Blog – Discovering Tea

Brick by brick

18 September 2026

What did tea look like one or two thousand years ago along the Silk Roads? Back in those days, tea was compressed into bricks, like this one. To make it easier to transport, the tea was pressed and dried before being loaded onto the backs of horses, yaks, donkeys or camels. It then travelled over thousands of miles, through some of the hottest and coldest places in the world – depending on the season – like the Gobi Desert and the Taklamakan Desert. The heat and sweat of the pack animals could affect the leaves, causing them to ferment. This transformation significantly altered the properties of the brew, imparting aromas of mushroom and undergrowth, leather and wet straw.

The tea brick in this photo is one of the objects that can be admired in the museum at the stunning Ogyen Choling Heritage House in Tang Valley, in the Bumthang district of Bhutan. Owned by author Kunzang Choden, a direct descendant of the family who built the house, the museum displays many everyday objects that offer a glimpse into the lives once led by the nobles and peasants of these Himalayan valleys.

Compressed tea is still consumed in many regions of the world and is particularly popular with the Chinese diaspora, from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to San Francisco. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, too, many enthusiasts swear by it. Most tea bricks or tea cakes come from the Yunnan region of China; the tea is crumbled before being steeped several times in tiny vessels.

Abandoned cup

4 September 2026

I’m not sure exactly what this cup is made of, but that’s not important. In its own way, it is unique. The woman who was holding it a few seconds earlier put it down on this windowsill after drinking a strong tea with milk and sugar. We are in the Himalayas. Tibet is not far. Here, they drink tea to warm body and soul. The cup is worn through daily use, and discoloured from the tea. It has become a familiar object: quietly reliable, available, reassuring.
This cup makes me think of all the victims of the Nepal tragedy, of all the lost lives. I think: how many cups of tea await those who will never return? How many lives have been destroyed by these climate disasters?

Tea is a journey

28 August 2026

Tea is a journey. I often share photos here of tea bushes growing in fields and on plantations, close up and from afar. But my work as a tea researcher isn’t all about tasting – it mainly involves a lot of travel. It’s a quest, and the route itself is part of that. It gives you time to prepare for discovering something new – time to become familiar with the local climate, the landscape, the people and their customs. Sometimes you get lost, and that’s part of the experience too. You always find your way eventually, crossing plains and mountain passes you’ve never seen before, venturing along unfamiliar roads and tracks – by car or motorbike, on horseback or on foot. Like here, in Bhutan. Tea is a journey. It teaches us to slow down and notice what’s around us.

African massage

29 May 2026

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Several East African countries are among the world’s biggest tea producers. In Burundi, I travelled along the shores of Lake Tanganyika to the Tanzanian border, gazing across the water towards the mountains of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), while at night, the fishing boats scattered across the lake glittered like a constellation of stars. In a week, I did not come across a single Westerner, and some local children had never seen one, rushing over as soon as they caught sight of me. They emerged from the water in a constant stream, full of excitement, laughter and curiosity. I barely had time to snap a few photos and try to answer their eager questions before returning to my vehicle, leaving them to their waves. After hours on chaotic tracks that tossed me violently in every direction, I headed for the mountains. In Burundi, those long hours spent being jolted along gruelling roads have a name: the African massage.

On my return to France, someone pointed out to me that my photo wasn’t straight, that the lake was tilted. At the time, I didn’t believe them. Nor did I later. I had never seen anything like it. I want to believe my photo is faithful to what I was lucky enough to witness. I want to believe it is faithful to that unexpected axis on which beautiful Lake Tanganyika seemed to rest. When you travel, you have to accept being challenged, to confront other ways of seeing the world. That is all part of the charm of adventure. Here is the lake as I saw it that day: tilting gently to the left, no doubt beneath the weight of the boats and the children’s laughter.

