Wen Yang | The Art of Taiwanese Tea, One Cup at a Time.
- Isobel Arden
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
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Meet Wen Yang
In this interview, Mark created Wen Yang's fantasy cultural year from the answers to some easy questions to which there were no wrong answers.
Mark had a magic wand and a time machine at his disposal, so expect some surprises, laughs, anecdotes and conversational detours.
Tea can be many things. It can be something you drink because you are tired, something you politely accept when somebody asks whether you want a cup, or — in Wen Yang’s case — something that can become a surprisingly detailed cultural rabbit hole involving temperature, water, ceramics, sensory evaluation, craftsmanship and several pieces of equipment that look as though they have very specific jobs.
Wen Yang is a Taiwanese tea specialist, sommelier and founder of Populus Tea Studio, based in London. Through Populus Tea Studio, Wen creates Taiwanese tea experiences for corporate, cultural and private settings, bringing together tea, craftsmanship, hospitality and the cultural traditions surrounding the way tea is prepared and appreciated. The studio currently describes its work across corporate hospitality, VIP experiences, team building and private gatherings.
But this is not simply a case of pouring an expensive tea into a nice cup and telling everyone to relax.
Wen’s approach is considerably more curious than that.
Wen describes working with East Asian tea and travelling to clients’ homes and other locations to create tea culture experiences using a range of craft materials, particularly ceramics. They also place a strong emphasis on scientific brewing methods and sensory evaluation — essentially looking closely at what happens when you change the variables involved in making tea, rather than relying entirely on tradition or intuition.
And there are quite a few variables.
Temperature matters. Water matters. The material of the teaware matters. Glass, ceramic, pottery, earthenware and porcelain can all affect the experience differently. In Wen’s explanation, the apparently elaborate collection of objects surrounding a Taiwanese tea table is not there simply to look pretty.
Each has a function, helping control how the tea is prepared and ultimately how its aroma, flavour and the craftsmanship behind its production can be experienced.
That attention to detail is part of what makes Wen’s work interesting within an arts and culture context. Tea becomes a meeting point between food and drink, material culture, design, craft, hospitality, history and social interaction.
Wen is particularly interested in the development of contemporary tea culture in Taiwan. In their interview, they discuss the rise of oolong tea and the emergence of what they describe as a contemporary literati culture during Taiwan’s economic boom in the 1990s.
As people began thinking more about quality of life, tea became part of that conversation: not simply something to consume, but something to practise, appreciate and build an experience around.
That history helps explain why Wen's work sits somewhere between hospitality and cultural practice.
A tea gathering can be social, but it can also be observational. There is something to notice in the colour of the tea, something to smell, something to taste and something to listen to. There is also the physical relationship between the person preparing the tea, the objects being used and the people sitting around the table.
Populus Tea Studio describes this as Taiwanese Tea Artistry, with experiences designed around cultural depth, aesthetics and mindful rituals rather than simply serving a beverage. Its current services include private tea tastings and gatherings, brewing and tasting workshops, a roaming “Fluid Tea Salon”, and bespoke tea pairing and culinary collaborations.
There is also a useful practical side to Wen's work. Tea can be an unusually good excuse to get people to actually stop doing something else for five minutes.
In a corporate setting, that might mean a staff wellbeing session or a sensory workshop. In hospitality, it could become part of a client experience, a restaurant collaboration or a tea pairing. In a cultural setting, it can provide a way of introducing people to Taiwanese culture without turning the experience into a lecture where everyone is quietly wondering when the biscuits are coming.
Wen's current work includes corporate hospitality, VIP experiences, team-building activities, private gatherings, tea pairing and brand collaborations. The studio also offers workshops exploring brewing techniques, tea characteristics, teaware materials and water quality.
The work is therefore as much about how people experience something as the tea itself.
That is particularly clear in the way Wen talks about craft. The objects used in tea preparation are not disposable props. Ceramics and teaware become part of the language of the experience. A cup, pot or serving vessel has a practical purpose, but it also contributes to the visual and tactile character of the gathering.
This makes Wen's work relevant to a wider conversation about contemporary craft. Tea provides the starting point, but around it sit questions about materials, making, ritual, presentation and the ways inherited cultural practices can be interpreted in a contemporary London environment.
Wen is also interested in making the subject accessible. Tea culture can sometimes look intimidating from the outside. There may be unfamiliar terminology, unfamiliar equipment and enough tiny cups to make someone wonder whether they have accidentally walked into a very polite laboratory.
