“Everyone has their own preference of which teas they like and I think it is important to listen to your body. When you drink a tea, it should sooth you. By simply listening to your body, you’ll know what tea is good for you.”

Catherine Yung

Founder of Yú Teahouse

Our Urban Explorer

Could you please introduce yourself to our guests?

I am Catherine Yung, the Founder of Yú Teahouse. We are a Hong Kong-based tea brand that curates the finest tea leaves for our customers.

At what age did you start drinking tea? What is your fascination with this art?

My mother used to trade Pu’er tea so at a young age, I was forced to visit plantations and the Yunnan tea mountains back in high school and I think that going on those trips really changed my perspective about tea. There, I learned the rituals and ceremonies of preparing tea, rather than simply steeping teabag in hot water. There is so much to learn about tea, from a historical, scientific, and cultural perspective.

What inspired you to start Yú Teahouse?

In mainland China and Taiwan, there were numerous established tea houses that I did not see in Hong Kong at the time. The tea houses in Hong Kong were more like traditional tea shops where you would purchase the tea leaves and brew them at home rather than an actual teahouse. Many Hong Kong people, especially the younger generations, did not know how to prepare tea properly so I saw it as an opportunity to start Yú Teahouse, which I founded in 2015.

From the boiling of water to the steeping of tea, every action is directed with ceremonial ritualistic intent. What meaning does tea drinking hold for you?

Generally, I like to categorise tea into two types. The first type is more of the essential teas that you just drink every day but doesn’t savour. The second type of tea is more artistic where you level up and focus not only on the tea itself but the tools you use to prepare the tea and the ceremony behind it that adds meaning to tea drinking.

How do you think you fit into the term “Urban Explorer”?

Urban exploration is a state of mind. You can be living in a city all your life and not notice the finer details if you don’t pay attention. But if you look closely, you will find something new. During Covid, when we couldn’t travel, I realised that there were so many places I have not explored so it was a really appropriate time to rediscover the city. 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I think my mentality from when I first started Yú Teahouse till now has shifted so much. I used to think about achieving certain at five years, 10 years, etc. But right now, I am just enjoying what I do rather than just thinking about the finish line. If you have that constant mentality of being goal-oriented, then every time you achieve a milestone, you’ll just look forward to the next milestone. At the moment, I am just taking time to really enjoy my work and being a mother.

Tea of Life

Where did the name “Yú Teahouse” come from and what does it stand for?

I’m a mom now so I try to balance between work, life, and family. It’s not easy to be a working mom, anywhere in the world, but I am so grateful to have such a supportive husband. That said, I generally work Monday through Friday with my team, and at the moment, we have our business team that works closely with hotels and wholesale and our operations team in charge of running our daily teahouse operations. On Saturday, I am currently training to be a meditation leader so I can lead tea meditations and then Sunday is always reserved for family. 

Could you introduce some of the different types of teas available at Yú Teahouse?

At Yú Teahouse, we offer five main tea types: Green tea, White tea, Black tea, Oolong tea, and Black tea. Every few months, we introduce three new teas at our teahouse that we select according to the seasons. We also offer Yellow tea and scented tea as well. In our retail stores, we offer popular teas like Dragon Well (Longjing) tea and Iron Buddha, as well as some other rare teas.

What is your favourite tea? Why?

My preference changes all the time, but at the moment, I really like white tea. Everyone has their own preference of which teas they like and I think it is important to listen to your body. When you drink tea, it should soothe you. By simply listening to your body, you’ll know what tea is good for you.

Any particular foods that you enjoy pairing with this tea?

We do tea pairing with hotels and Michelin-star restaurants but for me, I do not recommend eating and drinking tea at the same time because it will change your palate. I enjoy having tea by itself.

What are some of the healing and wellness benefits of tea?

There are numerous health benefits that many people already know about drinking too, but it also offers many mental benefits too like calming your senses and making you feel relaxed.

Tea drinking is an art. Could you tell us what the proper steps are for drinking/tasting Chinese tea?

It’s funny that you ask that because we have many students who have coffee or wine knowledge prior to joining our tea workshops and we actually share a lot of similar teachings when it comes to an appreciation for this art. For tea drinking, we use all five senses. When you touch the ceramic or glass cup, you immediately feel its temperature. When you hear the water brewing, it instantly calms you down. When you look at the colour or texture of the tea, you can tell if it is a clean and aged tea. Tea also has very complex aroma profiles so it is important to pay attention to this before drinking it. When tasting the tea, you should drink it in three small sips.

If you were not doing what you are doing now, what career path would you have taken?

If I was not doing what I am doing now, I would probably be a photographer. I actually studied graphic design as well. Hence, I would be doing something within the art field for sure!

Travel Inspiration

Where do you find inspiration for travel?

To be frank, I don’t ever purposely try to seek inspiration for traveling. I think it tends to come to you naturally when you are being mindful.

Do you travel more for work or leisure?

Both! have to visit the plantations every year, especially during the spring and autumn harvest. During these times, I would always plan my trip around the area so I can visit more cities around the tea plantations.

Any destinations on your bucket list?

I would love to visit South Africa, Norway, and New Zealand for their incredible nature.

What do you enjoy most about living in Hong Kong?

What I enjoy most about living here is that there is always something new happening in the city and you can find every kind of cuisine here. The art scene has also improved immensely over the years with the opening of the M+ museum and the Palace Museum.

What do you find most challenging about living in Hong Kong?

Space is a luxury here. A majority of people live in such small apartments so it is important to live as minimally as possible.

If you had 3 words to describe the city, what would they be?

Diverse, Stylish, Flourishing

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