Dragon Well Chinese Tea House

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Strolling through Pyrmont on a lazy Saturday, I came across a a rather quaint Chinese Tea House on Union Street.

Intriguing wooden tea chests stacked at the front door enticed me to enter, unsure what I would find.


Like most stores around Pyrmont, they are small and packed to capacity. This was no different in that respect. Although as you enter this tea house, the ambiance is set in ancient China.

boasts to be the only authentic tea house in Sydney and I must say, I have never come across anything quite like this in Sydney. My eyes darted everywhere, trying to absorb its contents to be able to place it into a category, which I failed miserably to do. Like most Chinese stores, they are a little on the messy side, without definition or thought on optimum product placement. It is a little confusing, yet their contents always intrigues you.

Lisa invites you to sit at a large rosewood table with a menagerie of small tea pots, cups, tea canisters and other bibs and bobs. She begins to prepare a fresh brew of her exotic Chinese Teas on an ornate rosewood tea tray, explaining their origins, medicinal purposes and quality.

In a short space of time, I learned what types of teas should be made and drunk in clay, porcelain or glass pots and cups and what type of canisters they should be stored in. Hmm interesting. I wanted to know more, so sipping on my Taiwan Oolong High Mountain tea, I began my questions.

She visits China every four months to select the teas according to the seasons, then air ships them to Australia. Good to know they have not been sitting on the high seas for months and then sitting in warehouses, until we finally purchase and drink the teas. That is another tick in my books.

Tea is sold by weight and packed into an airtight bag or you can purchase a special canister to take your tea home. $25 for 50gms. Lisa assures me it will last around 1 month. There are around 20-30 different teas to choose, depending on the season. They include varieties of: White, Green, Oolong, Red, Black, Jasmine and Flour teas.

With high grade teas, you are able to get several infusions from the same tea leaves. Ah, this is something I knew and have experienced. So add a pinch of tea into a pot, pour yourself a cup or two, then pour more hot water onto the leaves and you will receive more cups of clear golden tea.

A small dark mysterious tea chest caught my eye holding adorable flower tea balls. Jasmine and other flowers are covered in white fur silver needle tea leaves, which are long woody leaves and somehow 'glued' together and dried to form a ball. Pop a ball into a glass pot or tall container of hot water and watch it slowly absorb the water exposing the fragrant flower. This would be a great treat for visitors or guests. At $3.50 a ball, they will serve several guests. You can keep the ball in water for up to four days as it continually infuses.





After an while, I was 'teaed' out tasting several exotic teas. Buying my 50g of High Mountain Oolong tea and a few Tea Balls for fun, I left with thoughts as to who would appreciate a good tea for an unusual gift.

Buy a canister of tea, a great gift for someone special, or add a few to your own cupboard to sip on a relaxing Sunday.


If you want to impress your friends or learn about these rather exotic teas, why not try these two events;

Expand your knowledge
Dragon Well also holds a 1 hour 'Tea Appreciation' at $25 per head with up to five tea types.

Tea Ceremony
A traditional 'Tea Ceremony' lasts 2.5hours costing $45 per head and includes 'Introduction to Teas', where you will learn about the history, varieties, how to judge premium loose leaf tea, how to brew the various types, health benefits and much more.

Tea Appreciation tasting up to five tea types.

Four main courses are served in the ceremony which include fresh prawn dumplings, marinated pork and mushroom sticky rice wrap, free range chicken and cabbage steam buns, marinated egg, and tea flavoured sweets. All served with the appropriate tea.

And just to top it off a musician plays the Gu-zheng - musical instrument. You will be seated on chairs at a table, unlike the painful Japanese ritual of kneeling for hours.

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