Wan Ling Tea House Team

The Wan Ling Tea House team is a mix of full time and part time tea lovers. The Shanghai Tea House is run by Wan Ling and Amy who are on hand seven days a week.

All of our website, mail order, UK events and European wholesale is operated by a part time team along with a large number of supporters who we are indebted to for their time, input and patience.

To learn a little more about us we have some short biographies.

Wan Ling

The creator and the name behind Wan Ling Tea House. Growing up in AnXi FuJian, Wan Ling was surrounded by tea. Her family grew tea on their land as did many of the extended family. Tea, in particular Tie Guan Yin is a fundamental part of life. It is drunk everyday, ever home has a tea tray and tea set, every guest is offered tea. Tie Guan Yin is given as gifts, plays a fundamental part of the wedding ceremony and in many of the Taoist/Buddhist ceremonies performed at the temples.

Wan Ling, was fortunate that her family supported her artistic dreams, a little to the annoyance of her sister. Although uncommon in her village, Wan Ling studied arts and music in AnXi and then later in Xiamen. Her time in XiaMen encouraged her to study English at the language college there. During her studies she made many friends including with her Canadian teachers, who were deeply influential.

After a spell in the South of China, Wan Ling moved to Shanghai and worked for XiaMen HuaXiang Tea Company in their NanJing West Road shop. Her time gave her the chance to meet an exceptionally wide range of people and build a reputation among her customers for being a truly passionate tea lover.

It wasn't long till Wan Ling decided to take a leap of faith and open her own shop. With the support of friends in Shanghai she opened her first shop in the antiques market on BeiJing Road, very near to JingAn Temple. Since then Wan Ling Tea House has moved twice, including a brief time on ChangHua Road, near one of Shanghai's other temples, YuFu Shi or Jade Buddah Temple, to it's current home in the French Concession on YongJia Road.

Wan Ling favourite tea is of course her Tie Guan Yin Oolong teas which her sister and her carefully select each year. That said Wan Ling enjoys most good quality teas. A tea that has won her heart since Huang Mei sourced an excellent batch in 2010 in Keemun black tea or Qimen hong cha (red tea).

James

Tea drinker from an early age, James grew up with tea drinkers around him. His Nan and Granddad, had a routine involving tea from the moment you woke - but didn't get up, through to the bedtime cup of tea at night. Collecting tea cards found in PG Tips and admiring those of his uncle's was a favourite past time. Tea was and has been an fundamental part of life.

When James graduated from University, working for a Dorset Telecommunication company, he was afforded the chance to travel widely. From wide selections of teas in Scandinavian hotels and beautiful Parisian tea houses, to sweet mint tea whilst smoking sheesha pipes in Saudi Arabia, James's passion and interest continued to grow. His work saw him visit India and China regularly. It was during his time in China that became increasingly fascinated in the language.

Whilst working from his company's office in Plaza 66 on NanJing Road, James used walk back to his hotel, one of his regular stops was a charming little tea shop. Not only was this a great place to try the many different Chinese teas and pick up gifts for friends back in England, there was a lovely girl who spoke great English, but was very happy and patient to start teaching him basic Chinese.

James's work, relocated him back to Europe for a couple of years but the tea shop lady and he kept in touch. By fortune, James was again asked to work in China. Fate, luck or whatever you call it, meant that James ended up in Shanghai and love blossomed with Wan Ling, China and Chinese tea! A real case of Tea Lovers and East meets West and falls in love.

With Wan Ling working seven days a week, James spent a lot of time in the tea shop and the antiques market, developing his knowledge of Chinese culture, history, arts and tea.

James is fan of many teas and his choice is influenced heavily by the weather. Summer is very much Darjeeling, Tie Guan Yin and Sheng PuEr whereas the winter you will find him with rock teas, heavier black teas such as the excellent Dian Hong or a Shu PuEr.

