Chris Kyme’s Postcard from Hong Kong: From Tan Khiang to Tea Khiang
Chris Kyme (pictured below) continues his ‘Postcard from Hong Kong’ series with local legend Tan Khiang (TK) and one of his latest enterprising business ideas.
So I recently caught up with TK, he of Wowowtank fame and I’m sure many of the folks reading these Hong Kong ‘postcards’ will be more than familiar with. As I settled into a sofa in the Wowowtank ideas and production workshop (think Bat Cave but without the bats) I was offered a cup of tea.
Not just that, I was offered a choice from a range of exquisitely designed packs that looked as if they would be more at home in M+ museum (a must-visit destination for anyone in the creative industries visiting Hong Kong). Forget about drinking the tea, I wanted to eat the packaging.
Anyway, seeing that behind the shelf was a whole storeroom full of warehouse size boxes I did start to think, hang on, you guys didn’t just buy these in the local 711.
So it turns out this tea-venture , called PUERism, is one of TK’s latest enterprising business ideas, and so I dug deeper and asked him all about it. As in – what’s it all about?
Now TK (award-winning art director, creative director, film director etc) has never been one to sit on his bum and rest on past achievements. His as usual carefully considered and thoughtful reply was “What is life after advertising? Most creative people constantly think about that. Many have branched out to do completely different things, so for me it is turning something on the side to something creative.”
No surprises there. “It started with me getting interested in pottery, the tactile feel of cups and plates and teapots, of which I amassed quite a few. And then one day I stumbled onto someone selling Chinese tea on WeChat. The person represented a factory in Yunnan. So I bought my first 42 cakes of Puerh Tea. Now I have a total of about 200 types of tea, of 42 quantities each.”
So yeah, this is is not just a tea party we’re talking about, I get it. But as usual with TK it goes a lot more philosophical than that. “A second aspect of it is the Chinese scholar element that I subconsciously embraced. If you look at old Chinese paintings, you can see some people underneath a tree having tea, a servant on the side boiling water, they are looking at large landscapes, enjoying time in the greatness of nature. It is this concept of slowing down and being mindful. As you pour yourself a cup of tea, you can smell and taste flavours of nature. It nourishes the body with a warm feeling, and then you feel relaxed. Tea can be drunk alone or with friends, with or without its ceremony, hot or cold. You decide the moment you want.”
So, resisting the temptation to ask him “Have you got any choccy biccys?”, I listened on. I mean, being someone who has been in Asia long enough, tea is an aspect of Chinese culture which we are well familiar with, and in Hong Kong in particular, a visit to the Tea Museum (a must-visit destination for anyone visiting etc) is a fascinating way to spend an afternoon, that and the offices of Wowowtank. And I’m more than familiar with the tea-pouring rituals that are an experience in themselves (I once spent an afternoon in a small village in Chiu Chow boiling water and pouring tea into tiny cups why bemused locals sat and watched waiting for me to screw up).
Interestingly, for TK, who is something of a wise monk, his interest in tea was quite a recent development.
“This tea obsession only started recently, in 2023. As you know there are many types of Chinese Tea. The one I focused on is Puerh tea from Yunnan. Yunnan is mountainous, the river comes from the Himalayan glaciers, so it is pure and rich. And the trees and plants feed into it. Tea is living, especially Pureh, even when packed into tea cakes, it is constantly changing its form. And it is healthy. I recently found out that according to my birth chart, tea being a Water Element is a good counterbalance to the strong Fire element of my chart.”
Before I actually lifted a cup, what struck me was the beauty of the packaging (hence why I’m writing about this here and not in Tea Lovers Weekly magazine. Each range has its own unique visual theme, all of which are impeccably designed and crafted. This is something you can expect from anyone from the creative field who explores their own brand or product ideas. Without the hindrance of many voices where everyone’s an expert, you’re left free to create with your own vision, uncluttered. (I tried this with my own range of corduroy socks a few years ago but I couldn’t get the product of the ground).
But with the PUERism range, it’s not just the packaging that’s a bit special.
“Most of my teas are aged, more than 20 years. Some are not that old. Most come from ancient tea trees, not bushes, which is mass and sold cheaply. Some of them are wild tea trees growing from 1000-1700 metres above sea levels. Some comes from a Unesco Heritage site and is protected by the State. Others are commemorative, like for the Olympic Games given to head of states. Limited Editions, small runs, some are from one tree only. Some are Palace grade. The variety is so vast. Tea cakes, mushroom shapes, brick form, tube form etc. Some of these teas are sometimes not in retail, and buyers cannot get access to them, as it is internal circulation only. The collector in me just came alive and I started buying.’
And the designs?
“I was looking at e-commerce sites and saw that the perfect look is four images across one row and that is how I decided that each series only have four designs. Each design comes in only 100 units and has a story that starts from the tea. Because it is ancient, I decided on a more spiritual modernity in look for one series. These designs are more for an international target audience, where packaging design takes priority. Currently most of the images are ai generated. Some are hand drawn, a future series will be collaborating with photographers, illustrators and even writers. At 25g, each unit allows for 4 sessions and each lasts 8-10 steeping, much cheaper than a cup of coffee. Instead of buying a 357g tea cake, this method allows for diverse tasting and not getting stuck with something you may not like.
Now that TK has become Tea K, what’s the big plan? A tea shop? A floating tea cruise?
“There are plans to create an artistic series using a different brand and another one targeted at just GenZs. Currently in China, retail teashops are transforming. You can go into a Chinese minimalist shop, buy a pot of tea and spend the whole day there. For me the tea experience can be brought home, into a space you are comfortable with, be mindful, pause and go within. And that is life after advertising, even though I am still in it.”
And he is, and I can guarantee he’s not someone to sit back and retire. If you’d like to know more about PUERism, visit www.puerism.com. And meanwhile, if you’re in Hong Kong and you fancy a cuppa, pop into Wowowtank in Quarry Bay.
Read Chris Kyme’s 2025 Postcard’s from Hong Kong below:
In Search of the Sweet Spot
Welcome to Newviola
And the award goes to… some braver clients
A look inside the Beehive
A rocket that landed in Hong Kong
In search of Hong Kong (yet again)
