TEAPASSION

 

After water, tea is the most frequently consumed beverage on Earth, and since its discovery, shrouded in myth, in China some 5000 years ago, it has been an important companion to doctors, monks, and poets.

Over time, tea spread as a luxury good to all parts of the world, reaching pinnacles of tea culture in the complex tea ceremonies of Japan and China, in the tea houses and caravanserais of the Orient. But also in the elegant tea circles of London and Paris, where people could spiritedly debate whether milk or tea should go into the cup first.

Tea defies the spirit of the age; it is not fast-paced, not ostentatious; it hides its spirit in the cup. It smells of everything our nose can detect and awakens memories of snow-capped mountains, of fog-shrouded valleys, where the primordial spirit has its last home.

The origin of tea is the tea bush Camellia Sinensis and its varieties, from whose leaves and stems a variety of different teas are created through various processes such as steaming, roasting, drying, and fermenting.

According to legend, Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Chinese Chan (Jap.: ZEN), meditated in a cave, and when his eyes kept closing, he ripped out his eyelids and threw them beside him. From them grew the first tea plant, and even today it is said: "The taste of Cha (tea) and Chan (meditation or Zen) is the same."

 

 

Many tea masters and tea manufacturers have experimented and researched for centuries to produce extraordinary teas. Appearance, taste, aroma, and effect have matured into true treasures through intensive, intergenerational engagement with the cultivation and processing of tea.

 

 

We at Tushita Teehaus search for these specialties in Japan, Taiwan, China, India, Thailand, and other tea-producing countries. Many of these tea farmers are new to exporting. A long journey of tests, paperwork, and endless correspondence begins. But we believe it's worth it! Because in this way, we can participate in and share knowledge that goes far beyond the taste of a tea.

The effect - the Qi of the tea. Local conditions, such as altitude, soil composition, the plants growing in the vicinity, wind and weather influences, as well as further processing, such as steaming or roasting, determine the Qi of a tea. Therefore, we also have a TCM - Effect category under the My Choice filter. Here we discuss the effect of individual teas. More knowledge from traditional Chinese medicine will also soon be available to read online.

We not only import directly from tea gardens but also work with tea traders who enjoy our friendship and our complete trust. Tea traders who have supported and actively promoted tea farmers and their organic farming methods for decades.

But also travelers who have a passion for this delicious drink and visit our tea house support us with their knowledge and connect us with tea families we might otherwise never have met.

 

Our herbal teas. The herbs for our tea blends are grown according to organic farming guidelines. When we have the opportunity, we use herbs that are planted and harvested based on anthroposophical knowledge of humans and nature. The resulting order gives the plants a positive power. The composition of roots, herbs, leaves, blossoms, seeds, and fruits according to their own signature also gives our tea blends a stronger personality. Some of our herbal teas have been carefully and gently selected and compiled by Sadika Regina Schuster, a naturopath, phytotherapist, and teacher of herbal medicine, precisely according to these criteria.

We look forward to guiding you through the world of teas and herbal blends in our online shop and hope that you may discover one or more teas or tea blends that you might not have encountered otherwise.