Tea Time Get's Frosty With Wuyutai's New Jasmine Tea Ice Cream

When I was taking a stroll along Dongsi Beidajie the other day, I happened across a long line of customers outside Wuyutai Tea. Much to my surprise, they weren't there to get their hands on tea doled out by the time-honored brand, but tea-flavored ice cream.

For those of you who aren't so familiar with Wuyutai Tea, here's a little history. Wuyutai Tea, best known for its jasmine tea, is an age-old classic tea brand that has a history of over 130 years in the capital.

In the late Qing Dynasty, an old man surnamed Wu from Huizhou went to the capital for an exam and he took some tea with him when he went. When he arrived in Beijing, Wu set up a tea stall by a big gate on the east side of Beixinqiao Jie. The tea was so popular among passerby that it sold out in a few days. In 1887, he officially opened a tea shop, which grew to become Wuyutai Tea. 

Brands like Wuyutai that have histories dating back several hundred years ago are also called laozihao. Although it is hard to explain to anyone who is not born and raised in Beijing exactly what a laozihao is, let's just say that if you have ever bought desserts from Daoxiangcun or have dined at Quanjude for their Peking duck, then you have already experienced a laozihao.

The tea ice cream at Wuyutai comes in two flavors: matcha and jasmine. They're both served in a waffle cone made from cake and pastry flower, which lends it a sweet crunch.

A matcha-flavored ice cream isn't exactly new, so I instead opted for their signature jasmine flavor instead. The ice cream was certainly refreshing, with a prominent earthy bitterness that jasmine tea is known for.

Tastewise, it does have a subtle sweetness, which, isn't produced by sugar, but the polyphenols that are rich in tea powder. I was surprised to learn later that the ingredients used to produce the tea ice cream are extremely simple: only pure milk and tea powder are used. In fact, the staff even told me there is not even a single drop of water added to the ice cream.

This creation from Wuyutai tea is certainly ranked top on the list of my favorite places to get ice creams in Beijing. If you like the classic combination of tea and ice cream — I know I'm not alone here — then you certainly will fall in love with it too.

Wuyutai Tea Shop吴裕泰茶庄 (北新桥总店)
44 Dongsi North Street, Dongcheng district
东四北大街44号

(Note: Not all Wuyutai Tea Shops sell tea ice cream, but you can get tea ice cream from the Beixinqiao branch.)

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Images: Irene Li