More Than Just a Tea Shop: Ceremony Carries on Cultural Traditions

Photography by Erin McGinn

As Michelle Cheng stuffed a large empty suitcase with premium loose-leaf tea on the way back from China, it sparked an idea.

Cheng immigrated to the country with her family at just twelve years old when her father was invited to join the medical research team at Brown University. Growing up in Providence, there weren’t many Asian influences in the area, which was harsh on her parents. Every time they missed home, they would pile in the car and drive to the Asian neighborhoods of Boston or New York City to find food that reminded them of home, a core childhood memory.

Fast forward to adulthood, Cheng worked at a tech company with a lot of Chinese trading in textiles. Although it provided financial stability, there was still something missing in her life. She took some time off to refocus her career and figure out the next steps. “I wanted to utilize my skillset but also do something meaningful,” she says, leading to a trip to China.

As she lugged her full extra suitcase with tea, Cheng realized there was a gap in the market. “If my parents are drinking this much tea, and family friends are giving them tea as gifts, there’s something missing in the market that we weren’t seeing,” she says.

She reached out to farmers that she knew and trusted had high-quality tea from whom she could directly buy. “True tea drinkers have their own suppliers,” she says. After pitching her idea to farmers about shipping tea from their fields directly to her in the States, she opened a small e-commerce shop because she wanted to purchase tea for her parents’ own consumption at a better price. This led to her own stand at farmers’ markets at Hope & Main. At first, she was skeptical it would attract any attention, but quickly realized there were others looking for premium loose-leaf tea right here in Rhode Island.

“This opened up a whole world that I didn’t know existed,” Cheng says.

Cheng dove headfirst into the world of tea. She incorporated more than the tea she grew up with, traveling to Japan and Taiwan to meet farmers and learn as much as she could about the varietals. With positive feedback from her customers about the tea they sold, she realized the tea they sampled tasted different due to different steeping methods. Cheng began hosting sampling sessions at New Harvest Coffee & Spirits, educating customers the different aspects of brewing tea: the water temperature, amount of water and different vessels for the tea. This still wasn’t enough, though. While creating a wonderful community, her customers wanted a brick-and-mortar so they could have a go-to spot.

“Our customers are the ones who push me forward through feedback,” Cheng says. “We grow with that community and expand.”

Cheng is a strong believer in everything happens for a reason, so when TeaLuxe handed in the key to its Thayer Street area location, it was a sign. The location was perfect for her target audience and even those open to learning more about Asian loose-leaf teas and the ceremony that follows. Timing wasn’t the best, though. Ceremony opened in the later months of 2019, just a few months before the pandemic hit, but her staff were productive of her vision and stuck it out.

A typical tea ceremony in Japan is much different than that in Taiwan or China. In Japan, it’s a formal event for a special occasion, usually performed when hosting special guests and can last two or more hours. At Ceremony, the tradition is more focused on Taiwanese or Chinese formats, more relaxed and guests can chat throughout. When you arrive at the tea ceremony room, you choose the tea from a seasonal list. Each tea is brewed at different temperatures and is brewed six times right in front of you. You can taste the tea from the first steep through the last steep, each one tasting a bit different.

After the pandemic, Ceremony has rebranded itself from a traditional Chinese tea shop to a lounge and café, offering new and modern ways to appeal to younger generations and those who are new to the culture. While the ceremony room remains and can be booked privately, anyone can stop by for specialty cocktails, lattes, coffee and more for here or to go. By partnering with New Harvest, Ceremony offers more caffeinated options if tea isn’t, well, your cup of tea.

To further educate customers, Cheng is working with the International Tea Education Institute for a program to bring those interested in the industry to rural farms in Japan where guests can spend a few weeks living and working on the farm for a firsthand experience.

Cheng’s boyfriend at the time, now husband, has supported her throughout her pivotal career journey, not working too far away at Brown University during the day. Upon the opening of Ceremony, Cheng’s father was inspired by her success, took the medical exam and pursued his own acupuncture practice in Newport. After immigrating, her parents were so focused on providing a stable environment for her as a child that they gave up their own dreams. Now, seeing that they’ve set her up for a better life in the States, they were able to live the lives they’ve always wanted for themselves.

Cheng sees Ceremony as a full circle milestone. The shop not only connects to her roots and shares her culture through tea but is a symbol of her and her parents’ hard work paying off to honor those sacrifices made for success. Another way to measure her success: When Ceremony opened, she was pregnant with her first child. As they prepare to open a second location in the former Café La France in the Brown University School of Public Health, she is once again blessed with a child on the way. It’s become a running joke that her business coincides with her fertility, and while she plans on opening many more branches, she hopes her family remains small.

Ceremony, 406 Brook St., Providence, ceremonypvd.com