1 – Tea: It All Starts with a Good Brew

Every tea lover has that life-changing moment — the one where the tea journey truly begins.

Tea has been around me since childhood while I was growing up in Germany,
but my life-changing moment came many years later in Beijing, China.

At the time, I was working as an engineer in project management.
One hot summer day, utterly exhausted after work, I stepped into a tea shop.
I was guided to a tea table and served Tieguanyin, a lightly oxidized wulong (oolong) tea.

As the tea artist poured hot water into the Gaiwan, floral aromas rose up and danced around me.
The scent hit just as the water met the leaves — and in that very moment, I felt my whole body begin to relax.
I was mesmerized by the process:
the graceful sequence of steps following Chinese gongfu cha technique, the small teapots, the delicate cups.
The first sip swept my fatigue away.
I was completely enveloped in lilac-like notes.
It was as if I’d stepped into a different world.

And that’s how it all started for me.
Curious where the journey has taken me since?
Head over to the About page to find out.

If you’d like to learn how to brew tea Gongfu style, I’ve created a practical brewing guide to get you started.

And I’d love to hear from you — feel free to share your life-changing tea moment in the comments.

Cheers to good tea — and see you in the next post.