Based in London, Wen is now developing Populus Tea Studio as a platform for bringing Taiwanese tea culture into different environments and audiences. The studio's stated vision is to share Taiwanese tea and tea artistry with London and beyond, drawing on Taiwan's terroir and tea-making craftsmanship while creating experiences around aroma, taste, texture and atmosphere.
The business has already begun appearing in London's wider events and cultural landscape. Public listings show Populus Tea Studio delivering Taiwanese tea tasting and sensory experiences, including collaborations and events such as the Gohobi grand opening and an American International Church interfaith picnic.
There is something quietly ambitious about that trajectory.
Wen is not trying to turn Taiwanese tea into a museum piece. Instead, the practice is being brought into contemporary spaces: boardrooms, galleries, private gatherings, hospitality settings, cultural events and workshops. The result is a version of tea culture that can travel without losing its connection to where it came from.
Wen's work is about paying attention. To flavour. To materials. To atmosphere. To other people. To where things come from and why we do them the way we do.
Tea simply happens to be an excellent way of getting everyone to sit down long enough to notice.
Wen Yang's Fantasy Cultural Year ... with a magic wand and a time machine to hand.
Every Arts and Culture Network member is invited to embark on a Fantasy Cultural Year—an imaginary twelve-month journey designed around their passions, curiosity and imagination.
It starts, naturally, with tea.
Wen Yang is sitting outside Tate Modern on a warm June evening, having spent the afternoon wandering around the gallery. Except this is a slightly different Tate Modern.
Wen has travelled backwards in time to see the building before it became the cultural landmark London now knows, and then somehow managed to come back for the museum itself.
There is a pop-up café outside in the sunshine with an Earl Grey and Winnie-the-Pooh book beside Wen.
The fantasy year began with an invitation from a wealthy London family foundation with an unusually ambitious brief: travel around the world for twelve months, creating tea experiences that bring people together.
The first destination is Edinburgh, where Wen decides to work with secondary school students. The idea is simple: introduce young people to tea culture and give them an experience that doesn't require a phone, a PowerPoint presentation or somebody saying "team-building exercise" every seven minutes.
On the flight, there is a musical challenge. For the next twelve months, Wen is only allowed to listen to one kind of music. The choice? Bach. Specifically, Bach piano music.
The Edinburgh tea experience is filmed by a television crew, because a global tea tour needs a documentary. There is a book deal, television appearances, a university lecture tour and a TED Talk waiting at the end.
Wen then leaves Edinburgh and heads to Dublin.
This time, the cultural itinerary involves dance. Irish dance, to be precise. Wen has a particular interest in the form, so the fantasy year naturally includes Riverdance.
The evening continues with dinner, and when offered a choice of cuisine, Wen doesn't feel obliged to remain strictly Irish. Peruvian food wins.
From Dublin, Wen crosses the Atlantic to Canada. The destination is Toronto, and conveniently, the World Badminton Championships are taking place. Wen chooses badminton for the sporting event, proving that a fantasy cultural year does not necessarily require sitting politely in an auditorium.
Then it is Mexico City. Here, Wen steps into the world of Frida Kahlo through a digitally enhanced gallery experience, where paintings become three-dimensional and visitors can move through the artwork.
After that, it is back to London.
Monday is concert night.
Wen chooses David Bowie, imagining being able to travel back to see him perform live at the Milton Keynes Bowl. There are no smartphones glowing throughout the audience, no one filming the entire concert vertically, and no one spending half the show trying to get a decent photograph. Just Bowie and a crowd actually watching.
Tuesday is theatre.
Wen chooses To Kill a Mockingbird, a production already seen once but worth experiencing again from a different point in life.
Wednesday is musical night.
The answer is Les Misérables. Somehow, despite having lived in London for five years, Wen hasn't yet seen it.
Thursday is ballet.
Wen chooses Swan Lake, having recently seen a Georgian production in London and already having opinions about the principal dancer.
Friday is cinema.
The destination is the IMAX on the South Bank. The film? American Beauty.
And after an entire year of tea, travel, art, theatre, dance, music, sport and cinema, there is one final question.
Lunch. The rules are simple: Wen can invite absolutely anyone, living or dead, famous or otherwise, historical or fictional.
The choice is filmmaker Ang Lee. Which makes a strange amount of sense. Ang Lee's career moves between cultures, languages, genres and countries, much like Wen's own curiosity moves between Taiwanese tea, London, ceramics, science, hospitality and the wider cultural world.
So the fantasy year ends with Wen Yang sitting down for lunch with Ang Lee, probably discussing film, food, culture and the very important question of what tea should be served.
Wen Yang's contact details.
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