Hong Kong was one of the last British colonial holdings to be decolonized – with the handover of the territory to Chinese authorities taking place in 1997. With only around two and a half decades having passed since then, the legacies and memory of Hong Kong as a part of the British Empire still hold significant influence within the territory. One of the most dramatic displays of this influence could be seen in the 2019-2020 protests, where protesters could be seen waving British flags, and the flag of colonial Hong Kong.[1] Outside of these political displays however, cultural legacies of Hong Kong’s past can be viewed in other places – including commercial settings.
The Tea WG company was founded in 2008 in Singapore, and has quickly established itself as a prominent multinational business within its area of tea, basing its brand identity around luxury.[2] Within the 2010s, the business has expanded operations within Hong Kong, opening new stores and restaurants – of which the latter are especially interesting to examine from a spatial standpoint.[3]
The stores themselves create a ‘colonial’ atmosphere through their aesthetics. They are bright and colorful stores, with large open windows and a golden-yellow tinted color palette. Rows and rows of tea caddy tins line the interior of these stores, some given evocative colors and names such as ‘Jade Dragon’ and ‘French Earl Grey’.[4], [5] All of these elements serve to create an image of a kind of cosmopolitan, colonial and perhaps Victorian establishment, where one can experience the opulence associated with this romanticized picture. There are other elements that also contribute to the creation of this experience – for example, the staff of TWG outlets dress in formal, somewhat old styled attire that evoke Victorian images of butlers and maids.[6] One of the key attractions of the outlet in the form of its afternoon tea also furthers this experience with its use of classic European-esque dishes and food.[7]
One potential explanation about the unique set of arrangements that TWG restaurants utilize is that the atmosphere is appealing to the significant expatriate community of Hong Kong and the considerable number of non-Chinese tourists the city attracts. But other examples of similarly styled businesses – such as the Cova chain of coffee shops – the relative level of success and proliferation of the TWG business, and the previously mentioned cases of British flags being woven in political protests all suggest something more than simple appeals to tourism and expatriates. Rather, what this all suggests is that there is a sentiment amongst at least a significant portion of the Hong Kong populace that has a degree of nostalgia for the colonial period, a nostalgia that some businesses have attempted to take advantage of by theming themselves in an appropriate manner.
[1] Sum Lok-kei. ‘Why Hong Kong Protesters Wave US and British Flags’. South China Morning Post, 22 August 2019.
[2] La rédaction. ‘TWG Tea, the Best of Tea since 2008’. Luxe Magazine, 2017.
[3] Castagnone, Mia. ‘Singaporean Luxury Tea House Aims to Win over Chinese Consumers’. South China Morning Post, 3 October 2021.
[4] ‘Tea WG Boutique at Hong Kong International Airport (香港國際機場精品店)’, 2022. https://teawg.com/international-airport.html.
[5] Yu, Helen. ‘Tea Time: 8 New Afternoon Tea Sets To Try In Hong Kong This Season’. Tatler Asia, 4 October 2019.
[6] Tripadvisor. ‘TEA WG AT IFC MALL, Hong Kong – Central’, n.d. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294217-d3237777-Reviews-Tea_WG_at_IFC_Mall-Hong_Kong.html.
[7] Yu, Helen. ‘Tea Time: 8 New Afternoon Tea Sets To Try In Hong Kong This Season’.