But the new-fangled shop soon caught everyone's attention, especially the media's. "The market was calling for teahouses like Wu Fu back then, but no one realized it yet," said Yang, one of the first wait staff at Wu Fu. The media coverage had a salutary effect, and by the end of the year tea lovers sometimes had to wait their turn to be seated at Wu Fu.

Inevitably, investors soon followed, especially since the initial cost seemed so reasonable. Yang remembers how quickly teahouses began to spring up in imitation of Wu Fu's formula, and yet some could only boast a handful of tea caddies and a dozens tea sets. Tea restaurants also began to appear, such as Be for Time and the Taiwan-based RBT.

"Few are outstanding or large-scale," said Zheng Danyang, general manager of Beijing Franchise Consulting, "and the different positioning is a question worth considering."

A Lesson from Starbucks

"There has been a Starbucks boom in China," one blogger writes, "and sometimes I have a cup or two. But Chinese tea quenches my thirst better. It would be great if we could have a brand of teahouses spreading all over the world like Starbucks."

Indeed, in a country known as the birthplace of tea, it is arguably a pity that no teahouse with a national brand name exists. And Starbucks seems to offer a ready model for future teahouses in China. "Tea and coffee are both mass consumer drinks. By following a consumer-oriented approach, both can spread by means of franchises," the franchise expert Zheng said. "KFC, McDonald's and Starbucks are the successful early practitioners."

Founded in 1971, the Seattle-based coffee giant now has more than 10,000 outlets worldwide, and Zheng regards the chain operation as the premier model for fledgling domestic teahouses. It is not the best coffee, he joked, but it is indisputably the most popular. People can find the familiar green logo everywhere – downtown, in shopping malls or highway rest areas. By standardizing their products, customers are able to enjoy a cup that tastes the same wherever they are.

Zheng believes that a Starbucks-like teahouse would definitely be profitable. "A standardized brand, a standard production process and a reasonable price provide customer convenience," Zheng said. "What's more, it would create jobs and promote tea drinking."

Instead of a Starbucks' sense of chic lifestyle, however, teahouses would emphasize traditional Chinese culture. Yang Chunwu, for instance, requires that all his staff be tea specialists. "Spreading Chinese tea culture is an important part of our work," he said. "We have a unique process, from tea preparing to brewing." Employees at Wu Fu can answer any question about tea they are asked, even difficult ones such as the origins of the names Scarlet Robe and Iron Goddess.