rapid expansion of modern herbal tea
chain stores, these traditional herbal teashops are
gradually disappearingSha Jiayi