Tom

Tom and James have been friends since the age of 4 and grew up in the same Dorset valley. Particularly in their teenage years, Tom and James spend many long hours drinking tea and hanging out. Tom has been a vital part of the Wan Ling Tea House team through his design, branding and website development work via his www.ovo.co.uk company. Moreover Tom has been a rock-steady supporter, helping James and Wan Ling keep motivated during the ups and downs of running their own tea business.

Tom is often at our Dorset Tea Events, helping out with sales and serving in the Wan Ling Tea Garden at Deans Court.

Tom is a big fan of Tie Guan Yin, though his cups regularly feature Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Nilgiri and an ever growing variety of other teas.

Emma

Emma was the founding lady of the UK online teashop. A tea angel. Working with James, Emma helped organise orders for our early mail order customers. Emma has now moved on to sweeter pastures - setting up The Angel Cake Company in Poundbury in Dorset. However a huge hug and much gratitude for her help and considerably patience.

Emma is a big Earl Grey, Darjeeling and black tea fan. Loves the occasional lunch time Tie Guan Yin, though any later means a late night as she is a little caffeine sensitive!

Margaret

Our accounts diamond. Margaret (Seen here with Wan Ling and Polo) keeps the books ticking over and another one of our rocks, supporting Wan Ling Tea House even when sometimes logic may suggest Wan Ling and James may be a little 'tea drunk'.

Favourite teas. Still avid UK milk and no sugars girl. Her favourite Chinese tea is QingXiang Tie Guan Yin although you can often find a gongfu cup of green tea ready and waiting by the kettle.

Clare

Clare joined us in the summer 2011 after moving to Dorset. Previously working in London. Clare is loving the Dorset countryside and the freedom that it gives her two boys.
Working part time, Clare dealt with all Wan Ling Tea House mail order and wholesale customers, and during her time with us improved the order processing and shipping times hugely.
During Clare's training with us, her husband Dan, a big speciality tea fan, joined the tea tasting and tea training sessions that Wan Ling did with them making it a real family affair.

In 2016 once her youngest son had started school full time Clare took on a role teaching, leaving Wan Ling Tea House however, we are lucky that her mother-in-law Rebecca took over.

Rebecca

We are very lucky to have the wonderful tea lady Rebecca join us. Rebecca deals with all Wan Ling Tea House mail order customers and is the lady behind all the little hand written notes that are often in orders.
Rebecca is a very busy lady with a broad range of interests and hobbies, including supporting several local charities.
If you have any questions about an order, Clare is the lady who knows.

Zi Ling (Tzu Ling)

Born and bought up in TaiWan, TzuLing moved to the UK to study. TzuLing is a talented musician who's love of Chinese culture has increasingly lead her to developing her appreciation of mainland Chinese tea as well as the teas of Taiwan.

TzuLing is often on hand at our Dorset tea events to offer tea tastings and run our tea ceremony classes. TzuLing is always keen to share her growing knowledge of gongfu tea and passion for Chinese tea. If you are lucky enough to be in Dorset come find Wan Ling Tea House at one our tea events and have a chat with our TaiWan tea lady.

TzuLing, drinks a wide range of teas though has a particular love for PuEr and Oolongs.

Huang Mei

Old friend of Wan Ling's. HuangMei is native of AnHui. HuangMei has a long history of working in a number of tea shops in Shanghai, including Wan Ling Tea House. Her recent project was to establish her own tea shop in her home town. This project saw her introduce Tie Guan Yin and PuEr in to an area dominated by green tea such as MaoFeng and TaiPing HouKui.

HuangMei is a key source of many of Wan Ling Tea House's AnHui teas including our superb 2010 QiMen Hong Cha red tea as well as our TaiPing HouKui. Her local presence means she can travel directly to the local markets and has a good network of contacts with local farmers.

