Step through the green noren curtains that sport an image of a white teapot, and enter a minimalist space that quiets the mind. New tea shop Tokyo Handa is just steps from the Surry Hills light rail stop, but a world away from your daily commute.
The corner spot’s pale green interior and gentle lighting set the mood for a serene session of tea appreciation. You’ll find packaged tea and handcrafted ceramics on the shelves, and a brew or two on offer for complimentary tasting at the bar.
All this is the work of Mariko Handa, who wants you to know there’s more to Japanese tea than matcha. “Nowadays, many Australian people are visiting Japan, so I just found people are really interested in Japanese culture,” she says. “Matcha is super popular, but the other Japanese teas, like sencha, hojicha or genmaicha, are still really underestimated, so I felt it might be a good idea to have a store for these.”
Mariko is the founder of this branch of the family tea brand, which has two shops in Tokyo managed by her cousin Minoru Handa, representing the third generation in retail. But the Handa family has been involved in tea for more than 200 years. In 1815, their forefather established a tea garden in Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo.
By 1928, after its tea had won international prizes, the Handa family were appointed to manage the tea garden at the palace at Akasaka and produce a special sencha called ho-en for the Japanese imperial family. Fast forward to the late 1980s and the consumption of loose-leaf tea declined following the emergence of bottled tea.
When Mariko’s cousin Minoru took over the business in 2021, he considered shutting the struggling shops. Mariko, however, realised that they hadn’t tried to save them yet.
“We hadn’t welcomed new customers or younger generations,” she says. “We didn’t have an online shop or social media, so I set up the Instagram account and online shop, and then renewed the packaging to appeal more to younger generations. Then we gradually recovered the customers and the sales.”
That led to showing at expos in France and Spain, before Mariko arrived in Australia in 2025 to complete an MBA at UNSW. Here she saw an opportunity to introduce Japanese loose-leaf tea to a market she believed was ready. “In Japan, nowadays, the teabags are much more popular than loose-leaf. I felt here in Australia loose-leaf tea is still quite strong. It’s a good thing Australia is still preserving the tea culture.”
She popped up at Paddington Markets and Japan Expo Sydney, building the confidence to open the shop. Tokyo Handa gives Sydneysiders the benefit of buying tea via direct-sourcing partnerships that run generations deep, spanning regions such as Kagoshima, Shizuoka, Uji and Yame. It offers signature blended sencha and single-estate picks, plus the rarely sourced wakocha (Japanese black tea) and house-finished hojicha (roasted green tea). And matcha, of course.
Mariko considered a cafe-style venue, but that would have defied her initial aim: the mindful appreciation of tea. “I just want this place to be where people can drop by and also discover the diversity of Japanese tea, not just matcha. I want to keep this place more slow and quiet, a relaxing space.”
That’s your cue to drop in, sit and sip for a while.
Tokyo Handa Tea
12 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills
Hours:
Mon 10am–4pm
Wed to Fri 10am–4pm
Sat 9am–3pm