Hong Kong-based One Teahouse owns two retail shops on both sides of Victoria Harbour. You might not be able to buy a drink there, but tea keeps flowing for whoever comes in. My scheduled visit, for instance, turned into an impromptu tasting session, as owner Vivian Chow and three regular customers sat around two dainty Yixing clay teapots and other utensils while enjoying gong fu tea, the traditional ritual that highlights the quality of the tea.

Sipping pu’er tea out of a vessel half the size of an espresso cup, the group swapped intel – “Da hong pao tea from Shui Lian Dong has mildly sour notes that you’d expect in fine cacao,” Chow proclaimed – and stories about Chow’s Japanese trip to see a family friend, and the dietary goals of two of the guests who would soon get married. On the occasions when Chow went to tend the shop, the third guest took over the intricate preparation duties with just as much finesse.