Xiao Ying

Our JingDeZhen 'connection'. An old friend of Wan Ling and James' who ran the antique ceramics shop next to where Wan Ling worked for XiaMen HuaXiang Tea Company on NanJing road. A tireless friend, Xiao Ying has helped Wan Ling find stunning JingDeZhen ceramics from world class artists. The current collection of JingDeZhen ceramics on display in the Shanghai Tea Shop is all thanks to Xiao Ying, furthermore he is the designer of current shop's layout which adheres closely to Chinese FengShui principles.

A trip to Xiao Ying and Wan Jun's shop in the French Concession antiques market is a wonder. Rare antiques carefully displayed with a bird flying freely in the shop whilst someone plays traditional Chinese instruments. Tea is poured from aged YiXing teapots into exquisite antique tea cups through a solid 18ct gold filter!

Xiao Ying and Wan Jun are big PuEr and Oolong fans. Often with some rare TaiWan Oolongs given to them buy visiting antique collectors.

Amy - Xiao Wang

Amy was Wan Ling Tea House's first full time member of staff. Amy joined the Wan Ling Tea House team in 2010. Amy met Wan Ling whilst she was working in the French Pavilion at the Shanghai World EXPO selling THEODOR French teas. Amy heralds from AnHui and her family have been involved in farming tea for local use.

Amy is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Chinese history and culture. During her time at our Shanghai Tea Shop, Amy has learnt a great deal about tea culture, developing her gongfu tea techniques and the many nuances of Chinese tea. Amy is now based in Germany with her family and has encouraged all her new friends and in-laws to explore the world of Chinese teas.

Like most people who meet Wan Ling, Amy is a big Tie Guan Yin fan. Amy also enjoys HuangMei's Qimen hong cha and many PuEr teas.

Gary

I am passionate tea lover, avid herbalist and keen organic gardener.

My first real introduction to the world of fresh, quality, loose leaf tea was only a few short years ago. In 2009 my wife Nicky, daughter Natasha and I set off on a trip to the UK to spend time with Nicky's family over the Christmas period. It was on this trip that I was fortunate enough to catch up with Nicky's cousin James and his girlfriend Wan Ling. Wan Ling (the founder of Wan Ling Tea House) had brought along her GongFu tea set and a large range of amazing Chinese teas, Needless to say, tea was enjoyed and explored at every opportune moment. I was introduced to an amazing array of taste and aroma that, prior to this point, I would in no way have associated with the humble cuppa tea as we know it in Australia.

A subsequent trip to China to celebrate James and Wan Ling's wedding a few years later, where an amazing variety of superb quality teas were consumed, was to be the tipping point with me. This was the point in time where tea and tea culture turned from a simple interest for me, into a burning passion.

Until this point in time my past life experiences with tea had been less than invigorating and I had really only been partaking in my own home grown herbal brews for some years. From my herbal blends, fresh from the garden, I could see, smell, taste and feel the life within the brew. They could help me to relax, to sleep, to invigorate, to heal and even develop dependant on their make up. What I was now learning with my introduction to tea is that tea is also a herb, and a very powerful one at that. In its fresh state tea is invigorating, calming, can focus yet relax, its medicinal health giving properties have been widely acclaimed for thousands of years. The range of flavours and aroma across the infinitely broad spectrum of teas is all attained by tea makers with umpteen generations of skill and knowledge through simple processes of manipulating the plants own defences.... what's not to be loved and admired about tea and the thousands of years worth of culture and tradition that accompany it? What a shame that we in the western world have been duped into believing that the stale, washed out, bitter grass we are fed is a true representation of the real world of tea.

I hope you can share our journey as we learn and explore the depths of tea, its culture and its people.

I loved it so much I joined the company.. :)

Gary runs and operates Wan Ling Tea House Australia based in Illawarra, you can visit the local Australian Online Tea Shop website here.

Thanks to everyone else involved...

Wan Ling Tea House has grown and survived thanks to the many helping hands that have supported Wan Ling from her early days. There are many people not mentioned above who are truly part of the team. We thank you for time, love, support and friendship. Wan Ling Tea House is always open for you.