Eduardo Molina Anfossi, the Chilean tea specialist at the concept tea store Paper & Tee has been working with tea for the past twelve years, travelling around the world tracing the path of tea.

Born in Chile, a wine producing country, Eduardo fell in love with tee, so he went through sommelier training to become a specialist in tee. He has been to main tea producing countries, learning about tea, culture and everything tea-related in the specific areas.

Eduardo welcomes Lavia Lin, from Stiftung Deutsche und Chinesische Kultur in the flag shop at Savignyplatz to share with her his passion for tea and his insights of the tea cultures.

When a sommelier met tea…

I grew up in Chile, and Chile has a big tea drinking culture. Usually when you think about Latin America, you think it as a coffee producing country. Actually, Chile is the only place in Latin America that drinks tea. We are tea drinkers, and we inherit that from the British. Even though we were never colonized by the British, they have a huge commercial influence on the country, especially in the 19 centuries. They left us the tradition of drinking tea. We don’t produce coffee, we don’t produce mate, we have to import hot beverages anyways, so we went for tea. The tea culture in Chile is very basic, it’s mostly tea bags during the high consumption. When I was working in Ritz-Carlton Hotel, they had a very nice tea service where I connected to the other side of tea. By the time, there wasn’t so much tea with good quality available for us. When I had good quality tea and learned about different regions producing it, I wanted to learn everything about tea! I used to study Economics and Business, but it wasn’t my thing at all. Then I suddenly run into tea and it was love at first sight. So, I’ve been traveling ever since, and now working in Germany.

I started my tea journey at places close to me, my first tea course was in Argentina, then I went to the US and to France. In France there was an understanding of aromas and flavors, I did lots of trainings in Paris. After getting acquainted with the western side of tea, I went to the East, tea’s origin. I went to China, but due to language barriers I couldn’t find tea courses offered in English. I also went to Japan, and to Sri Lanka to learn about Darjeeling. I spent a lot of time in Taiwan as well. In some places I went there specifically to take proper courses about their teas. You have to go to the tea producing countries to really learn about their geographies, get to know the farmers and manufacturing processes.

The last 6 years of my trainings, I was mainly in Asia, visiting as many regions as possible. Whereas some people are specialized in one specific type of teas, like Japanese green teas, Taiwan Oolongs or Darjeelings, I want to learn as much as I can from all types of tea. It’s not just that tea is different, but the whole environment, people, culture, scenery, production methods, manufactures and harvesting. These factors vary from place to place.

Connecting with Chinese culture and language

I have a deep connection with Chinese culture. When I was studying Economics, I learned Chinese for three years, but it was only twice a week and two hours per session. I love languages in general, I grew up speaking multiple languages. Chinese was always the challenge. When I went to China to learn about tea, I realize how difficult it was to communicate with people once you leave Shanghai. People were always very friendly, using pictures and the basic Chinese I could get around and visit the places, but I couldn’t get the full experience there. I couldn’t really learn the process of tea with the farmers. It was hard not to have a translator. It’s easier in other places where English is a common language of communication, for example in India, Sri Lanka, etc. Japan and China are the hardest ones to get into. I practiced Chinese tea ceremony, Gong Fu (tea art), and my teacher is Taiwanese living in Japan, so my visit to tea plantations in Japan was with her. In China, I really experienced the struggle, I went all the way to the mountain in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, but I couldn’t get the full experience there if I couldn’t speak Chinese.

After one of my last trips in China, I went to Taiwan to study Mandarin for a year. Now I have the vocabularies for tea process, I can have interaction in Chinese to ask the farmers. It is a nice feeling, whenever I go to see a farmer and talk to them in Chinese, even if my Chinese is not correctly spoken, they are happy that I am trying. When I was there, the tea farmers were very friendly and welcoming to me, they gave me food and tea.

I’ve been traveling to Asia every year for the last ten years to visit specific regions. Next year I plan to go to China again, I want to go to Huangshan Area and Sichuan, I want to go back to Yunnan again. The tea there is very nice. Even within China, every region is different. For example, area like Wuyishan in Fujian is a fascinating place with beautifully outstanding landscapes. It is not just about the tea but getting the whole experience is what I find fascinating.

When I was studying wine, even though I went to sommelier school because of my interest in tea, the wine regions such as Spain, Italy and France were close to my area and to my culture, yet tea was something else. The surrounding of tea, culture, language, people are all different from where I grew up. It really helps if you know the language to understand the culture and mentality better.

