Deciding how to choose a Dim Sum tea is a topic similar to a Dim Sum cart – It’s fully loaded! What makes your tea selection so important? Dim Sum is a pleasurable social gathering lasting 2 to 3 hours. So picking the right pot of tea matters. Infuse yourself here with Dim Sum delights to tuck away and share at your table. We’ve even added Cantonese terms to help you enjoy an authentic experience.
What is Dim Sum?
Aka “Yum Cha,” meaning “drink tea” in Cantonese, this tradition comes with sumptuous savory and sweet treats called Dim Sum or Dian Xian “點 心” in Mandarin. Dim Sum means “delicate hearts.” The practice of Dim Sum runs deep in Cantonese culture.
I grew up in Hong Kong, where families and friends eat Dim Sum and swap stories every Sunday. Business people meet over Dim Sum to seal deals. On a pre-Covid trip back to Hong Kong, I had the great pleasure of revisiting Lock Cha Tea House in Hong Kong Park. This elegant establishment hearkens back to the olden days of classic Cantonese tea tasting.
Savory snacks, washed down by fragrant golden Wuyi Oolong, are accompanied by authentic tea music. Fellow tea lovers filled the antique house, eating, drinking, and listening. Each of us quietly dwelt to our delicate hearts’ content. Together, we were alone with our dumplings and tea. What a beautiful and unique experience!
Dim Sum is a food religion for the Cantonese.
One of the marvels of traditional Dim Sum is the endless cadre of food circling from table to table. Dim Sum ladies energetically push shiny silver carts. They enthusiastically hawk their precariously stacked bamboo steamers. Inside each basket hides a savory or sweet treat. It’s rowdy and fun. The indoor equivalent of a Cantonese tailgate party. And the Cantonese don’t even play football. You see, Dim Sum is our Food-Ball. ;-D
For maximum enjoyment, it’s important to pair the right Dim Sum tea with delights such as:
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- Shrimp dumplings (Har Gow)
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- Pork dumplings (Siu Mai)
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- Soup-filled dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
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- Pork buns
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- Bamboo shoots
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- Egg custards
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- Chicken feet, anyone?
Origin of Dim Sum
Dim Sum started in Canton (now Guangzhou), a metropolitan coastal city near Hong Kong. The dialect spoken in this southern region of China is Cantonese. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Canton played a significant role in the tea trade. Historically, Canton has been hailed as China’s food capital. “Eat in Canton” is a famous phrase in China.
The custom of tea drinking began in China’s southern regions, where tea cultivation originated thousands of years ago. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Southerners snacked on chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, and almonds while drinking tea. From then on, the food menu expanded and evolved into Dim Sum. This Cantonese cuisine gained royal following when the imperial court fled to southern China during the Mongol invasion.
The British took their first sips of Chinese tea around the mid-1600s. Two hundred years later, Afternoon tea bubbled up in London. This is when the English first paired food with tea, their version of Dim Sum with fancy hats.
What are Dim Sum tea offerings?
First, let’s explore the six traditional Chinese tea types.
Six Types of Tea
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- White tea: Yi Zhen, Bai Mei, or Bai Mu Dan
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- Yellow or Scented tea: Jasmine tea
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- Green tea: Dragon Well or Long Jin
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- Oolong tea: Wuyi Oolong, Da Hong Pao (from Wuyi Mountains), Dong Ding Oolong (Taiwan)
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- Black tea: Lapsang Souchong, Yunnan Black tea
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- Pu erh tea: This is my father’s favorite.
Depending on the restaurant owners’ tea savviness, the cha menu can vary. Traditional Dim Sum establishments provide a selection from each tea category, plus a few from below.
Watch the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, for the rich history of tea.
Other Dim Sum Teas
Here is some off-menu insider information.
Chrysanthemum tea
Nearly all Cantonese restaurants offer this caffeine-free herbal tea, brewed from the dried flowers of Chrysanthemum. Called Gok Fa Cha in Cantonese, this refreshing drink is hugely popular in the southern regions of China.
Chrysanthemum flowers come with lots of health benefits! For example, this tea has a cooling property for lowering internal heat and reducing inflammation.
Did you know that inflammation is the primary culprit for most illnesses? Chrysanthemum tea is my mother’s favorite.
Peasant tea
Peasant tea means hot water. No joke. During the Cultural Revolution (1949-1976), tea was abolished as a feudalistic practice. Teapots were destroyed, factories shut down, tea fields abandoned. The government prohibited tea drinking. I often wonder how a billion Chinese managed to survive for nearly three decades of tea-less days?!?
Without tea leaves, people boiled water and pretended to drink tea. So drinking hot water (or Guan Shui) became an unshakable habit.
