Tea shops · Singapore, Singapore
A Singapore tea brand whose 1872 goes back to a Ceylonese jeweller on High Street; today it is a tea bar in the basement of ION Orchard.
Illustrative image
The house
The company tells its own origin like this: in 1872 a young Ceylonese named Balage Porolis De Silva settled in Singapore and began serving Ceylon tea inside his jewellery boutique on High Street, as hospitality rather than as a business. The tea outlived the gesture. In the 1980s his great-grandson Sunil Amarasuriya, the fourth-generation head of the family firm, turned it into a brand, with a clipper ship on the label drawn together with designer Thayne Madrid.
What is actually on the shelf today is short and deliberate. Five loose-leaf pouches: Classic English Breakfast, the only 100 g bag and by some way the cheapest per gram; Alishan oolong and Milk Oolong in 50 g; and chamomile and peppermint, also 50 g, covering the caffeine-free end. No tins and no teabags in this list — just pouches, between S$ 23 and S$ 35. It is a range built for people who want one good tea rather than a wall of choices.
The flagship is at ION Orchard, unit #B4-07, four levels below Orchard Road, where the boutique doubles as a tea bar; by the company's own account Rehan Amarasuriya, who took over from his father, rebuilt it around Modbar tea extraction. Further tea bars follow at Jewel Changi and in IOI Central Boulevard Towers in the financial district (weekdays only), plus counters at the Botanic Gardens and every Changi terminal, which makes this the easiest of Singapore's tea shops to reach on the way to a plane. The same range is online.
Singapore · Singapore
2 Orchard Turn #B4-07, ION Orchard, Singapore 238801
Basement level 4 of ION Orchard, on Orchard Road; further counters at Jewel Changi, IOI Central Boulevard Towers, the Botanic Gardens and each Changi terminal.
Published hours: ION Orchard: daily 10:00–22:00
Directions to this location →Check with the house before visiting. Published hours may include appointments, seasonal schedules or temporary closures; live status, where available, applies only to the named location and does not account for exceptional closures.
The FindMeTea edit
01 · Oolong tea
The middle of a five-item shelf and the one that is neither a breakfast blend nor a herb: a rolled oolong in a 50 g pouch.
from S$ 28· 50 g
Explore this tea →02 · Black tea
The only 100 g pouch here, which makes it the cheapest cup on the shelf by a wide margin — the everyday tea this counter is built to sell.
S$ 23· 100 g
Explore this tea →03 · Herbal infusion
One of only two caffeine-free options in the range, sold as loose flowers in a 50 g pouch rather than as a box of bags.
from S$ 23· 50 g
Explore this tea →The one worth the trip
The most expensive of the five and the only one named for a specific mountain: Alishan, in Taiwan. Per gram it costs about three times what the English Breakfast on the same shelf does, which is the clearest statement this short list makes about where the brand puts its effort. If you are going to ION Orchard for one pouch, it is this one.
S$ 35· 50 g
Explore this tea →Prices
Prices are indicative. Each price keeps its currency and pack size; this selection does not necessarily cover the house's complete range.
7 prices
| Tea | Type | Price / pack |
|---|---|---|
| Classic English Breakfast (loose leaf pouch) | Black tea | S$ 23100 g |
| Chamomile (loose leaf pouch) | Herbal infusion | from S$ 2350 g |
| Peppermint (loose leaf pouch) | Herbal infusion | from S$ 2350 g |
| Earl Grey (loose leaf pouch) | Black tea | S$ 23100 g |
| Finest Darjeeling (loose leaf pouch) | Black tea | S$ 2550 g |
| Milk Oolong (loose leaf pouch) | Oolong tea | from S$ 2850 g |
| Alishan Oolong (loose leaf pouch) | Oolong tea | S$ 3550 g |
Indicative prices, with each product’s pack size. Prices may change; check with the shop. Price verification dates: 2026-10-11.
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Images are cropped to fit the layout. The generic cover, when used, is illustrative and does not show this shop.