I want to be more like tea than wine…

In my opinion, the most consumed drinks in the world are tea and wine. Tea for the east, wine for the west. It also has a lot to do with religions and how they are spread around the world. Tea has been the key of meditation, it is the basis of Zen, Buddhism, Taoism and lots of Asian religions. Wine was considered as the blood of the Christ. Both have similar intentions. Tea remains as a spiritual beverage where wine has lost some of its spirituality. When I talk to people about tea, they associate tea with its spiritual connections, but wine becomes more of a social drink.

In terms of flavors, in both frinks you can find rich ranges of flavors and aromas. Like red wine, white wine, rose, orange wines. The west has come up with different methods to produce different wines. Same with tea, you have white tea, black tea, green tea, etc., the east has also come up with different production methods.

The main difference lies in the industry. If you look at the tea producing countries, they are usually underdeveloped and have been through a period of poverty. Tea is not a valued good that you would pay a lot of money for, especially in the west. In China, you would pay for tea when you want to drink good tea, because tea is appreciated and drunk there. Here, people would pay 2 euros for a box with 100 tea bags.

When I was studying wine, it was mainly about going to wineries, especially super rich wineries with beautiful huge buildings. If you think of France, the châteaus, these are very snobbish cultures. Even though I enjoy it, I find it fascinating, and yet sometimes too artificial. Even though wine has such a rich cultural background, I still believe that the wine industry itself is a bit more commercial.

Tea is a humble beverage, when you visit the tea plantations, it is about connecting with the earth. The tea farmers are no Gods, in the wine industry the wine makers are Gods. I think the tea industry could learn a lot from the wine industry to grow its industry in terms of marketing. There is a lot the tea industry could replicate from the wine industry. But it shouldn’t be brought to the same level as wine because then you will lose its connection. It is after all, humble. There is some purity in tea that you don’t see in wine.

I love wine, grew up in Chile. We grew up seeing wineries all the time. It is a beverage which connects to my people and country. I believe there are a lot of wineries that have more awareness of connecting with the earth, they are being more conscious about the environment, the surroundings and the community, like organic wines. In general, it is still about who’s got the biggest château. Tea is not like that.

I think the humbleness of tea captivated me. I have to be honest; it is not that I am humble myself. I see in tea the person I want to be. I might find in myself that I’m not humble enough. There are things I wish I could be more like tea. What tea represents as a beverage within its culture makes me want to be more like tea than wine. That’s also the reason why I ended up picking tea, after going to sommelier school.

The switch from drinking tea bags to drinking loose leaves

Tea bags were invented in the beginning of the 20th century. Tea has been drunk for more than 5000 years. Compared to how long we have been drinking tea, tea bags existed only for a short amount of time. Once tea bags were invented, people completely switched. For example, in Chile, my grandparents and my mom grew up drinking loose leaves, until tea bags were introduced in Chile. With tea bags, it is easy, and it saves time from making tea. There is also this belief that brewing tea is extremely complicated, which I disagree. The switch happened from drinking only loose leaves to drinking tea bags. 90% of tea consumption is based on tea bags. In the east, it is happening but not at the same speed as it is happening in the west. Within one decade, people just switched to tea bags. Now, after centuries, the switch is happening again. People want to drink something better and nicer. There is this whole conscience and trend about knowing where your products come from. People now want to learn about the products they love the most, be it coffee, wine, beer or tea. There is also this trend of eating healthier, taking care of what you are putting into your bodies. Tea makes the perfect fit for that. Tea is probably one of the healthiest beverages.

I think there is this whole tend of starting to drink loose leaves for better quality. If people understand how easy it is to make tea, they would know that the best option is to drink it loose, because it’s cheaper and you can drink a lot of it in good quality. If you compare it to buying expensive tea bags with drinking loose teas, they cost the same. All you need is some equipment to brew tea. Tea is a slow beverage; you have to take your time.

We are living in a fast world and people feel like we are running out of time, we don’t have time for making good tea. I don’t think people have realized that, but we do need that break. We need the time; we need to pace ourselves. I think drinking and enjoying our beverages Is the best way to do it. Once you know how to do it, you can also just enjoy tea and talk. Making tea really is very simple. To prepare tea, you just need some tea and water. For wine, you don’t make wine or beer, someone else makes it for you. Even if someone else produces the tea, it is up to you what you end up having in your cup. When I do seminars here at Paper & Tea, I start by explaining to people about brewing and the little things you have to consider, like temperature, time, etc., to make a good cup of tea. I also tell people to explore different ways to brew tea. This way, you can find the best way that fits you.

