OurHours: W-S 12-7 SU 2-7
805 Main Street, Boonton, New Jersey 07005, United States
About Us
Fengxiao Liu
Sitting in one of our window nooks with Moose.
Fengxiao Liu: A Life That Began with Tea
Her fate was to be tea master. Fengxiao Liu was born in Hebei Province in Central China. Since childhood, she realized the spiritual path was one that assuredly led to personal fulfillment and a peaceful existence. Eventually it would happen that she met a teacher. Then in her teens, Liu studied with this tea master who opened her heart to the spiritual aspects of the tea ceremony. Her life was changed forever. Adhering to the teachings of Buddha, Liu continued her life honoring one of the most important Buddhist principles, service to the world.
After immigrating to America, the flower of romance blossomed when Liu met photographer Edward Fausty. They soon married. Buddhism continued to be the pillars of her spiritual life. Inevitably, the spirit of Chinese tea made its presence known once again. After Fausty completed a day’s photo assignment, his clients or artist friends often lingered in the solitude of the studio, and conversation always followed. Liu made tea for the gathering. She discovered that the ritual of brewing Chinese tea evoked the same feelings of wondrous joy in Americans that had existed for so long in her heart. Finding kindred spirits in her new homeland, a promising horizon emerged before her eyes: The ritual brewing of tea inconspicuously draws its participants into spiritual practice. After only a few cups of tea have reached the lips, the heart is opened and the mind is calmed. Liu was thus impelled to open Sinofilia Tea Shop.
Working only through her keen intuition, Liu exorcized the typical sterile tone of the retail environment by infusing her tea shop with wood, paper, clay, fabric, and vivifying plants, all elements that unite nature and emotional contentment. At Sinofilia Tea Shop, Liu offers us the chance to learn about the spiritual aspects of the Chinese tea ceremony and the health benefits of its essential component. She sits before you at the table gently presiding over the hot water spout, clay pots, cups, and utensils, and through her choice of superior tea products creates an authentic tea ritual that transcends the mere consumption of tea, waking the senses to the spiritual notes of its taste and smell. Liu shares with you the same life-changing experience she had with her tea master long ago in China.
Fengxiao Liu ministering a tea ceremony.