beanscenemag.com.au 89TEA SCENE
L
ike many out there, our
life plans didn’t include
a radical change in
professions, but as we
like to say, ‘tea chose
us’, not the other way around. We
imagine that many people in specialty
industries – coffee, wine, food – have
had a particular experience that changed
everything.
The awakening was triggered by
one memorable experience. Like an
avalanche, the complex flavours and
aromas in our first ever Gong Fu tea
ceremony engulfed us, something we
never expected from tea.
A specialty tea experience like this
can still be incredibly hard to find.
Since the 1950s, clever marketing
and misinformation due to the
‘colonisation’ of the tea industry and
the rise of capitalism have pushed the
culture of quantity over quality. This
created unsustainably low prices and
standardised the end product.
One of the defining traits of our
time that has affected the rise of
specialty tea is the particular value we
assign to speed. Speed has gone from
being a supplementary property to
define distance, increase leisure, and
denote importance, to a commodity
in its own right. Speed assigns false
value to things that are of little
worth just to the extent that can be
consumed quickly.
From food, coffee, and information,
speed has made our lives shallower,
more divided, more visceral, yes, more
convenient, but also less reflective.
Speed and specialty tea, unfortunately,
do not mix well. With tea, the joy is in
the slower more immersive experience,
which mirrors the skilled process in
which it was made.
People are looking for ways inwhich to slow down, and through our
observations, we know that tea drinkers
will pay more for these experiences.
The question is, can this fit into our
current café model?
There is a movement building among
the specialty tea industry. Because
many of us don’t have our own spaces
to reduce overheads, we are reaching
out to cafés, roasteries, restaurants, and
workshop spaces to offer modern tea
experiences so that we can inspire and
drive a new tea culture. Tea businesses
have opted out of fighting over the
crumbs and instead are reaching out
to one another, creating alliances and
hosting collaborative events to convert
the wider audience to a new, modern
tea experience.
Festivals such as the Brisbane
and Melbourne BrewIN aim to make
high-quality teas more accessible to
the average punter. Tea meet-ups and
social events, such as the newly formed
Specialty Tea Social in Sydney, also
focus on education and a slower, more
immersive experience with tea.We are finding new ways of letting
specialty tea speak for itself – making
it accessible, educating the consumer,
and facilitating memorable experiences
that stay with people. We are sharing its
story, our knowledge, and our passion.
In doing so, we are not just creating
customers, we are creating ambassadors.
A recent article caught our eye,
about sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s
concept of a place that humans need
in their lives, besides work and home,
which Oldenburg refers to as “the third
place”. In his book, Celebrating the
Third Place: Inspiring Stories about the
great good places at the Heart of Our
Communities, tea houses fall into that
category of places that “host regular,
voluntary, informal, and happily
anticipated gatherings of individuals
beyond the realms of home and work”.
In the past, the Chinese have given
credit to tea houses for their social
evolution. It was only after tea houses
opened that people from all castes had
a place where their social standing
had no importance. It was a place they
could share their ideas, music, art,
and poetry freely while simultaneously
building on each other’s opinions
and insights.
Perhaps that is what specialty tea
is moving towards, a cultural shift.
Perhaps soon we will be surrounded by
spaces that accommodate a slower more
immersive experience.
Our belief is that both specialty
tea and coffee need spaces like this to
reach their full potential. Only then
will we be able to fully appreciate the
product’s story, flavour, as well as
personalise the customer’s experience.
We need to better engage with our
consumers and we need to work
together so these products are more
accessible to everyone.The third place
Bradley Cahill and Mafalda Moutinho of Casa De Cha on why it’s
important to create tea ambassadors and drive a common vision.
