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 San Francisco Bay Guardian Best of the Bay 2000 Best Teahouse The Imperial Tea Court reproduces the traditional Chinese teahouse in every detail, from the red-tasseled lanterns and dark lacquered furniture to the old guys at the back table, sipping tea while their pet birds serenade the house from cages hanging from the rafters. It's well worth checking out just for the atmosphere. But for us deprived souls raised on the lukewarm brown swill commonly served in America, the tea is nothing short of a revelation. For only $3 a person per tea ($5 for "Imperial" grades), you can sip such exotic and delightful leaves as Imperial Gold, Silver Needles, and "Monkey Picked" Tieguanyin (now 100 percent primate free, the management assures us). By the time you've finished, you'll be utterly relaxed, fully caffeinated, and ready to take a quarter pound of tea leaves to go. 1411 Powell (@Broadway), S.F. (415) 788-6080. Open Daily  AsianWeek Magazine Chinatown's Cup of Tea The motto "Experience the Tradition" is no idle boast at Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco Chinatown. Opened in 1993 by Roy and Grace Fong, this teahouse specializes in rare, high-quality Chinese teas that are served and sold in a setting that evokes the urban teahouses in China throughout history. "Tradition is an important part of our philosophy," says shop manager Lisa Lim. Off-season, Imperial Tea Court may have anywhere from 80 to 90 tea varieties, and up to 300 in the spring and summer, the peak time for tea harvests, according to shop operations manager Morris Lee. Teas sold include herbal, white, green, oolong, black, pu-erh (a dark tea), and scented and specialty varieties. Prices range from a modest $7 a pound for chamomile to an eye-popping $180 a pound for monkey-picked Tikanyin, an oolong tea that is actually picked, very painstakingly, by human hands, Lee says. Just one look at the display case shows that the Fongs have gone well beyond the standard-issue teas. Lined up in little dishes with cards bearing their names are several tea varieties, including long strands of "jun shan yin zhen'' tied together in a bundles with a red/gold ribbon, leaves of "rose black'' tea mixed with a dried rose petal and light green strands of "silver needles,'' and even a sturdy-looking compact six-inch-wide "tea ball" of compressed tea. To amass his teas, owner Roy Fong gives a lot of personal attention to selecting them. He travels to the tea-growing regions of China, working with cultivators and processors, and orders tea to his own specifications. "Authentically Chinese" extends to the decor, too. "Everything is imported from China, except the lightbulbs," Lee says. That includes the rosewood paneling, the green fabric on the walls, the tables, the marble floor tiles, and the lanterns and bamboo bird cages (which are for sale) dangling from the ceiling. To help you with the total tea experience, the shop stocks all the necessary paraphernalia: kettles, teapots, cups, canisters and cookbooks. It even carries CDs and tapes of tea music played on traditional instruments. And like teahouses in China, Imperial Tea Court can be a meeting place. On most Saturdays, the tables are packed with men from the surrounding neighborhood, all drinking their favorite teas and showing off their caged finches and other handsome songbirds. "Americans like to walk their dogs. In China, people 'walk' their birds. They love to show them off,'' Lee says. "Other people drop by just to see the bird men.'' The clientele, however, is diverse, and ranges from tourists from all over the country and the world to neighborhood residents, Lee says. In addition to its retail business, the Fongs have wholesale and mail-order operations. Many of their teas show up in trendy Bay Area restaurants, such as Chez Panisse and Slanted Door and other high-profile establishments around the country. Moose's in North Beach has a tea section on its menu that reads like the introduction to a repertoire of fine wines. Yunnan Supreme is described as "Fully oxidized black tea from tender young 'gold tips.' Bright in color and aromatics, this tea can stand up to milk and sugar." Tasting a cup of tea at Imperial Court is no hasty affair. An electric teakettle heats the water at your table. Then the leaves are brought to the table in covered porcelain cups and saucers. The first cup of water is poured over the leaves that loosens them and opens up the aromas before the tea is poured off into a round metal draining tray. More water is poured into the cup, and you grasp the cup and saucer in the palm of one hand, with thumb resting on the edge. Finally, you sip from the still-covered cup between the cup and the lid. (Most teas cost $3-$5 per cup; Jasmine pearl tea sampled recently, tasted floral and aromatic, with a pleasant long aftertaste.) Good water is as important as