San Francisco’s world-famous Imperial Tea Court is renowned as an exclusive source for many of the most highly acclaimed and sought-after teas produced today. Magnificently appointed by visiting Chinese craftsmen and opened on the fourth of July, 1993 in Chinatown, Imperial Tea Court represents the life-long commitment to the art and tradition of all aspects of tea of co-founders Grace and Roy Fong. Their mutual love and respect for authentic, hand-crafted Chinese teas (and their difficulty in obtaining them in the United States) led to the initiation of direct relations with tea growers and producers in China and Taiwan, and ultimately to the establishment of Imperial Tea Court.
Roy Fong is the founder and proprietor of San Francisco’s Imperial Tea Court, the first traditional Chinese teahouse in America. A native of Hong Kong, Mr. Fong was introduced to tea early in life, and has spent many years developing close relations with tea growers and producers in mainland China and Taiwan. Each year he visits select tea gardens to supervise all aspects of production – from planting and cultivation to harvesting, processing and grading. In addition, he has built close ties with the historic pottery workshops of Yixing in Jiangsu province and imports dozens of exceptional “purple sand” teapots to the United States each year – many of which are his own special designs and commissions.
Presently, Mr. Fong, an ordained Daoist priest, is endeavoring to reestablish the ancient rite of tea dating back to the time of China’s greatest tea master, Lu Yu, who lived during the Tang dynasty and wrote his famous book the Cha Ching (“Tea Scripture”) around the year 780. Roy is also currently working on his own book which will be a comprehensive guide to the teas of China, including sections concerning the history of tea in general, the origins of the varieties we know today, the various methods of tea processing and detailed discussions of the different methods of tea preparation and service.
Ferry Building Teahouse
Ferry Building Market Place
1 Ferry Building Plaza, #27
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-544-9830
Monday – Friday 10am to 6pm
Saturday – 9am to 6:30pm
Sunday – 10:30am to 6pm
Berkeley Teahouse
In the Epicurious Garden
1511 Shattuck Avenue
(between Cedar and Vine)
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-540-8888
11am to 9pm, Monday – Saturday
11am to 7pm, Sunday
