📍Rle de la Vinaigrerie 8 | Eaux-Vives | $$

Tucked in a quiet alley, away from the busy tram lines and commerce center, sits Caiyun Tea House. The interior is relaxed and atmospheric, adorned with beautiful Chinese ceramics and knots. Like any good tea house, it immediately transports you to a place of tranquility, providing a lovely spot to enjoy a cup of tea and read a book. It’s calm in the afternoons, with nicely spaced out tables for maximum comfort and unreserved conversations with old friends. Another highlight (in our opinion), is the friendly shop dog, a Frenchie, that loves nothing more than head scratches and butt pats from everyone.

Surprisingly, Caiyun Tea House has a large food menu, as they cater for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. From dumplings, baozi, to rice bowls and even burgers (?), you’ll find something to munch on any time of the day. For those looking for authentic and traditional Chinese foods, you will be in for a disappointment. We sampled the mixed dumplings (mix, 9 pcs CHF 29.50), and it became clear that the dumplings were more of a modern fusion, where the aesthetics and flavor variety were at the forefront. That being said, the dumplings were overall quite tasty, though the dry dumpling skin and mushy texture left us somewhat dissatisfied.

The tea drinks and desserts are the real stars of the show, and what we highly recommend for anyone visiting. There is a separate Gong Fu Cha Tea Menu, for the serious tea drinkers that want high quality Chinese tea, prepared in the traditional fashion with multiple brewing steps and expansive tea set. The Gong Fu Cha Tea Set starts at CHF20 and can go up to over CHF90. For those that want a more casual affair, there are a variety of ‘casual’ teas and tea-inspired cocktails. In my opinion, the homemade ice teas were absolutely perfect. We tried the lychee ice tea (CHF 7.90), which was refreshing and balanced the tea and lychee flavors well, without one overpowering the other. The tea cakes were also a tasty surprise, featuring unique flavors like durian, rose and sesame. 

The terrace was being set up during our visit in March, and we can imagine it being a wonderful spot to relax with friends or even by yourself during warmer days. Caiyun Tea House is a perfect alternative to the traditional coffee shop or when you simply just want a nice cup of tea.