CasCaCasaa DDDDe Ce CCCCCCCha haasaysayays c consonsumumeummememeeeeeer er err er er eeeeducducducducducducducdduducducucucatiatiatatatatatiatton on ononoonono
andandandandaacaccecessibs ililty ty toto spespeciaciaaaaltyltyltyltyltyltytyyytetetetea aa aaaaaa aaaaaaaa arrre rerrr keykeykeykeykeyeyeyeyeeye...Bradley Cahill and Mafalda Moutinho are Co-founders of Casa De Cha and Consultants to the Australian Tea Growers Cooperative.beanscenemag.com.au 89TEA SCENE
L
ike many out there, our
life plans didn’t include
a radical change in
professions, but as we
like to say, ‘tea chose
us’, not the other way around. We
imagine that many people in specialty
industries – coffee, wine, food – have
had a particular experience that changed
everything.
The awakening was triggered by
one memorable experience. Like an
avalanche, the complex flavours and
aromas in our first ever Gong Fu tea
ceremony engulfed us, something we
never expected from tea.
A specialty tea experience like this
can still be incredibly hard to find.
Since the 1950s, clever marketing
and misinformation due to the
‘colonisation’ of the tea industry and
the rise of capitalism have pushed the
culture of quantity over quality. This
created unsustainably low prices and
standardised the end product.
One of the defining traits of our
time that has affected the rise of
specialty tea is the particular value we
assign to speed. Speed has gone from
being a supplementary property to
define distance, increase leisure, and
denote importance, to a commodity
in its own right. Speed assigns false
value to things that are of little
worth just to the extent that can be
consumed quickly.
From food, coffee, and information,
speed has made our lives shallower,
more divided, more visceral, yes, more
convenient, but also less reflective.
Speed and specialty tea, unfortunately,
do not mix well. With tea, the joy is in
the slower more immersive experience,
which mirrors the skilled process in
which it was made.
People are looking for ways in
which to slow down, and through our
observations, we know that tea drinkers
will pay more for these experiences.
The question is, can this fit into our
current café model?
There is a movement building among
the specialty tea industry. Because
many of us don’t have our own spaces
to reduce overheads, we are reaching
out to cafés, roasteries, restaurants, and
workshop spaces to offer modern tea
experiences so that we can inspire and
drive a new tea culture. Tea businesses
have opted out of fighting over the
crumbs and instead are reaching out
to one another, creating alliances and
hosting collaborative events to convert
the wider audience to a new, modern
tea experience.
Festivals such as the Brisbane
and Melbourne BrewIN aim to make
high-quality teas more accessible to
the average punter. Tea meet-ups and
social events, such as the newly formed
Specialty Tea Social in Sydney, also
focus on education and a slower, more
immersive experience with tea.We are finding new ways of letting
specialty tea speak for itself – making
it accessible, educating the consumer,
and facilitating memorable experiences
that stay with people. We are sharing its
story, our knowledge, and our passion.
In doing so, we are not just creating
customers, we are creating ambassadors.
A recent article caught our eye,
about sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s
concept of a place that humans need
in their lives, besides work and home,
which Oldenburg refers to as “the third
place”. In his book, Celebrating the
Third Place: Inspiring Stories about the
great good places at the Heart of Our
Communities, tea houses fall into that
category of places that “host regular,
voluntary, informal, and happily
anticipated gatherings of individuals
beyond the realms of home and work”.
In the past, the Chinese have given
credit to tea houses for their social
evolution. It was only after tea houses
opened that people from all castes had
a place where their social standing
had no importance. It was a place they
could share their ideas, music, art,
and poetry freely while simultaneously
building on each other’s opinions
and insights.
Perhaps that is what specialty tea
is moving towards, a cultural shift.
Perhaps soon we will be surrounded by
spaces that accommodate a slower more
immersive experience.
Our belief is that both specialty
tea and coffee need spaces like this to
reach their full potential. Only then
will we be able to fully appreciate the
product’s story, flavour, as well as
personalise the customer’s experience.
We need to better engage with our
consumers and we need to work
together so these products are more
accessible to everyone.The third place
Bradley Cahill and Mafalda Moutinho of Casa De Cha on why it’s
important to create tea ambassadors and drive a common vision.
Cs D haa ayays ccononsumumumrrr nnnnn
andaaaccesc s ilitytot allt eee rerrekk.Bradley Cahill and Mafalda Moutinho are Co-founders of Casa De Cha and Consultants to the Australian Tea Growers Cooperative.