Custom tea tiles were made from tea plantation soil and developed to tell the story of BasaoTea at their teahouse in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (See Basao II). The studio tested soils from three plantations;with the final selection from a Basao tea plantation in Anxi, China, a region known for oolong tea cultivation. After processing, the soil was set in cement, then pressed. Unlike kiln fired tiles, this process retains the colour and character of the soil including traces of tea plants. Encaustic tile manufacturing is a century-old technique once commonplace in southeast China and resonates with the history of former Pak Sha Road terrace houses where the tea shop stands located today.