Hong Kong is an extraordinary culinary destination – a true foodie’s paradise – with numerous must-visit neighborhoods (including Central, Kennedy Town, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui, among others) filled with world-class establishments and innovative food and beverage leaders.
In the Central neighborhood is an award-winning bar called Tell Camellia.
Tell Camellia is a hidden tea bar at Pottinger Street, which takes tea-based cocktails to a whole other level. They source exotic 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).
World Tea News spoke with the innovative Gagan Gurung, who created and runs Tell Camellia.
Question: Hi, Gagan. Thanks for your time! First off, tell us about how you became interested in tea and what led you to launching Tell Camellia, your tea-inspired cocktail bar. How did you come up with the idea?
Answer: I was born and raised in Nepal. I had a connection with tea since I was a kid. Growing up, I had seen tea plantations and tasted a few kinds of tea. Since then, I was inspired to make tea. When I first moved to Hong Kong, I joined the food and beverage industry. At that time, I wanted to be a chef. So, I started studying cooking and working. But after working for a year, I realized – although I liked mixing flavor – I also liked to interact with guests. So, I decided to move to bartending.
Since working in the bar industry for some time, I had a dream to open my own place like everyone else. But, at the same time, I also wanted to represent where I’m from and my childhood memories. So, I came out with an idea to open my own bar with the concept of tea, which can represent not only Nepal but also Asia. This is how Tell Camellia was born.
Question: When did you officially launch Tell Camellia?
Answer: Tell Camellia was officially launched in September of 2019.
Question: How have customers responded to Tell Camellia? Do you think they look at tea in a new way, after they visit your bar?
Answer: 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.
Question: How did you come up with your menu of tea cocktails? And did your background in the bar/restaurant world help?
Answer: 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. Yes, I have studied and did courses for cooking and worked in a kitchen for one year, but moved to bartending for one decade so far, and I’m still learning. Most of my bartending career I have spent with Zuma Hong Kong, where I actually learned about bartending and got serious about it.
Question: Tell us about some of your favorite tea cocktails on your menu?
Answer: Some of our cocktails on the menu are very complicated in terms of making them at home, but I always strive to create something that people can actually make at home. I love 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 hommies – chestnut liqueur and cassia bark tincture. The smokiness from the tea is just beautiful.
Question: What’s the most popular tea cocktail on your menu?
Answer: We – for now – have three popular cocktails on our menu. No.1 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. No. 2 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. No. 3 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.
Question: Tell us about your “T & Tonics,” where you blend tea with gin and then re-distill it. What’s the process?
Answer: 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.
Question: How often do you change your menu?
Answer: 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.
Question: What can you tell us about how you source your teas? Looks like you feature tea from many tea-growing regions.
Answer: This is where I was lost – at the beginning [of Tell Camellia’s launch] because the plan was to do tea from around the world, which we still do, but it’s very hard to source small quantities of tea from small supplier from around the world. But, we are getting there – slowly – and contacting our friends and suppliers and reaching out for better ways to source.
Question: How did you educate yourself about tea?
Answer: I watch and read a lot about tea. Mei Leaf and Rare Tea Lady are some of my favorite places to go. But in my line of work, tea is our key point, but I also need to educate myself about other flavors or techniques, which I can add to our menu and mix with tea.
Question: What can you tell us about the décor of Tea Camellia? It looks like you might have taken some inspiration from tea for your design and for the vibe of the bar.
Answer: The idea was to create something very modern, but again with inspiration from the tea world. That’s why we chose green and some Japanese elements, and the ceiling is curved like a tea plantation. Also, we don’t display any alcohol brands in our back bar. Rather, we put tea pots on display, gifted from around the world from our guest and friends.
Question: Tell us about some of the awards and accolades that your tea bar has received.
Answer: Since we opened, we have been fortunate, and I would say lucky to be awarded with some renowned awards from Asia's 50 Best Bars for 2021, Time Out and Top 500 Bars.
Question: In your opinion, why should the bar and restaurant world pay attention to tea and feature it on their menu more?
Answer: 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.
Question: Do you think that bars and restaurants can be more innovative when it comes to tea?
Answer: 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.
Question: Thanks again for your time, Gagan. Last question: What do you love most about tea? And do you have a favorite tea?
Answer: Thank you, Aaron, for letting me share my love of tea and cocktails. What I love about tea… hmm…. this is the first question everyone asks me when I share the story of tea. I would say everything because tea is in our culture. It’s in our history and it’s within me. I love oolong tea, I always have high-mountain oolong tea in the morning. It’s my morning ritual, which gives me strength and energy to start my day.
Tea learn more about Tell Camellia, visit their Instagram page here. And to learn more about Hong Kong, visit DiscoverHongKong.com/eng.
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