Video: Why a HK$50,000 Chinese tea is worth every cent – according to a five-star hotel's traditional tea master, anyway

While flipping through an article in Global Tea Hut’s magazine, penned by the intellectual chajin Wu De, I came across this quote by Japanese thinker Soetsu Yanagi: “Tea is a religion of beauty. It can claim to be called the ‘way of tea’ only when it is exalted as a religion. Until the mind is ready, we cannot hope to enter the sanctuary of tea.”

There may be many different ways of enjoying tea – one could meditate with tea, honour its origins and legacy with a beautifully choreographed tea ceremony or simply drink and refine the taste and texture of tea until one is satisfied (this is known as gong fu tea). But what if you are to take tea into greater heights in a luxury hotel that is famous for its impeccable service?

We asked Rosewood Hong Kong Hotel’s tea master, Alan Leung, who eloquently says: “The skill of the master makes a world of difference in taste. For top grade teas, they are hand-picked and handmade. For example, tieguanyin (also known as Iron Goddess) can range from low-grade teas that are machine-picked and rolled and rattled (known in Chinese as yao qing) in machines, while the best range are often rattled and baked by the masters themselves.”

He explains what great quality tea is, and what makes – and breaks – a tea master in the video below.

Video by Jeff Chen.

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