Beyond the Cup – A Natural Tea Dyeing Experience

To celebrate our teahouse's 7th birthday, we spent a lovely Saturday morning exploring tea in a different form.

In collaboration with Crystal from Project Coal, we hosted guests to experience tea beyond brewing and drinking through the craft of natural dyeing. Working with green tea and black tea as natural pigments, everyone created their own set of tea-dyed coasters.

While discovering how each tea reveals unique tones on fabric, we also experimented with different metal salts, and how it can shift and deepen the colours.

It was fascinating seeing how every coaster turned out differently. From subtle gradients to bold patterns, each piece reflected its maker's own curiosity and creativity. Showcasing that the same tea can take on many different forms, with every coaster becoming a unique expression of the leaf.

After dyeing, we gathered around the table for a tea flight featuring 3 unlabelled teas, accompanied by passionfruit oolong tea jelly and miso butter cookies. Without knowing what they were drinking, guests were invited to simply experience each tea and note the feelings, memories, colours, or imagery that came to mind before revealing the answers together.

Tea 01 - Yunnan White Tea

Tea 02 - Honey Orchid Dancong Black Tea

Tea 03 - Whisky Barrel Wood-smoked Hojicha

Some were reminded of places they had visited, others of familiar scents or food they had. Tea became more than flavour, it became conversation and imagination.

A real special surprise was seeing an archival piece from Crystal's collection, originally created for our teahouse when we first opened at Tyrwhitt Road in 2019. It was wonderful to see it again, bringing back many memories of our early days and making this collaboration feel especially meaningful.

Perhaps our favourite part of the morning wasn't just the dyeing or the tasting, but the atmosphere that unfolded naturally. Conversations flowed between each guest, filled with comparisons of colours and patterns, and by the end of the session, many had become friends over tea and craft.

It was a meaningful way to celebrate 7 years of the teahouse, sharing not only tea, but the many forms it can take, and the connections it continues to inspire.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Crystal for bringing this beautiful collaboration to life. Here's to many more cups, conversations, and moments of discovery together.