Although I can not imagine life without tea, there’s a silver lining to drinking hot water. For one, it’s better for you than iced water. The Cantonese prefer hot, warm, or room-temperature water because iced water abruptly cools down the internal system. The intensely (maybe a bit too intense) health-focused Cantonese always try to keep the core of their bodies warm.
Should you pour Pu erh?
Pu erh (or Bo Lei) is the favorite Dim Sum tea for older Chinese. It’s an easy choice since good Pu erh tea is delicious and packed with health benefits.
Although I’m a fan of Pu erh and drink it often at home, I recommend that you avoid it in Chinese restaurants. Here’s why:
Pu erh has a dark tea soup. The bottomless crimson color makes Pu erh vulnerable to tampering. It’s difficult to tell the quality of Pu erh until it’s brewed and tasted.
Pu erh tea is Known as “HEI CHA” OR “black tea” in China.
To help cut costs, many restaurants use low-grade Pu erh. Consider this: a well-aged Pu erh can cost between $50 to $100 per gram. High-quality Pu erh commands over $500 per gram among collectors. Each pot takes about 4-8 grams of tea leaves, depending on the desired strength.
Since Dim Sum restaurants charge $3 to $5 per person for hot tea, what is the likelihood of getting a quality Pu-erh?
My tea policy is to stay clear of Pu erh in Chinese restaurants because of the inconsistent quality.
My Dim Sum Tea recommendations
If you have a personal preference, that’s great. For those interested in my thoughts – thousand times Dim Sum Alum – I recommend:
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- Oolong tea: this is my fave Dim Sum tea!
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- Scented Green tea
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- Chinese Black tea, such as Lapsang Souchong
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- Chrysanthemum tea
Oolong is my perfect Dim Sum tea, as it helps digestion, removing grease. Enjoy the feast of Dim Sum while keeping the skinny jeans buttoned.
Dim Sum is an incredible social experience. From Hong Kong to Honolulu, London to Los Angeles, Sydney to Singapore, great Dim Sum can be enjoyed. Thanks to chefs’ creativity, Dim Sum menus now offer more than 1,000 delicacies. Here are a few more Cantonese classics:
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- Rice porridge (Jook),
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- Fried noodles (Chow-mein )
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- BBQ buns (Cha-Siu Bao)
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- Sticky rice
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- Deep-fried egg rolls
When your teapot is empty, simply place the lid sideways on the pot. The Chinese server will know it’s time to refill your teapot with hot water.
Dim Sum is a perfect way to celebrate and immerse yourself in energetic humanity. Go with sincerity and dispatch to your nearest Yum Cha place, and join the Dim Sum Fun.
Share your own #DimSumFun mention @TeaDocumentary
Happy sipping!
— Love Christy
Dim Sum Tea Frequently Asked Questions
The questions people ask most about Dim Sum tea, answered from a lifetime at the Yum Cha table: what to order, how to pair, and the tea customs worth knowing.
What tea is served at Dim Sum?
Dim Sum restaurants serve a short list of Chinese teas: Pu-erh, jasmine, Oolong, chrysanthemum, and often a Green or White tea.
Your server asks for your tea order the moment you sit down, and the pot is shared by the whole table. Pu-erh 普洱 is the old-school favorite of the older generation. Jasmine 香片 is the scented tea poured most often at Yum Cha. Tieguanyin 鐵觀音 is the classic Oolong, and chrysanthemum 菊花 is the flower tea with no caffeine. Many houses also offer Dragon Well 龍井 Green tea and Sau Mei 壽眉 White tea. Explore the six types of tea behind every Dim Sum tea menu.
Encounter the world of Camellia sinensis and 6 types of tea in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
What is the best tea for Dim Sum?
Oolong is the best tea for Dim Sum, and it is my own first choice.
I grew up on Sunday Yum Cha in Hong Kong, and Oolong is still my perfect Dim Sum tea. Oolong has the body to stand up to rich dumplings and fried bites, yet it stays fragrant and refreshing through a long, leisurely meal. Ask for Tieguanyin 鐵觀音, or for a Wuyi Oolong such as Sui Sin 水仙 if the house carries one. Oolong was born in the Wuyi Mountains 武夷山, where I filmed TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. My other Dim Sum tea picks are scented Green tea, a Chinese Black tea such as Lapsang Souchong, and chrysanthemum. Read more about Oolong tea.
Step into the Wuyi Mountains, birthplace of Oolong and Black tea, in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
Which tea pairs with which Dim Sum dish?
Pair light teas with delicate Dim Sum, and darker teas with rich or fried dishes.
