The answer to this question depends on your definition of Tea.
Traditionalists mostly define Tea as all variations of the Camellia sinensis. However, the word is also losely used for infusions (herbal, floral, caffeinated or not).
In Germany most „Tee“ is sold in disposable paperbags which goes against the ceremonial preparation with unique ceramics that enthusiasts celebrated last weekend at the Berlin Tea Festival
We had the priviledge of once again occupying a niche role in showing Mate culture to the curious.
Mate is a world of its own yet we find ourselves constantly translating it into a tea or bottle in order to make it understood by the general public. Just like green, black, oolong and matcha all originate from the same plant, Mate comes in many flavors and colors depending on the sourcing, drying and aging.
In order to blend in we took a banner which had Meta Mate written in Japanese (this symbol was painted by Zen Monk Seigaku and refers to the forest origin and hand made facets of Meta Mate) & a thermos full of 23 tea bags for visitors to ‚try it out‘
The morning started off with a Mate making workshop attended by about 10 people who were encouraged to keep their freshly prepared cuias with them while walking around to arouse some curiosity by other guests.
Those wishing to learn more had the chance in the evening with a 30 min presentation about Meta Mate
On Sunday afternoon we opened up our space for Mate tasting circles and had 2 sessions of creative Mate sharing and trying out the different Mates that we have on offer. We were very pleased with the reception of Mate in a foreign situation and hope to be able to participate once again next year. Thank you to the volunteers, organisers and visitors for an amazing weekend!