About us

We’re Jane and Michael, the founders of Hulu Tea. We started Hulu Tea in Manchester in 2025, driven by a shared passion for tea and a desire to make premium authentic Chinese tea more accessible in the UK.

Our name, Hu Lu, comes from the initials of our last names: Hou and Lin. Beyond that, Hulu (葫芦) is a traditional Chinese gourd, once used to carry water, wine, and tea. It symbolises health, balance, and spiritual blessings. In Taoist philosophy, Hulu embodies harmony between Emptiness & Fullness, Stillness & Flow. A quiet emblem of wellbeing, and of living simply, in tune with nature.

We source all of our teas directly from trusted tea producers in China, working closely with growers to bring authentic, organic teas from place of origin to your cup. By importing directly, we are able to ensure quality, freshness, and transparency while offering outstanding value without unnecessary markups.

Based in Manchester at Pollard Yard, we are proud to share the richness of Chinese tea culture through carefully selected whole-leaf teas that are pure, natural, and enjoyable every day. If you’d like to try our teas in person, feel free to visit us at Unit 130, Pollard Yard, 15 Pollard Street East, Manchester, M40 7QX.

Alongside our retail collection, we also supply wholesale tea to cafés, tea shops, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality businesses. If you are looking for premium organic Chinese tea for your customers, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch to discuss wholesale opportunities and how we can work together.