Pastry chefs at the École du Thé

7 May 2026

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Part of the tea sommelier’s role is to host tasting sessions for pastry chefs. Tea can be used like a spice in the kitchen: single-origin teas and flavoured blends can lend a lingering finish, additional texture or a delicate bittersweet note. The same tea can impart a multitude of flavours and aromas – zesty, honeyed, woody and more – to a dessert.

Among the pastry chefs who attend our tastings, some work in prestigious establishments that serve up splendid afternoon teas. These feature a succession of delicate delights, sweet and savoury. Of course, tea is an essential part of the experience, so it is important for pastry chefs – for whom this is not always their speciality – to understand different tea varieties, brewing methods and food pairings. Here at the École du Thé in Paris, we welcome top pastry chefs from prestigious establishments such as the Saint-James, the Shangri-La, the Bristol, Lucas Carton and Maison Bernard Loiseau.

(Photos: A. Denni)

Contemplation and calm

17 April 2026

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In Japan, with cherry blossom season in full swing, it’s a time for contemplation. People travel from far and wide to admire the trees covered in blooms and take selfies or simply enjoy a picnic beneath a canopy of pink or white petals. This love of nature at its most fleeting naturally brings to mind the saying ichi-go ichi-e, which is an invitation to focus on the present moment, to understand and accept the transience of existence. This precept forms an essential part of understanding cha no yu, the Japanese name for the tea ceremony.

This contemplation of cherry blossom evokes tea in another way. When you ask a tea enthusiast what tea means to them, what it gives them, the word that comes up most often is a sense of “calm”. Tea soothes us – in the same way that we are soothed by this silent, joyful, blissful contemplation of cherry blossom, by scenes of delicate beauty, like here in Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, one of Japan’s most celebrated gardens.

A legendary tea

2 April 2026

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Harvesting of the legendary Darjeeling teas begins every year in early March. But what makes Darjeeling so special? It is grown on vast estates that were planted by the British in the mid-19th century – an epic endeavour that left an indelible mark on two countries. The grand saga of the East India Company wrote a page not only in Great Britain’s history, but India’s too. The breathtaking views across stunning landscapes on the roof of the world have helped to create the legend of this exceptional tea, which grows in a unique climate. Harsh winters transition to early summers, which quickly give way to torrential rains until the arrival of a sunny autumn. The camellia thrives on these high slopes, where the acidic, well-drained soil suits it perfectly.

Thousands of men and women (mostly women) pick the most tender shoots, which fetch high prices, despite the fact that working conditions have improved little over the years. If labour shortages continue, they could one day jeopardise the future of the appellation.

Fair wages

20 March 2026

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Picking tea by hand is labour-intensive, and the question of how to fairly compensate tea pickers concerns everyone. Some teas sell at high prices that can cover fair pay for everyone involved in their production. Other teas, however, are worth almost nothing when they leave the factory. So how can those involved in the production chain be fairly compensated? I am thinking of industrially manufactured teas, of course – the kind that end up as dust at the bottom of a paper teabag.
There are industrial teas and artisanal teas. Some teas are produced using mechanical processes, while others require expertise and manual labour. The latter can cover fair pay, though this should be verified by visiting the sites in person. These artisanal teas not only provide fair compensation, they can also instil pride in those who craft them.
We all have the opportunity to reflect on our consumption habits, and we can each play a part in ensuring that every tea picker is happy.

Stand-out shoots

6 March 2026

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Kenya’s famous purple tea, developed by the country’s largest tea research centre, is characterised by its contrasting foliage. While the older leaves retain the familiar green colour of camellias, the new shoots have a distinctive purple hue. This makes picking easier, as only the reddish tips, which are the most tender, should be harvested.

Des pousses identifiables

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Au Kenya, le fameux cépage violet qui a été mis au point par le plus important centre de recherche du pays se caractérise par un feuillage contrasté. Si les feuilles plus anciennes conservent la couleur verte familière aux camélias, les pousses, en revanche, épousent une teinte pourpre facilement reconnaissable. Le travail de cueillette s’en trouve facilité et seules ces extrémités d’aspect rougeâtre, les plus tendres, doivent être récoltées.