Nothing seems to generate headlines quite like extraordinarily expensive tea. Of course, there are plenty of other things that capture public attention—world events, celebrity scandals, and technological breakthroughs among them. Still, a story about a remarkably pricey cup of tea is almost guaranteed to make the news.
Take, for example, a British newspaper headline from a few years ago that proclaimed: Would you pay £180 for a pot of TEA? World’s most expensive brew goes on sale. I would be more surprised if stories like this were uncommon, but as the title of this article suggests, expensive teas have been attracting attention for quite some time. I’ve even written about the subject before—here’s a recent article about premium and expensive tea experiences—but I’m always willing to take another look.
The pot of tea in question would set you back the equivalent of just over $300 and was reportedly available at the prestigious Royal China Club on London’s Baker Street. The tea itself was described as a Da Hong Pao (often translated as “Big Red Robe”), with leaves said to have been aged for 80 years. According to reports, the result was “an aromatic infusion with distinctive dark cocoa notes, a toasted fruity flavour and a long smooth aftertaste that lingers for several minutes after consumed.” That certainly sounds enticing.
Let’s assume that a teapot contains four cups of tea on average. If you and three friends decided to share a pot, each cup would cost roughly $75. That’s nothing to sneeze at. While I’m certainly an enthusiastic advocate for drinking the best tea you can find, I can’t help but wonder whether any tea is truly worth that much money. Still, I’ll make the same offer I’ve made before when discussing luxury teas: if anyone would care to send along a sample, I’d be happy to give it a try.
If spending $75 on a single cup of tea isn’t in your plans, take heart. Should you ever find yourself visiting the Royal China Club and operating on a more modest budget, you can reportedly enjoy a much more affordable tea service for two at a fraction of the cost.
See more tea history and commentary articles by William I. Lengeman.
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