Hong Kong is an extraordinary culinary destination, rightfully known as a foodie’s paradise.
The Central neighborhood is full of award-winning bars, world-class establishments and trendy restaurants – and one of them is Tell Camellia.
Tell Camellia is a hidden tea bar at Pottinger Street, which takes tea-based cocktails to a whole other level. They source teas from around the globe and offer unique and complex “tea-tails” named after different countries. They even have a menu of “T & Tonics,” where they blend tea with gin and then re-distill it.
Recently, Tell Camellia was named one of Asia's 50 Best Bars for 2021 (they placed No. 23), part of the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
READ MORE: 2021’s 50 Best Bars Announced
Our sister site, World Tea News, spoke with the innovative Gagan Gurung, who co-founded and runs the tea bar. Read the full interview here.
How have customers responded to Tell Camellia? Do you think they look at tea in a new way, after they visit your bar?
Tea was mostly looked at as an elderly beverage... but with our approach, we managed to attract the younger generation with our unique flavor combination alongside tea. We got positive responses from our guests after visiting our bar because we don't only make drinks; we also try to educate them with our tea and cocktail master classes.
How did you come up with your menu of tea cocktails?
All of the cocktails in the menu – from day one – I created with my own experience of flavor, food, previous visits to restaurants and through travel…
Tell us about some of your favorite tea cocktails on your menu?
I love the Teapresso Martini, which is the first espresso martini without coffee that uses tea. It features Hojicha tea, vodka, Hojicha tea liqueur, malted cacao – which gives you all the roasted flavor you’re looking for in an espresso martini, but in this case with tea. It’s pretty amazing. Another one is Smokey Hunter, which requires Lapsang tea that you infuse with Fernet Hunter amaro – a great product by one of my homies – chestnut liqueur and cassia bark tincture. The smokiness from the tea is just beautiful.
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What’s the most popular tea cocktail on your menu?
We – for now – have three popular cocktails on our menu. Number one is Tall Pine. People just love this cocktail. It’s a very simple and a fizzy cocktail, which requires Japanese sencha cold brew tea with shiso, pine and elderflower. Number two is Tea Time. This is one of the cocktails that requires some work behind the scenes with infusing. It features white tea with vodka, then we re-distil the vodka using Rotovap – a fancy looking machine but so easy to use – fresh raspberry juice, centrifuged, for sweetness, and we add oatmeal and honey syrup. I know, it’s lots of work but worth it to drink. Number three is Brazil. It’s Brazilian black tea blended with mate tea then re-distilled with tequila and mixed with mezcal – my favorite spirits – and coriander, yuzu and some simple syrup. Good to go.
Tell us about your “T & Tonics,” where you blend tea with gin and then re-distill it. What’s the process?
When Tell Camellia opened, lots of people started to ask for gin and tonics. Then, I sat down with my team and thought about how we could create something like a gin and tonic but with our passion for tea inside the cocktail. That’s how T & Tonic was born. It worked amazingly. I can decide which tea or which flavor I want, and then blend with gin for 24 hours, redistill and serve with tonic water – such as Lapsang T-Tonic, Lychee & Summer Fruit Ceylon T-Tonic.
How often do you change your menu?
If I have a choice, I like to change our menu every three months. But Tell Camellia is not only a bar it's a community, so we let our guest decide if they want us to change or if they want us to try anything new. We always have some off-menu cocktail in our Pandora’s box – ready to surprise.
READ MORE: If You Can Serve Wine, You Can Serve Tea
In your opinion, why should the bar and restaurant world pay attention to tea and feature it on their menu more?
Well, very simple answer. It’s tea – the second most consumed drink in the world after water. You won’t get it wrong with tea. What we need is awareness and the approach. We can do so many things with tea – even in food world.
Do you think that bars and restaurants can be more innovative when it comes to tea?
This is very important. We just need to break the stereotype of tea culture and not stick with one type of mainstream way to do tea. You can drink tea in different ways, and I strongly believe that Hong Kong – and elsewhere outside of Asia – is going to grow more tea lovers and tea bars in the coming years, and I am so happy for everyone. Just share the love and share the tea.
This interview has modified for length and clarity. To read the full interview, visit www.worldteanews.com
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