Spotlight: Miss Orange Tea & Pastry
After dipping her toes in markets throughout Portland, Liyuan Peng opened her dream teahouse in the Central Eastside of Portland. Walking into the tea shop, you immediately feel the calming atmosphere Liyuan has created. The teahouse features a thoughtfully curated menu and elegant tea sets on display, which are also available for sale. Below, Liyuan shares more about her business. Check out its events in May and enjoy the tea!
Tell us about your teahouse.
Liyuan: This is a public space — a destination created to make my curated teas accessible and approachable to all.
One of this teahouse’s purposes is to build a bridge from Yunnan’s protected forests and ancient tea trees to the wooded trails of Oregon. I bring tea from high-altitude reserves to cups beside Mt. Hood, honoring wild origins and local life.
Additionally, it is a place to read, relax, and recharge, a space in the Central Eastside where you can be yourself and enjoy the art of being. With house-made, low-sugar pastries, they make a great companion for Chinese tea.
How did you decide to open the teahouse?
Liyuan: All businesses involve risk, especially for small business owners. To be an entrepreneur is to be a sailor: to stand firm in fair weather and foul, to swim through waves of uncertainty, and to constantly reorient toward a new horizon.
My own voyage began quietly with sips from my father’s collection of Yunnan Pu-er tea. Now, I have built this teahouse as my ship, and my hope is to share my own collection with many more—inviting them aboard to embark on their own lifelong journeys through Chinese tea.
Does the name Miss Orange mean anything?
Liyuan: 桔 (Jú) is the Chinese character for the vibrant color orange and the sweet, sun-kissed fruit. More than that, it has come to symbolize my journey. If you look closely, 桔 is made of two parts: 木 (mù), meaning "tree," and 吉 (jí), meaning "fortune" or "blessing." This is perfect for me. My move to Portland, Oregon—a place cradled by evergreens and majestic redwoods—felt like coming home to that very blessing of trees.
Throughout my life, orange has remained my constant love. It’s a color that holds memory and a scent that carries me back. I can still smell the zest of oranges filling the air at my grandmother’s home on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Peeling them with my cousins, our fingers sticky and sweet, is a memory etched in my mind—a touchstone of joy and family that has stayed with me ever since.
In many ways, this is the world of tea. A single aroma, a particular taste, can transport you to the best moments of your life. It can find you again and bring you home.
