Siang Ming Tea House may look like a simple, unassuming eatery in the basement of Mangga Dua Square in Jakarta’s Chinatown area, but it is one of a kind in the truest sense of the word.

The tea house is the only spot in Jakarta that offers exquisite Yixing (purple clay) teapots handcrafted by different artists at different price points, ranging from industrial artists to officially state-recognized grand master industrial artists.

Its collection of teapots includes those made by famous grand master Gu Shao Bei’s third daughter Gu Ding and his apprentice Zhu Ye. Every year, it introduces new Chinese teapots and tea drinking wares.

As such, to welcome the Chinese Year of the Rat on Saturday this year, it has come up with two rat-motif decorated teapots handcrafted by Yu Jien Chong, a master artisanal teapot maker from Jiangsu province.

Made from dicaoqing — a type of clay found at the di (bottom) of a cao (trench) of purple clay known in former times as qing (green) ni (clay or mud) — the special edition teapots were exclusively made for the 13 members of Siang Ming’s arisan (rotating savings scheme).

The clay that owner and Chinese tea expert Suwarni Widjaja initially chose for the teapots is zhuni, which, after firing, will result in red earth-colored teapots favored by most Siang Ming customers. Dicaoqing was finally chosen, however, because the fragile structure of zhuni ore leads to a high breakage rate.

Hot treat: Packs of 2019 shoumei (longevity eyebrow) white tea from Fujian, China, the newest batch of Chinese tea at Siang Ming.

Understandably, Siang Ming has an impressive collection of high-quality Chinese teas as well. Selected by Suwarni, who regularly travels to China to source them, these teas include China’s famous red teas such as Jin Jun Mei, which is sweet with notes of longan fruit and lychee; the high-grade Da Hong Pao, which is malty with roasted and mineral flavors; Tieguanyin oolong teas of different roasting profiles from lightly to thoroughly baked; and the wonderfully complex Feng Huang Dan Cong, also known as Phoenix oolong tea.

China’s top green teas of the pre-Qingming picking grade, harvested in April before rains and the rise in temperature compromise the complexity of the tea’s flavor, are also part of its portfolio.

These fairly short shelf life teas include Long Jing, the 2019 vintage of which was exceptionally complex; Bi Luo Chun, a delicately fruity, nutty and floral tea; Anji Bai Cha, which is delicately nutty, creamy and sweet; and Gao Shan Yun Wu, which has an exquisite umami taste like the highly-prized Japanese gyokuro green tea. All Greek to the uninitiated, these names are, to tea connoisseurs, as evocative as top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines to oenophiles.

Siang Ming is also well-stocked with pu-erh teas, ranging from the modernly processed to the traditionally processed of different ages, forms and compression (disc, brick and loose-leaf), some of which are as hard as ironwood.

Celebration: A Yixing teapot decorated with a rat motif designed by Siang Ming and handmade by a master artisanal teapot maker to celebrate the tea house’s 25th anniversary and welcome the Year of the Rat.

“The youngest one is three years old and the oldest one is 30 years old,” Suwarni said, referring to Siang Ming’s purchasable collection. The older ones are her private collection and are not for sale.

Other teas include Fuzhuan tea, a dark tea compressed into bricks from Hunan; loose-leaf and compressed white teas both fresh and aged from their place of origin, Fujian, including the 2019 shoumei, which has refreshing cardamom, coriander and minty notes; and Taiwanese high mountain oolong teas, including Da Yu Ling, one of the most prized.

Siang Ming is the oldest Chinese teahouse in town. Celebrating its 25th anniversary on Jan. 8, it remains a niche in Jakarta’s fast-growing, Westernized tea market, unshaken by the growing popularity of flavored and innovative teas, “modern” or contemporary urban approaches to tea and the increasingly fierce competition of newer establishments cashing in on the trend.

“We have our ups and downs. Customers come and go. But there are fanatic fans of top-quality, single-origin Chinese teas and tea drinking utensils who have become our loyal, regular patrons,” said Suwarni.

Siang Ming occasionally sells flavored teas, blended teas, Indonesian teas and Japanese teas. Yet, it remains Chinese to the core and its raison d’etre is unchanged. After all, there’s only so many ways a firmly established tea culture with 4,000 years of history can be reinterpreted.

Tea time: Members of Siang Ming's arisan (rotating savings scheme) and their colleagues taste newly arrived teas from China and some teas from their own collections.

— Photos courtesy of Siang Ming