Jasmine tea suits steamed shrimp dumplings (Har Gow), because its floral scent lets the seafood shine. Oolong has the strength for scallop dumplings, Siu Mai and barbecued pork buns. Pu-erh, the darkest tea on the table, is the traditional partner for fried and oily dishes, and Cantonese diners have long trusted it to settle a heavy meal. Green tea flatters mild fillings such as chicken, and it is lovely with fruit desserts. With one pot for the whole table, Oolong is the safest all-round Dim Sum tea, because it gets along with nearly every dish on the cart.
Savor the marvelous tea heritage of China in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
What is Yum Cha, and is it the same as Dim Sum?
Yum Cha 飲茶 means “drink tea” in Cantonese, and Dim Sum 點心 is the food served with that tea.
In Chinese, Dim Sum means “the delight of the heart.” Yum Cha is the whole occasion: a long, lively brunch of small shared dishes and pots of hot tea, enjoyed with family and friends. Dim Sum names the dishes themselves, from dumplings to buns to egg tarts. When a Cantonese friend says “let’s go Yum Cha,” the invitation is to Dim Sum. The custom grew out of the teahouses of Canton (Guangzhou), where owners began adding small snacks to go with the tea. So the tea came first, and the food followed. Explore Chinese tea culture.
Explore fascinating Chinese tea culture and tea’s epic journey across continents in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
What are the Cantonese names for Dim Sum teas?
The Cantonese names to know are Bo Lei for Pu-erh, Heung Pin for jasmine, Tit Gun Yam for Tieguanyin Oolong, and Gok Fa for chrysanthemum.
Order by the Cantonese name, and a Dim Sum server from Hong Kong to any Chinatown knows exactly which pot to bring. The short list: Bo Lei 普洱 (Pu-erh), Heung Pin 香片 (jasmine), Tit Gun Yam 鐵觀音 (Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong), Sui Sin 水仙 (a Wuyi Oolong), Sau Mei 壽眉 (White tea), Lung Jeng 龍井 (Dragon Well Green tea), Gok Fa 菊花 (chrysanthemum) and Gok Bo 菊普 (chrysanthemum blended with Pu-erh). Spellings vary from menu to menu, because restaurants write Cantonese sounds in English in different ways.
Uncover tea’s living traditions across centuries in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
What is Gok Fa Cha, the caffeine-free Dim Sum tea?
Gok Fa Cha 菊花茶 is chrysanthemum tea, a golden flower infusion and the one caffeine-free choice on most Dim Sum tea menus.
Gok Fa Cha is brewed from dried chrysanthemum blossoms, not tea leaves, which makes it a gentle pick for anyone sensitive to caffeine. The taste is light, floral and softly sweet, and some restaurants bring rock sugar to stir in. Chinese tradition treasures chrysanthemum as a cooling drink that lowers “internal heat.” The same flowers can take several refills of hot water. For a deeper cup, ask for Gok Bo 菊普, chrysanthemum blended with Pu-erh, which does carry caffeine. Chrysanthemum tea is my mother’s favorite.
Experience the cultural tapestry of tea across civilizations in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
Should you order Pu-erh (Bo Lei) at Dim Sum?
Pu-erh, or Bo Lei 普洱, is the traditional Dim Sum tea, but I save my Pu-erh for home.
Pu-erh is a dark, aged tea with a deep, earthy taste, and many older Cantonese diners order nothing else. The catch is quality. Fine Pu-erh improves with age like a good wine and is priced to match, while the pot at a busy restaurant is usually a young, inexpensive grade that turns strong and inky once it steeps past a minute. My own policy is simple: keep the good Pu-erh for home, and order Oolong at the restaurant. If you love Bo Lei with Dim Sum, pour early, before the tea over-steeps. Learn how to steep Pu-erh tea.
Unearth lost tea-making traditions in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
Why do people tap the table when tea is poured at Dim Sum?
Tapping two fingers on the table is the Cantonese way to say a silent “thank you” when someone pours your Dim Sum tea.
The gesture is nicknamed the “finger kowtow.” Legend traces the custom to the Qianlong Emperor 乾隆 of the Qing dynasty, who liked to travel in disguise. In a teahouse, the emperor poured tea for his companions. They could not bow without giving him away, so one tapped his fingers on the table as a bow in miniature. Today, a light tap with the index and middle fingers says thanks, and the conversation never stops. Two more customs to know: pour for others before yourself, and rest the lid sideways on the teapot when you need a refill.
Discover ancient Chinese tea culture and the original tea ceremony, Gong Fu Cha, in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Watch free at teadocumentary.com/watch, or stream ad-free on Amazon.
