Trendy tea house brand creates a stir

"Tea drinks have seen rapid growth across the world in recent years, but this ancient drink needs to be presented in a modern way," he told Chengdu Economic Daily. "I believe China will be the leader in the global tea drink market."

Like her mother who turned the Chongqing hotpot into a global business, Liao also has ambitious plans.

"Miao and I share the same dream to bring Chinese tea culture to the world and become the pioneer of modern tea," she said.

In today's market, there are three types of tea houses. The top-of-the-range outlets are expensive and decorated with dark, vintage furniture. They provide only Chinese tea and the average cost per person is more than 100 yuan.

The second type of tea house is more affordable. They are usually full of people playing poker and mahjong. The rest are those chain stores on the street, selling bubble tea.

"We young people want to find a quiet, modern and affordable place to have tea," Liao said. "But there are very few such tea houses in China so far."

Most of the Chinese tea houses lack the modern concept of design, brand building and management. "That's one of the reasons why they cannot grow bigger," Liao said.

All her tea houses are located in shopping malls. But in the future, NenlvTea will expand to high-end residential areas and commercial districts.

"Our tea houses will be a convenient location for people to meet," Liao said.