Tea cultures differences in China and Germany

Sadly, the young generation is walking away from drinking tea. What I have observed during my visit in Asia, is that Asia is looking into whatever the west is doing. If something is trendy in Europe, you will probably find it in Japan and China in no time. It is funny how they are starting to drink coffee, while here in the west people are starting to drink tea.

China is a producing country for tea, whereas Germany is not. In the west, we have a big black tea drinking culture. In the east, you usually drink green tea. For example, China is the biggest tea producing country in the world. China produces around 30 % of the world production of tea, the number varies every year. 70% of it is green tea. We usually drink black tea from Africa, India or Sri Lanka. I think within the last few years, people have been exploring tea, getting closer to drinking tea from China, Japan and Taiwan.

Like what we were saying about wine and tea, in Europe people know the different wine regions, like Bordeaux and Champagne. You know them because they are very close to you and you grew up hearing these names. Wuyishan, for example, is a name you should know in the world of tea. We should know what kind of tea it is the same way we should know what kind of wine we will find in Bordeaux.

Of course, language barrier is a challenge. Now we are opening P & T in KaDeWe, we have been going through intensive trainings. I’m in charge of content creation for marketing and training, offering seminars and tasting as a tea specialist here. My colleague, the other tea specialist is in charge of sourcing and buying. If you are working here, you have to know everything. You have to know what Wuyishan is. I always expect the employees to know more about tea than a Chinese do. I teach them about different regions, and we drink the types of tea there to learn about the different varieties of tea. I would repeat, repeat and repeat, Fujian, Fujian, Fujian. Yunnan, Yunnan, Yunnan. They have to learn to pronounce these names. If you are in the tea industry, you have to learn some Chinese. It also helps you to relate, you will learn the meanings of the tea names. We are familiar with Cabernet Sauvignons, we are closer to these names in Europe than Wuyishan, Tieguanyin, Longjing, Dahongpao, these are names they have to learn but have never heard of. It is a whole new world from speaking to writing.

Actually, a lot of the part times here are students from Asian studies, for example one of the employees here studies Chinese Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. He speaks Japanese, Korean and Chinese. With the existing interest in Asian culture, they get to discover a part of the culture they did not know existed by working at some place like P & T. There are still these ideas that if someone is Asian, they will know about tea, but it is not necessarily true. It requires dedication, you need to learn, study, drink, try and see.

“Wuyishan is famous for Yancha, rocky Oolong. The rock formations there are very impressive. The teas are very mineral. This tea is Mi Xiang, it has a little sweet note of honey.”

Kräuter tee (Herbal teas) and medicinal functions of tea

There is the method called infusion, that’s how we get tea. With infusion, we infuse part of the plant and we extract the compounds of the part of the plants that make them soluble to water. Then we drink it and get the benefits from it. If we think of medicine, it is the same.

I drink tea because I love tea not because it is healthy. It is a plus that it is healthy. We have a strict policy here to speak of the benefits of tea, to not make it commercial. Medicines, pills, like aspirin, are about 100 years old. We are able to separate the compounds from the plants and create the pills that will help us with headache, stomachache, sore throat, etc. Before that, we used to rely on plants. We believed in its benefits for over 2000 years. There were no pharmacies. We, as animals, have certain instincts for curing ourselves. Just like how dogs would eat grass when they have stomachaches. We used to have the natural instinct, we lost it the moment we created pills. I don’t need to know which trees would help me feel better, I take pills instead. The grandparent’s generation still know. In the western world, probably in China as well, they would advise you on what to drink.

In China, there is still the whole world with traditional Chinese medicines. In the west, we have strong herbal medicines. For example, Linden is Germany’s main herbal. In the old times, when they were building towns, there used to be a linden tree in the center of the town. People would go to the tree to get the leaves to cure their headaches and diseases. There was the tradition like this. We don’t have tea, but we have other plants. If you analyze the world, every part of the world developed some sort of infusion drinking traditions to keep ourselves healthy. In Western Europe, you see a lot of Lindens, in the Mediterranean you see a lot of chamomiles, in Greece they have mountain teas. In South America, we have Mate, Guayusa and Coca. We don’t have tea because tea doesn’t grow here. Tea is the king of all infusions. It is by far one of the most complex ones. The plant itself is more complex than chamomiles or mints which enables us to do lots of processing, and Chinese makes it even more complex.

