“Tea is like wine,” explains David Liem. He’s co-founder – along with his wife Bena Andriani – of Teassential, a specialist tea purveyor in Perth. “Depending on where the [tea] grow[s], it has a different taste. Green tea from Longjing (Dragon Well tea), will taste different from green tea [grown] in Australia or green tea in Indonesia. Lots of different things give it a different flavour, like the soil, elevation and the processing as well.”
Liem’s explaining all this to me at the State Buildings, which Teassential has called home since 2016. We’re surrounded by the trappings of luxury dining inside this stately historic building at the big end of town. In a space like this, where most guests are focused on improving shareholder value over a glass of wine or a pour-over coffee, a tea-only cafe is a delightful anomaly.
Like a sommelier speaking about terroir, Liem confidently waxes lyrical about tea. Through the small window looking out to the street, customers can watch the mesmerising process of matcha being measured and whisked with a chasen.
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SUBSCRIBE NOWLiem spotlights a small selection of baked goods and sweets from local Perth producers including Temptation Alfajores. He also sells tea leaves and all the accoutrements you need to serve premium tea at home.
For Liem, it’s way to give back to his community. “We grew up drinking tea. Tea is like culture. It’s like a part of our rituals,” he says.
That’s certainly been my experience as well. Liem and I talk about the role tea has played in our own lives. I tell him about pouring tea for elders and extended family over dim sum, cafe hopping with friends looking to find a matcha that’ll live up to their memories from their trip to Kyoto. He laughs at my recount of my Chinese wedding tea ceremony where I poured 50 cups of tea to unite my family and in-laws, stumbling through each step of the traditional ceremony with my bogan-level Mandarin, squeezed in a tomato red cheongsam with my hands shaking as they passed many tiny, tiny teacups in exchange for red packets of money and well wishes for marriage.
Liem’s own tea memories are on the menu at Teassential, too. The hot ginger tea on offer is based on one he and his wife grew up with in Indonesia. “Wedang jahe is sort of like a ginger tea,” he says. “Traditionally there’s ginger and brown sugar or rock sugar, but we serve it here with brown sugar and honey”. He recommends it for anyone looking to move on from matcha.
Liem is used to a high-quality brew, but he’s not above drinking a complementary cup at dim sum, though he “can tell a when they’ve used a cheap puer … it’s like telling the difference between [dried] pasta and a good handmade pasta”.
Teassential
State Buildings Corner of St Georges Terrace and Cathedral Avenue, Perth
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Hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–4:30pm
Sat midday–4pm
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