Imperial Tea

Imperial Tea Court

A Tradition of Quality

As a San Francisco Bay Area resident, my favorite tea spot is at the Imperial Tea court in the city of San Francisco. It is a place for many things: tea tasting, meeting friends, and self-contemplation.

The owners, Roy and Grace Fong, have been running it since the early 1990s. They are friendly and helpful in sharing their deep knowledge of tea and Chinese culture, educating their customers on “what is great tea.” Most of their consistent clients are tea aficionados and some of the Bay area five-star restaurants buy their tea from Roy and Grace.

Each year they travel to China searching for the best quality of tea of every category. The general categories of tea are green, white, black, oolong, and pu-erh. In the case of the Imperial Tea Court, their collection of different teas is over 130.

As a note, Mr. Fong is an ordained Daoist priest who was the former head of research and development for the International Tea Masters Association. He spent several years directing and personally over-seeing the award-winning "Lotus Heart" Dragon Well tea program in the renowned West Lake area of Hangzhou, China. In 1997, an international jury awarded his “Imperial Green” tea first place at the Tea Master’s annual conference.)

Some of their tea selection includes Imperial Green tea, Imperial White Peony with Rose, Snow Water Dragon Tips, Topaz Pu-erh, and the famous Organic Gunpowder Chinese Tea. Their ultra-popular "Monkey-Picked" oolong tea is now priced at $200 per pound. Their imperial grade green tea is priced at $380.

They currently have two places in San Francisco and a third place will be opening up in the city of Berkeley this year. Their flagship store is on Powell Street and Broadway Street while their Ferry Building store is located at the International Food Court.

Their Powell Street store has the traditional feel of a Chinese teahouse while their Ferry Building store is a blend of modernism and tradition, serving an exquisite lunch along with their tea. Some of the items that the Ferry Building store serve are braised pork stew, vegetarian curry with tofu, pork won tons in a jasmine tea broth, and some basic dim sum dishes. (I recommend everything.)

The commonalities between the teahouses are the dark rosewood tables, heavy empire chairs, decorative bird cages, serene lantern hung from the roof, delicate Chinese classical music playing in the background, great tea, and fantastic service. In the Powell Street store, there is a smaller selection of tea compared to the tea collection in the Ferry Building.

In the past five years, Imperial Tea Court has been mentioned as the top tea place in the San Francisco Bay Area in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, NY Times, Washington Times and other Bay Area publications.

Experience the Tradition

If you are a tea “newbie,” order a pot of tea and the well-trained staff will show you how to properly prepare and drink it. You can also order a few light snacks that include ginger-roasted almonds, flaky, short peanut cookies and lovely, green tea-dusted pumpkin seeds. These items nicely complement the teas.

My business associate visiting from New York so loved her experience at Imperial Tea Court that she told me she did not just leave her heart in San Francisco; she left it at the Imperial Tea Court. Paraphrasing what she said humorously, “If I were living in the Bay Area, my mobile phone message would be ‘I am not at home or the office or the track field, I am at Imperial Tea or heading toward there. …” (FYI: She told me her favorite teas were the Imperial Grade Green Tea, Superior Monkey-Picked Titguanyin, and YunNam Pu-erh).

As you walk around the interior of the store, you will see the elegant teapots, cups, and tea paraphernalia that are for sale. What make this experience unique is the balance of quality tea, service, and the feeling of tranquility that comes with the place.

This atmosphere subtlety emphasizes the “relaxation, not urgency is the priority” perspective. In my case, I have worked on many project documents while sipping on many cups of green tea. (I do recommend their Superior Green Oolong tea). After a few hours of intensive laboring, I always felt that I have accomplished a great deal of work. Rarely do I get that feeling with any other activities (except for practicing Bagua Zhang or Yi Quan.)

Another reason why I selected “Imperial Tea Court” as an informal meeting place is that the concept of meeting someone new is similar to brewing tea—it takes time to know someone.

Final Thoughts

In a world of digital chaos and crowded space, I consider the Imperial Tea Court as an island of sanity, a place where you can consciously gather your thoughts and reflect on your long day while sipping a cup of quality tea.

If you are ever in San Francisco and would like a change of scenery, come to the Imperial Tea Court (www.imperialtea.com) and experience a profound tradition of quality and serenity.

Cardinal009 is a desktop strategist who has written articles on "Pragmatic Daoism", "Application of Chinese Strategic Concepts in Modern Situations" and Classic Chinese strategists (Jiang Tai Gong, Sunzi, Sun Bin and Zhuge Liang). He likes his "Dragon Well" tea brewed and stirred but not shaken while listening to Chinese Classical lute music.

Copyright: Cardinal009 (MEH), 2005