Encounters with Tea in Eastern Europe

Hello! Your Tea Journey Continues to East Europe this time. Hamburg-based Marten Verch’s latest story introduces us to Oxalis, a Czech tea company that contributed significantly to the country’s tea culture through its teas and tearooms. It showcases how retail brands can influence customers and culture.

And since we are in this part of the world, I thought you’d enjoy some more stories from the neighborhood, like the one from Georgia, where a tea renaissance has been underway after the collapse of the industry in 1991, as Michael Denner writes. And from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, we have Mainbayar Badarch, who tells us two stories, one about the unique tea customs of the Kazakh people and another from Azerbaijan where, despite dependence on imports, tea farmers are restoring their own tea legacy.

Happy reading!

Innovation, Loose Leaf Tea

By Marten Verch

OXALIS: Connecting Czech Culture and Spirit

Tea culture in the Czech Republic got a boost when Petr Zelik decided to revive it with his company OXALIS. Inspired by Eastern cultures and Western preferences, this is the story of a tea brand that has kept up with changing times and continues to make its impact in tea.…

Kazakh Culture is Centered on Tea

Tea plays an essential role in Kazakh culture, as no celebration or family feast is held without drinking tea. Sharing tea is a ritual of unity. When someone visits a…

Azerbaijan Growers are Restoring its Tea Legacy

Depending on the variety and quality, the price of local tea in the domestic market ranges from $4.70 to $29 (8-50 manats) per kilogram. Recently, farmers have said the demand…

Origins: Black Sea Georgian Tea

Many sought to establish a tea dynasty in Georgia and failed until a tea merchant named Popov invited the Cantonese (Guangdong) tea expert Liu Junzhou (刘峻周), and ten of his…

Aravinda Anantharaman

Editor, Tea Journey Magazine
Write me at aravinda@teajourney.pub