Hong Kong restaurant roundtable

a shared table for the industry

We open the doors at 2:30 pm on 14 December 2026, into a private dining suite in Sheung Wan. The room is set with a large communal table, a glazed gaiwan, and a flight of Phoenix Mountain dancong already warming the air. There are no name cards, no keynotes — just tea and the people who serve it. Over the next three hours, the roundtable moves through three interwoven themes, each unfolding organically rather than by a printed schedule.

Hosted by Senior Tea Expert Mei Yang — whose work with Mí Lán Xiāng (蜜兰香) and other dancong expressions has shaped tea programmes in venues from Macau to Singapore — the roundtable is a space for candid exchange. As the first pour settles, Mei invites each guest to share their biggest tea challenge right now. For some it’s margin pressure; for others it’s staff fluency with gongfu service. What follows is a deep, guided conversation that bends the agenda to the room.

Programme economics: cost, margin, menu design We begin with the numbers every restaurateur needs. How is a pu’erh programme actually structured — by the cup, by the pot, or as a tasting flight? Mei walks through real models from tea.restaurant partner venues, showing cost-per-serving calculations for semi-aged Shēng Pǔ’ěr (生普洱) and young boutique dancong, and how those numbers shift when you source directly from Yunnan and Guangdong rather than through third-party importers. We’ll examine menu placement, suggested pair-trading rates, and the surprising revenue curve of a well-priced gongfu service.

Sourcing: direct relationships, transparency, and logistics Tea is a long game, and sourcing is where the best programmes begin. Mei shares how teamotea’s field team in Yunnan selects leaf, how they monitor wet storage in Guangdong, and how the process translates into consistent restaurant supply. The table sees a micro‑lot Wò Duī (渥堆) ripe pu’erh cake side‑by‑side with a 2019 raw pu’erh — farm-gate details, pricing tiers, and lead time all open for discussion. A representative from the tea.school team will be present to explain how our tasting logs on puerh.app help chefs and sommeliers articulate the story behind each tea.

Training: building internal fluency The final segment turns to people. A tea menu lives or dies on the floor. We look at training pathways — from the 20‑minute staff primer available through tea.school to the full Tea Degree certification — and talk through what a realistic rollout looks like for a 30‑seat dining room versus a 200‑cover dim sum hall. Members of tea.community are invited to share how their peer network shortens the learning curve, and we discuss how tea.restaurant’s monthly service notes can act as a living training tool.

As the roundtable draws towards its close, Mei guides a final comparative tasting: three 2023 Dancong from Wudongshan, each revealing a different fragrance profile. There is no hard sell, no urgent pitch. Instead, every guest leaves with a sealed sample of the very tea they just tasted, a custom‑printed tasting notebook, and an open invitation to continue the conversation on tea.community. The table stays set long after 5:30 pm, because the best hospitality — much like a good tea — keeps giving long after the first steep.

What you get

• an open‑agenda discussion with restaurant peers, shaped by your own tea challenges

• a hard look at tea programme economics across different service models and price points

• direct sourcing contacts and a structured sample-evaluation flight with Mei Yang

• a curated tasting of three Phoenix Mountain dancong teas, including the house Mí Lán Xiāng

• a post‑event digital kit with training frameworks from tea.school and tea.restaurant

• priority access to the tea.community peer network for ongoing F&B exchange

• a takeaway sample of the rare mi lan xiang served during the roundtable

practical details

• Location — Private dining suite, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

• Dress — Smart casual — jackets optional; we’ll be seated in a climate‑controlled space

• Food — A selection of traditional dim sum and gongfu tea snacks served throughout

• Accessibility — Step‑free access via the building’s dedicated lift; please advise of any needs in advance

• Language — Cantonese with simultaneous English interpretation

• Kit included — A cupping spoon, a bespoke tasting notebook, and a sealed 10 g sample of the evening’s featured tea

• Weather note — December in Hong Kong averages 20 °C — the walkway from Central MTR is fully covered