Chinese people create all the varieties within 5000 years of drinking tea. It is not much different drinking tea or linden, or chamomiles, it is rooted in the intention of healing yourself. Tea has the most history and culture and varieties that has conquered the hearts of many in the world. The first European importing tea was around 1610, at the beginning of 17 century. He started bringing tea from China into Europe and everybody was drinking Chinese tea. We don’t anymore but now we are starting again. It is a funny cycle how the history repeats itself. It is the complexation behind tea that makes it so fascinating, its plant has 700 different compounds. One of the keys is also caffeine, which not many plants have except in South America.

The drinking infusion remains something medicinal in Europe, whereas in China the medicinal drinking culture of tea becomes something more of a lifestyle and a social gathering. We don’t sit down to drink chamomile and chat. You gather around tea and around coffee. The whole world has a tradition of drinking something to feel better. Some countries keep it as a tradition, others make it into a social event. In the West, the social drink is wine.

The concept of Paper & Tea

The brand was founded by Jens De Gruyter. He moved and grew up in Canada since he was 10 years old. Mr. Gruyter grew up drinking tea, his uncle used to have a tea shop in Hessen in the 60s. The tea shop supplied tea for hotels and castles all around Germany. His uncle was already importing teas from China, like Wuyishan, Dahongpao, and Longjing at that time, trading teas with China and India. Mr. Gruyter ended up traveling a lot to China working on photography, where he found the world of tea which he couldn’t find in Germany. He has a great concept of design, he has very creative ways of thinking. The illustrations of the packagings have been taken from old books. We have been reconnecting with books and patterns, the illustrations of the packaging give it a modern look that would be attractive for young generations. The design of the accessories keeps it sophisticated, elegant, also in a minimalistic style, connecting the west and the east.

We started basically with pure teas, sourced directly from tea farmers all around the world. We have teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, small farmers in Malawi and Kania. We are constantly exploring less-known places. Tea started in China but now has developed in more than 60 countries, so it is interesting to discover tea in other places as well. There is pure tea and the other world is the blended teas, that have different flavors, like flowers, fruits and others.

In 2015, we launched master blends, with the colorful packings. We have a selection of 14 blended teas, throughout the years some teas go, some teas come back. Because some are seasonal, and we don’t have all the teas all the time. We have overall about 80 teas. We focus mostly on pure teas, and teas from specific origins. We understand there are people who enjoy blends, we also see blends as a way to bring people into tea. Some people start with flavored teas, and then eventually start to like pure teas. All the master blends are organic, only natural ingredients and aromas to flavor the teas. They are very high quality.

If you compare paper & tea with big brands, like Kusmi or Mariage Frères that have over 100 years of tradition, they grew mostly focusing on blends. We grew mostly focusing on pure teas. Pure teas make 60-70% of our portfolio. We hope to become a brand that is known, trendy and ambitious. We are discussing the plans to open our first store outside of Berlin next year. We want to become a big brand that promotes pure teas, so more people would know about pure teas.

If one wants to become a tea expert…

There is actually no professional training. It is not like you can go to college and graduate with tea studies, except in China and Japan. There are schools spread around the world where you can take lessons. They are not very extensive; you cannot learn so much in only 20 hours. There are things you have to develop in order to specialize in tea. One of them is taste, so I went to Sommelier school, got acquainted with that. Then I learned all the cultural aspects of tea. You have to know how to taste and try different kinds of teas. It is something you can learn for a lifetime; I don’t think I have learned everything yet. It is important to find the right group of people or individuals that can guide you. I had quite a few teachers, by learning with each of them, they taught me different things. I had a French teacher who taught me aromas and flavors. I had another teacher who taught me tea ceremonies, from whom I learned about brewing, utensils and cultures behind tea. It is a long fascinating journey. You have to put a lot of efforts in learning the cultures and the languages, visit tea plantations and see how the tea is produced. Every country has such schools, you can start from there. Go to tea tastings and seminars, get to know the tea communities.

Eduardo’s day with tea

I get to the office with a black tea, or a highly oxidized tea. I started the day today with a highly oxidized Oolong from Nepal. Usually I would go with some Darjeeling, or some Assam from India or Black tea from Sri Lanka.
After that, I would switch to Oolongs from Taiwan. I would start drinking either green or white teas throughout the day. In the end, I might have another light black tea.

I don’t have a favorite, because there are many different types of teas that I love to drink. When you travel, you develop certain attachments to teas, moments and cultures. Chinese and Taiwanese teas are the ones I spend the most time learning about. It is like getting to know your friends, I like them better after knowing them.

Interview by Lavia Lin, photos by Lavia Lin and courtesy of the store