Remembering Winnie Yu

Today, and every day, we remember the force and passion behind Teance, our beloved founder Winnie Yu who passed on seven years ago today. In 2002, she was inspired to open a tea shop where people could sit down and enjoy high-quality whole-leaf teas. She collaborated with close friends FuTung Cheng and Peter Li to open Celadon, an intentionally-crafted tea shop where FuTung's original circular tea bar was poured. Celadon would be the first rendition of Teance Fine Teas and the tea shop that lives on today. 

Determined to source the highest qualities teas from independent farmers in China, Taiwan, Japan, and India, Winnie sought out and built relationships with tea farmers over many years. She visited them frequently, even those in remote locations, and she spent countless hours among the tea plants and observing tea processing.

In 2006, Winnie moved the shop to Fourth Street in Berkeley and gave it a new name - Teance. Many of you remember our space on Fourth Street with the beautiful tea bar, high ceilings, red hanging lamps, and koi fish. The Teance tea community expanded at this location, and many people still come to us today with memories of visiting the Fourth Street location for tastings with Darius, or sitting upstairs to study together when they were students.

From climbing the "dan cong" trees in Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong, China to chatting with our Tung Ting female tea master Mrs. Su, here are some photos of Winnie during Teance tea trips where she used to bring groups to visit tea farms in China, Taiwan, and Japan.

In the Teance office, we have a corner dedicated to Winnie with some of her artwork, her judo robe, her favorite manga character Astro Boy, and many photos and writings. Her legacy lives on as we continue to gather over the teas that Winnie dedicated her life to bringing us.

We would love to hear any memories you have of Winnie, either by replying to this email or dropping by the tea shop any time. We will be open today and the rest of the week serving house tea, and we invite you to come to the tea bar to chat or learn about Winnie. You can also read an article about Winnie's life published in September 2017 by SFGate. Thank you for enjoying our teas and being part of Winnie's journey!

09.11.2024

Notes from Tea Community:

Thanks for sharing these photos and memories!  The years of Teance on 4^th Street are among my favorite memories of Berkeley life.  It was an opportunity to experience a high point in human excellence!  It was such a revelation to taste these superb teas and to enjoy their presentation.  Winnie brought a level of perfection to everything she did.  My husband is currently not drinking caffeine so we have been less motivated to try the teas in the new shop.  Susan ~