CHAGEE explores tea as a living ritual with ACM showcase and CNY brew

This Chinese New Year, CHAGEE is asking Singaporeans to slow down and reconnect with tea, culture, and one another. The brand’s latest multi-sensory showcase, "Garden of senses: A tea reverie", opened at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) over the weekend (28 January) and invited visitors to experience tea through sight, scent, sound, touch, taste and thought. 

Alongside the museum activation, CHAGEE has launched its camellia oolong milk tea, a limited-time Chinese New Year drink inspired by the camellia flower, a symbol long associated with devotion, harmony, and enduring relationships. Both initiatives reflect the brand’s broader strategy: positioning tea as an everyday practice rather than just a product.

“The collaboration came from a shared interest in looking at tea as part of everyday life, not just as heritage or a product,” said Lawrence Wen, CEO of CHAGEE Singapore in an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. “Together with the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Singapore Tourism Board, we wanted to create something that reflects how tea is actually experienced, through daily habits and the senses."

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By bringing together ACM’s cultural insights, CHAGEE’s perspective on modern tea culture, and STB’s focus on culture-led experiences, the partnership enabled the tea brand to explore tea as a deeply human practice that continues to be lived and shared today. The ACM showcase is designed around six experiential zones. Each zone focuses on one of the senses, showing how tea is encountered in everyday life.

Running until 7 June 2026, the activation also aims to help visitors slow down, notice familiar elements differently, and recognise tea as a living practice that continues to be experienced and shared today.

The journey begins with 'Thought' in 'Shade of tea', a sculptural paper installation by artist Ashley Yeo inspired by the form of tea leaves. Visitors are encouraged to slow down, observe, and set a reflective tone for the rest of the experience. In 'Scent', fragrance takes centre stage, with aroma profiles across green, oolong, and darker teas. Meanwhile, 'Touch' focuses on tea production, highlighting the craft behind tea-making through 18th-century painting series images and CHAGEE’s modern extraction techniques.

'Sight' centres on tea vessels and tools that shape the act of tea-drinking. 3D replicas from ACM’s collection are displayed alongside contemporary CHAGEE cups, showing how design, form, and function evolve across time. 'Sound' is explored through the ASMR multimedia installation 'Symphony of tea' by Alecia Neo and composer Clarence Chung, which reflects tea as a social part of daily life. The journey concludes with a return to 'Thought' featuring a writing wall that invites visitors to reflect on their own experiences with tea.

From the galleries, the experience flows seamlessly into CHAGEE’s riverside pop-up store, designed as a communal space echoing historic tea trade routes. At the pop-up store, visitors can enjoy CHAGEE beverages and explore a curated selection of merchandise, including items previously available only in CHAGEE China stores. Some of the merchandise include porcelain cups, candles and Pony plushie charms. 

“The merchandise was curated to reflect tea culture as something that continues through everyday objects. Bringing selected items previously available only in CHAGEE China stores to Singapore recognises the significance of this collaboration and the city’s role as a place where tea cultures meet and evolve. These items are not meant as collectibles alone, but as objects that extend the experience beyond the museum and into daily life," explained Wen. 

Wen also highlighted how accessibility was a key consideration for the showcase, with designs inclusive towards local and international visitors and tea enthusiasts. "We wanted to create an experience that feels engaging and relatable. Theming the showcase around the human senses allows visitors to engage with each zone at their own pace and in their own way."

"Some may connect through smell or sound, others through objects or reflection. This approach makes the showcase easy to enter, while still offering depth for those who want to spend more time with it," he added. 

Looking ahead, CHAGEE is open to collaboration with partners who care about culture, craft and creating meaningful experiences for people. "This collaboration came from a shared belief that tea is deeply cultural and human. We're quite intentional about what we do, so any future collaborations would depend on finding the right fit and the right story to tell." 

The CNY seasonal campaign complements the showcase, reinforcing the idea of tea as a ritual of connection. The camellia oolong milk tea launched two days after the opening of "Garden of senses" on 30 January. Accompanying the launch are limited-edition merchandise including red packets, knit orange bags, and prosperity tea plant plushies, providing tangible ways to mark moments of reunion.

By combining a museum showcase with a festive seasonal campaign, CHAGEE demonstrates that tea can be more than a beverage, it can be an experience, a ritual, and a vehicle for cultural storytelling.

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