Inside TWG Tea’s first tea museum at Changi Airport
Tea brand TWG Tea's largest flagship boutique worldwide is located at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
Spanning 2,700 sq ft, it features a wall lined with more than 1,200 tea tins and a hand-painted world tea map on its ceiling.
The space houses the brand’s first museum, showcasing antique teaware, decorative objects and Russian samovars dating from the 17th to 20th centuries.
Highlights include Yixing teapots made from unglazed clay that absorbs the tea’s flavours over time, enhancing each brew with repeated use.
Early silver teapots were often inspired by Chinese clay designs and kept small due to the high cost of tea, later evolving into more elaborate forms.
Tea caddies were lockable containers used to safeguard expensive tea in the 18th century. Their name comes from “kati”, a Malay unit of weight used to sell tea.
Chinese porcelain teaware became so prized in 17th-century Europe that it earned the nickname “white gold”, later inspiring European potters to recreate its designs.
A German Art Deco teapot from the 1930s features a ceramic body and felt-lined silver cover to keep tea warm. It inspired TWG Tea’s Design Teapot.
The collection includes more than 50 antique Russian samovars, which served as both tea-making devices and decorative centrepieces in homes.
The retail section, which has a takeaway counter, offers more than 1,000 single-estate teas and exclusive blends.
The boutique also offers ice cream and sorbet in various flavours, alongside tea-infused macarons and chocolate bonbons.
