Teaura: Tea, Time, a Luxury

We all have our rituals—those little things that help us feel better, that reassure us. For some, it’s a way of better “controlling” their life; for others, simply a means of escape, a welcome break during long days.

Watchmaking, cigars, whisky or tea: certain pleasures are part of the art of living, which is why we don’t hesitate to talk about them on Montres-Passion.fr.
For many people, tea has become one of those rituals—simple, wholesome and beneficial—woven into everyday life. It is intimately linked to the notion of time, more so than any other drink. It even has its own ceremony in Japan.

Unfortunately, very few brands—even the most expensive—embrace the virtue of simplicity.
Teaura is a young Swiss brand that has chosen to focus on quality and the ethics of its producers. A small company that more than deserves a spotlight, as the quality of its teas is remarkable.

As I said in the introduction, it is difficult to find quality tea, without additives, in our shops. Fresh tea leaves, stored in good conditions—not left for months and months in warehouses before ending up dry and crumbled in our teapots.
Jamie McKee, Teaura’s founder, came to the same conclusion when he arrived in Switzerland four years ago. An Englishman brought up on teabags, his taste for—and passion for—good tea came later in life. As it does for many, as though a certain maturity were needed to fully appreciate the incredible aromatic richness of a Japanese sencha or a Chinese Long Jing.

As he himself puts it so well: “I was fascinated by the fact that a single plant, Camellia Sinensis, could offer such a great and vast variety of aromas and flavour profiles depending on the terroir and the individual cultivation methods used.”

Noticing a real lack of quality organic teas on the Swiss market, Jamie decided to move into this niche. More than a year of preparation, entire evenings spent tasting samples from all over the world with fellow enthusiasts, with a view to selecting the finest lots. Then visits on site to see for himself and judge with his own eyes. Offering organic products is one thing, but Jamie also wants these producers to share the same philosophy as he does: small, eco-responsible growers, often Ecocert-certified (the most demanding international organic label, along with its producers). Short supply chains, from producer to consumer, as quickly as possible so as not to compromise the freshness and aromas of the teas on offer.

In fact, at Teaura there is no endless list of teas and origins—something that, unfortunately, often betrays overly long storage times and frequently inconsistent upstream production control.
Teaura offers around thirty teas, including 10 high-end green teas, among them a magnificent Sencha from Shizuaka—a little marvel, a subtle balance of sweetness and astringency with floral notes.
To round out its Japanese tea range, Jamie also offers a Hôji-Cha, a Genmaicha, a Kuki-Cha and two grades of Matcha.
Some Chinese green teas have nothing to envy their Japanese counterparts, such as this rarity from the Chunan mountains in Zhejiang province: a wild Long Jing with thick leaves developing a subtle orchid aroma—wonderful.
More specialised in green teas, Teaura also offers 5 black teas (Keemun, Moofeng, Lapsang souchong), 2 South African rooibos, 3 white teas, 4 pu-erh and 3 oolong, all of high quality and carefully selected.

In an age of globalisation, where excessive marketing has become the rule and quality is often relegated to second place, Teaura goes against the grain by offering simple yet effective packaging (a zip-sealed, Tetra-pack-style pouch, airtight and protecting the tea from light), short supply chains, and leaving full room for what the consumer expects: quality organic tea.

The website: www.teaura.ch