1. What inspired you to establish The Tea, and what is the mission behind your brand?
The Tea was established in 1993 in Athens, Greece. A family trip to Sri Lanka in 1991 is the reason behind our 31 year old company. It is there, where my father first saw the Mlesna tea shops around the island and made the connection with mr. Anselm Perera, founder of Mlesna and agreed on distribution for Greece.
I grew up with tea which led me to follow the initial dream and work in the company after I finished my education. I made several trips to Sri Lanka, learned everything there is about tea, from plant to cup, but to study whenever I find the time and always search for new teas and tea innovations.
Our mission is to promote good quality tea as an everyday beverage in Greece. We are always looking to expand our catalog with new products, search for unique teas around the world and work closely with tea professionals in order to achieve our mission.
2. How do you source your teas, and what criteria do you consider when selecting them?
Our main supplier is still Mlesna from Sri Lanka. After 30 years we source more than 90% of our Ceylon teas from them. They also offer a huge variety of packed teas and tea boxes. It is important to us to offer pure Ceylon tea to our clients. Since we also offer teas from around the world, we have partners that help us out with all common and rare options. Quality is always our first and most important criterion. Either as a plain tea or a base for a flavoured tea, it must be of great quality. Eco packaging is also a must for us when selecting teas.
3. What are some of your most popular and unique tea varieties offered by The Tea?
Since the summer season is upon us, we have to mention our loose leaf cold brew tea selection. We created a line of 8 flavourful tea combinations that can be enjoyed all day! It was launched last year and people loved it. This summer, we also launch a bottled iced tea line. It consists of 4 types of pasteurised, ready-to-drink tea. Of course we take special pride in our innovative teas. We offer teas from different places of the world that we not known for their tea plantations. Georgia, Laos, Rwanda, Malawi etc.
4. What role does tea play in Greek culture, and how does The Tea contribute to preserving and promoting this tradition?
Greece has its own herbs and tisanes and for a really long time tea meant everything that can be drunk as an infusion. It was an almost impossible task to separate tea from all other beverages and add it to every day life here in Greece. With hard work and constant education we managed to create a market for tea that is not supermarket quality and people enjoy it daily.
5. In your opinion, what are some of the emerging trends in the global tea industry, and how is The Tea adapting to these changes?
Matcha tea from Japan is the #1 tea trend at the moment. Although known for years, there has been a frenzy of matcha and matcha drinks. We follow global trends carefully and have been offering matcha since 2008. It was something that we anticipated and were/are ready for with unique teas, packaging and all necessary utensils. Cold brew tea. This is a trend that is growing fast and changes the iced tea market. People are looking for something with more quality to enjoy in the summer.
