All the Tea in China: Simple and Authentic Tea at Kraftea, Vantone Center

“A cup of tea would restore my normality," said Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and as a tea drinker, I couldn’t agree more. When the market is flooded with Taiwan bubble milk tea, Hong Kong milk tea (normally with coffee), fruit tea, and the recently popular cheese tea, it is hard to find a “normal” tea place other than the luxurious, posh teahouses hidden among the fancy wooden temples and in old hutongs. And being served by five lovely wait staff in tight Chinese qipao dresses seems a clear way to burn a hole in your wallet – a crime rather than a treat. If you are wealthy and willing, then by all means indulge. But we're of the belief that tea should be humble and enjoyed by everyone.

Hidden on the first floor of Vantone Center in the bustling CBD, Kraftea looks no different from any other trendy milk tea shop. But after entering the story, you will immediately notice that it’s the real deal – with no dazzling display case full of cute and colorful desserts or pastries, there are only tea and tea-related things. Jars of loose tea leaves are lined up along the wall behind the counter, while pots and kettles sit on the “cooking” table, allowing customers to watch the tea brewers to work their magic. The staff seriously know what they are doing and are extremely busy. The whole atmosphere is unique and inviting with surprising energy. Who knew that people are still so into tea?

There are over four dozen variations of tea on the menu in five categories – classic tea in a pot (RMB 35-45) for the serious tea drinkers, tea lattes (RMB 24-30), herbal tea lattes (RMB 24-26), tea macchiatos (RMB 24-28, think cheese tea) for the fancy pants, and tisane (fruit and flower tea, RMB 18-28) for the non-tea lovers. You better take a deep breath, read on, and study up on your options before you go, lest you become paralyzed by choice. For classic tea, you will get loose tea leaves (of one type of tea, or a blend of several) in a traditional pot for RMB 35-45 – much cheaper than at traditional tea houses in town.

Despite the more contemporary atmosphere at Kraftea, you won't be bored while you wait. We tried the rooibos tea latte (RMB 30), which they boiled the water, added loose African rooibos (or bush tea) leaves, then strained the beautiful red tea and added milk. The result was a low-tannin and low-caffeine dark milk tea with a smooth texture, and a certain tobacco flavor with imported Australian milk.

The rose tea latte (RMB 26) was lovely too, with assam tea, rosebuds, and milk. The floral aromas are balanced with the tea and sugar content, but you can choose to cut the sugar content in half or completely. When finishing the tea, you can see some tea leaves and rosebuds at the bottom – evidence that they use real tea leaves instead of the shoddy milk tea shops' artificial tea flavoring. This place reminds us of Soloist, but the tea version. Kraftea is definitely our cup of tea (if you'll pardon the pun), and we appreciate that someone has opened this humble but professional tea shop with plenty of choices.

Kraftea
Daily 8am-11pm. Vantone Center, Jia 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (178 0109 2145)
茶煮：朝阳区朝阳门外大街甲6号万通中心一层

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang， dianping