the tea leaves because it will bring out the great flavors in tea, Lim says. Water should be heated to the proper temperature, depending on the variety of tea, she says, and that is always a balancing act. Green tea leaves of the best grade typically take almost lukewarm water; darker leaves typically take water that just reaches the boiling point. Ideally, spring water with a pH of about 7.5 should be used, Lim says. February 1999 M.C. Anderson  Fresh Cup Magazine 1999 Tea Almanac Portrait of Imperial Tea Court Like a sculptor modeling soft clay, Roy Fong holds the Yixing teapot in his hands with care and reverence. His is a patient skill. He doesn't make any sudden move, nor does he waste any motions. Rather, Fong prepares his tea with a delicate touch worthy of an artist. "This is the way of tea called Kung Fu Cha," says Fong, owner of the Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco. "Everybody's heard of Kung Fu martial arts, Bruce Lee and so forth. But the term Kung Fu actually applies to almost everything in life. Kung Fu represents anything that takes patience and practice, anything that takes skill to achieve." First he warms the pot, two small cups and a tea "boat" with hot water, "so the temperature doesn't drop and you have a true presentation." Next he puts an orchid oolong tea in the pot, then presents it for approval. "It's not just to impress you with the smell, but so you can gauge what's in this tea," he explains. Fong doesn't take his water to a full boil, "simply because I don't like the taste of fully boiled water." He flushes the leaves by pouring water into the pot and then pouring it right back out. He presents it again. "You observe the change that's taken place?" Fong asks. "This leaf unfurls quickly, so the flavor will come out quite fast. You use that as part of the formula for how long you're going to steep your tea." He again pours water over the tea, then lets it steep while he warms the pot itself with hot water. The tea boat sits underneath the pot, catching the water runoff while keeping the pot warm. Fong steeps the tea for less than a minute. "It all depends on how you like your tea," he says while taking the pot in his hands and then swirling it gently over a dry towel. This keeps the bottom of the teapot from dripping, he explains, and also releases some of the brewed tea from the pockets of leaves in the pot. He pours the tea into very small Yixing cups. He demonstrates how to appreciate the beverage by pulling the cup up under his nose and twisting it gently. "You smell it much better this way," he says. "By twisting it you're swirling the water and releasing more aroma." He puts the cup to his mouth, then takes a quick sip into the back of his throat. "Swallow it good," Fong advises. "Now you taste more flavor. Close your mouth. Now you can feel the tea." This is the Imperial Tea Court, and this is oolong tea the way it was meant to be prepared. Fong, a producer, importer, wholesaler, distributor, and retailer of teas all in one, has created an absolute Shangri-La for tea lovers. Fong opened Imperial on the 4th of July, 1993 "the only day all my friends could come" intending it to be a sort of showroom for his wholesale business and to provide an accurate presentation of traditional tea. But Fong, who most specialty tea experts is at the top of his field, decided early on not to put a half-hearted effort into the business. He wanted authenticity. He imported everything in the store from China the marble on the floor, the wood paneling on the walls, even the nails and glue. The result is an hour of the most refreshing and educating experiences of anyone's lifetime. To Fong, tea is more than just a beverage, it's a way of life from which everyone can learn. Fong serves mostly Chinese green and oolong teas in his store, and he's very picky about the ones he offers. He even contracts with several tea gardens in China to grow tea to his exact specifications. He's not shy about paying a lot of money for a specific tea. However, he doesn't always pass that expense on to the consumer. Every tea in his inventory is priced at $3 to $5 for a pot. As he explains, even the most expensive teas that are priced at $300 a pound or more, when divided up will come to only a dollar or so a cup. "If you drink tea the way we're drinking it here, steeping the leaves several times, a pound of tea will go a long way," Fong explains. "People will pay $400 to $500 to buy a bottle of Bordeaux for dinner, and it's gone tomorrow. So tea's really not a bad value." A visit to the Imperial Tea Court is like a visit to no other teahouse in America. Fong's immense knowledge of tea guarantees it. "Tea is 5,000 years worth of history, culture and knowledge," Fong says. "We don't claim to know it all, or anything close to it, but I think we have a lot to share." Rivers Janssen
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