More than two decades ago, my Chinese language teacher in primary school brought my class to a traditional teahouse called Tea Chapter. It was her way of getting us to embrace our ethnic Chinese roots. It was my first time experiencing “proper” Chinese tea culture, and the teahouse, which is located in an old shophouse in Singapore’s Chinatown, reeked of oriental mystery (cue calligraphy paintings and strains of guzheng – Chinese zither music) and fragility (many clay-based things I could possibly smash into).
Besides this, I remember many photographs of Queen Elizabeth II sipping tea being on display throughout the three levels of the teahouse. Apparently, she’d been to Tea Chapter in 1989 while visiting Singapore and sipped an Imperial Golden Cassia oolong. “Even the Queen of England is interested in Chinese tea,” our teacher told us as we fidgeted about. “You should be interested in your own tea culture too!”
However, my classmates and I were taken more with the snacks menu than the seemingly mundane tea ceremony ritual. It didn’t help that the process was explained in long, convoluted sentences using Chinese words we’d never learned from our textbook. All I got out of the demonstration was that a lot of water seemed to be wasted. The best part of the visit was munching on a tea egg.
Recently, I decided to drop in on Tea Chapter again. Nothing much seemed to have changed. There was even a group of schoolchildren who were chattering and thumping about on the creaky wooden floors as their weary-looking teachers beseeched them to behave.
I had a brief conversation with one of the Tea Chapter staff, Angela, who told me that their main clients were these school groups, followed by “older people” who wanted a quiet place to have a conversation with friends (when the schoolchildren were not around). According to her, they used to have quite a number of tourists, but that number has dwindled of late because there are so many more new tourist attractions in Singapore.
I felt a little sad when I heard this. Places like Tea Chapter are promoting a heritage that seems to be fast disappearing. And yet, converting people to Chinese tea culture is not an overnight affair. I looked back on the initial apathy of my first encounter, and how long it took before I finally realized the relevance of this tradition to my life. It also helped that along the way, I met a few good people who introduced me to Chinese teas that I fell in love with, such as Silver Needle, Tieguanyin, and Phoenix Dan Cong.
The Tea Chapter people are not giving up yet. They see the value in hosting these disruptive hordes of schoolchildren, who sometimes may seem unappreciative. “Maybe one day, a few of these kids will be like you and decide to come back,” Angela said with a smile.
What a neat story and thank you for sharing it. I attended a seminar this weekend at World Tea EXPO about preserving Chinese artisinal teas and I was captivated. It’s wonderful that the tea world is growing rapidly in new markets but preserving that history and heritage is vital. I hope to have the chance to one day visit this tea room and be able to share the same experiences that you have.
Hi Naomi, I’m so glad this issue is being brought up at the World Tea Expo :) The Chinese tea world is really where it all started and there are so many hidden gems to uncover!
Tea Chapter was my first tea house as well, although I must confess at that time (8 years old or so) I was more interested in the snacks as well!
Aren’t you glad tea has never given up on us? :p
Thanks for stoking the memories!
Big props to the lovely Chinese teachers who often had the thankless task of herding us over there! Must be stressful…
I will always remember the first tea ceremony I saw. It was in Singapore actually. I was enthralled and that began my journey into tea.
I wish places like Tea Chapter could develop a program for kids. Something that would engage them and encourage them toward the ritual of tea. Your experience wasn’t really of value because you couldn’t relate to it. I hope perhaps you can help them to find a way to bring this ancient ritual of tea to school children.
Hi Michelle, actually, I don’t think my first experience was bad – it wasn’t instantly transformative but it did leave an indelible impression :) Having special tea programs for children is a great idea, though I imagine the challenge would be making it fun and accessible while preserving the essence of Chinese tea traditions?
I want to teach my 6- 8 year old students something, very simple about Chinese tea. What are some basic traditions I can teach? Montessori Schooling.