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The tea culture is too strongly tied to old-fash-
ioned ideas. Many tea experts are unwilling to share
their knowledge or experience with the public. They
believe that tea and tea culture can only be under-
stood but not expressed in words. Rin Rin Wong
shared her own frustration of her visits to tea experts
when doing marketing research for Beca Tea. She
recalled that once, she tasted a very delicious and
From the Traditional to the Innovative precious Himalayan tea from a famous tea expert.
However, he did not want to disclose where the tea
Beca Tea does not come from nowhere. The family was from. He only wanted people to know the tea was
tea business has lasted for over 90 years already. From good and expensive, and he was the real expert who
the first generation, The Koh family has been cultivat- could find the best tea. “Almost all the expert tea
ing the tea industry, starting their business in a tea vil- people we have met so far have the same attitude of
lage in Fujian Province, China, which is famous for its depicting Chinese tea as a secret. They don’t want to
tea culture. Later, they immigrated to Malaysia and con- disclose them or to share them.” Wong said.
tinued to sell teas on a beca (trishaw) with a tin trunk Rin Rin Wong was one of many people who failed
across Kuala Lumpur. The brand name “Beca Tea” is, in to get open-source knowledge from tea experts. Most
fact, a tribute to the family’s tea business. The family young people nowadays actually feel the same way. Re-
business in Kuala Lumpur was first in Chinatown, where cent research was done by QDaiy, a Chinese newspaper
most traditional tea houses were located in the 1930s. that focuses on upcoming business trends, found that
With some years of hard work, the company grew stead- many young people in China actually love drinking tea,
ily. They were supplying tea leaves not only to tea hous- but they are annoyed by the bundled sales of “Tea Cer-
es but also to local restaurants, chain stores, cafes, and emony” and “Zen” as if they can’t taste the Zen from
even Teh Tarik makers. the tea or if they “don’t understand tea” are not worthy
The first three generations of the Koh family de- of drinking it.
veloped the business from a tin trunk to a whole profes- The good news is that the expert authority and the
sional supply line. Now, it is up to the fourth generation boundary between old and new has been broken a little.
to decide the future direction of this business. “The The “new-style pure tea” is on the rise. Tea’stone, a “new-
previous generations have already done what they have style” tea brand from China serving pure tea drinks,
done and gained their success. Now, the fourth and fifth raw tea leaves, and desserts, has become popular among
generations take charge and want to grow their glory. millennials and Generation Z. The brand introduced the
There is still a lot about tea that can be dug and devel- Western coffee shop concept into traditional tea houses.
oped, and we want to grab the chance to do something They also established a professional open tea encyclo-
different.” Rin Rin Wong, the chief operating director pedia system, detailed tea category characteristics, and
of Beca Tea, told me in our interview.! ! marked the origin, terroir, and flavor to help increase the
Unlike coffee or cocktails, which have undergone transparency of tea prices and consumption. In this way,
HAVE A SIP OF BECA tery to many people, especially the young. We can see easily accessed by young people.
several rounds of evolutional waves, tea remains a mys-
they successfully make the tea-drinking experience more
Tea’stone’s revolution of tea is shared by Beca
many systematic assessment criteria, creative mixology
recipes, and advanced technologies being used for cof- Tea. PC Koh, the fourth generation of the family busi-
TEA, AND YOU WILL GET the next level. However, tea still seems the same as it terview: “The tea exploration journey is just about to
ness and the founder of Beca Tea told me in the in-
fee and cocktails and taking the drinking experience to
start. The world doesn’t know enough about tea yet
was thousands of years ago.
because it is not open-source knowledge. The more
TO KNOW ABOUT TEA common knowledge about tea is shared, the more rev-
olutionary the tea industry will become. It will even-
tually grow from mass to artisan, which is exactly what
has happened for the coffee.”
ALL OVER AGAIN. the tea business, Beca Tea is determined to bring a whole
With a professional and international background in
new pure tea-drinking experience in Malaysia.

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