After a tumultuous but productive move, West China Tea Lounge is now open in East Austin, across from Huston-Tillotson University. Not just a tea shop, but a tea-based third space without parallel in Austin, West China Tea has transformed a 1940s house into a cozy community landing pad.

This tea house specializes in traditional Chinese tea service and imports its own teas directly from growers. Customers can stop in to buy some tea to take home, but most guests come in to sit with strangers or regulars they've gotten to know at one of three tables for a "persistent" tea service.

How it works
For this type of service, a trained staff member makes one pot of tea after another, continually filling patrons' cups, which are only big enough to contain a few sips. Although Austinites — most of whom have no frame of reference for a traditional Chinese tea service — may imagine this to be a formal activity, the atmosphere is casual and fluid. Guests can join or leave at any time (their bill is calculated by the pot) and can take turns requesting a type of tea when the pot runs out.

Everyone at the table can certainly discuss the tea, but it's far from the only topic that comes up. In fact, visitors don't need any prior knowledge about tea at all. If you could talk about something with a stranger at a party, you could talk about it at the tea house.

"There's other things, like coffee shops, bars — you can go to those and not meet a stranger. You have to be pretty outgoing to meet a stranger at a coffee shop or a bar," says West China Tea founder So-han Fan. "If you're outgoing enough, you can make friends at the grocery store, but the space is not necessarily designed for it. And while coffee shop or bar is a little more conducive than a grocery store, the tea house, really, that's what it does. It's a foregone conclusion that you will meet strangers at the tea house."

Fan poses in the customized space.Photo courtesy of West China Tea

The move
The previous tea house was located alongside I-35 and was displaced by the ongoing expansion project. West China Tea received as a special grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, since it was designated a community impact business. It then spent those funds on buying a new space rather than renting, then fitting it with custom tea tables that run water straight through the floor, like a wet bar, and getting the former retail space up to code for serving drinks.

While Fan waited out permitting delays, the team set up shop at Flow Yoga Westgate, where it operated as a miniature version of itself for a few months. The space is still fitted for tea service, but guests will have to book through Flow's class booking system. The tea house will also continue selling tea by proxy at the studio.

What's changed
Fan says the biggest difference between the original space and the new one is that West China Tea now owns the building. It can now suit the business' needs directly, and Fan isn't wasting resources updating someone else's space. It is also in a much better location for foot traffic, both because people actually walk in that part of town and because many of them are already out looking for fun and opportunities to socialize.

The new building is smaller, which led to a more careful design inside. On a customer level, though, it doesn't feel small. Windows and a high elevation on one side make the house feel airy, and with several rooms it does still feel like a house. The three tables are separated into different rooms, and sit at different levels: stool height, chair height, and on the floor surrounded by cushions. The latter table can be isolated by closing a door, so it is sometimes reserved for a private services.

There's also some yet-to-be-developed space in the back yard that Fan wants to convert into a performance space. Also on the to-do list is adding a fence, a pond, and more tables and chairs for tea.

"In Chengdu, where I used to live in Sichuan, that's what a tea house is — just a bunch of tables and chairs outside," says Fan, who grew up in Houston and moved to China when he was 27.

At least one idea was scrapped in the move: self-service. Fan realized that setting people up with their own tea sets and teaching them how to use them was not an efficient use of staff resources.

"The self service, you can kind of do that anywhere," says Fan. "[At] most average tea houses or coffee shops in the country, you get a table and a pot of tea. But being able to be served by someone and meet people that you wouldn't otherwise meet, that's a more unique experience."

Letting someone else serve the tea is part of the experience.Photo courtesy of West China Tea

All are welcome
Although the space has been open for about three weeks already, a grand opening event is still to come. Fan guesses it will be in July, coinciding with his usual birthday celebration. Events will return, but only once the business finds a new events coordinator. The space is also still undergoing some interior changes, setting up a retail room and a fulfillment room for online orders.

Fan emphasizes that Austinites who haven't been to a tea house before shouldn't overthink the experience.

"You can just walk up," he says. "You can learn nothing about tea, and you can walk up and sit down and immediately be part of the community, immediately be able to experience Chinese tea culture. ... It doesn't matter it's your first time, and you don't know what tea is. I think that we're in Western society, we're really reaching to try and find a communal space that isn't based on religion or alcohol. But in China, they've had tea houses for a long time, and you don't need to reinvent the wheel."

West China Tea Lounge is located at 1715 E. 7th St. There is one accessible parking space. Current hours are Fridays through Sundays from 11 am to 11 pm.