So the sun has finally decide to show up here in Berlin and I think we can all agree it’s about bloody time. When we arrived two years ago people warned us that winter here can be one long grey nightmare and boy were they right! Aaaaaaanyway the sun is here, so we can all cancel those return flights home and enjoy it while it lasts!
We were surprised to learn that there’s a dearth of good, exotic tea here in Berlin. We’ve always been impressed by the array on offer, varied in colour, origin and purported healing properties; it seemed to us that you can get everything except the bog-standard black stuff that we Brits think of as tea. But that’s before we were given an education by Jens de Gruyter of Charlottenburg boutique Paper & Tea. Inspired by his Asian travels, the French Canadian is on a mission to bring fine and rare teas to the German capital, and to break down the barriers around the beverage.
The P&T store is a dramatic step beyond the traditional apothecary model, as teas are no longer hidden behind a counter but presented in an open and informative setting. Tea fanatics can browse the beautiful boutique at their leisure, choose to consult one of the many friendly experts, or indulge in a demonstration at one of the tasting stations inspired by the traditional Chinese GongFu ceremony.
De Gruyer introduced us to a China White (Pu Er Bai Ya) picked from 2-300 year old trees, which lend it a resiny “salad” taste, and a Taiwan Oolong (Oriental Beauty) which is something of a national treasure – produced by the first of their farmers to go organic and oxidised on the leaf by the bites of an insect called the green leafhopper. As well as a new-found appreciation for the beverage, we learned some interesting facts: did you know that the water used to steep tea need not always be boiling, and can be as cool as 50°C for some Japanese varieties?
Before Jens sends you away with your new favourite tea in a plain packet (“you’re buying the tea, not the packaging”), be sure to browse the pottery and paraphernalia produced by Asian artisans, and a stationery section to rival RSVP in Mitte. You don’t need to accept that both paper and tea are “agents of culture” to appreciate cards, calendars and other items made by Korean manufacturers and Berlin artists, some commissioned by P&T themselves.
While we’ll remain those rare Englishmen that prefer coffee to tea, we think that Paper & Tea does for its commodity what Frau Tonis Perfume do for theirs: elevating appreciation of the product and its production, and creating an enjoyable, enlightening shopping experience. Take your mum.
[EDIT: this competition is now closed. Click here to see if we’re running any open competitions]
Kraut Dub: has there ever been a sweeter combination of words? How about: free vinyl? Tolcha, the Berlin-based acoustic/electronic four piece, have given us two copies of their new album, on limited edition vinyl, to give away. They describe Neustadt as “an ever evolving future-vintage sci-fi movie score with a hint of film noir and a heavy dub signature.” And, as if that didn’t sound awesome enough, the music also inspired a film noir short (shot by the Polacos film collective) which can only be seen in full during Tolcha live shows. Watch this sneak peek, and scroll down for details about how to win the soundtrack on wax. If you’re not lucky enough to win a copy, find out where to buy it (and the digital release, out tomorrow) on tolcha.de.
HOW TO WIN NEUSTADT BY TOLCHA ON LIMITED EDITION VINYL:
Leave a comment below, telling us who you’d like to play you in a film noir about your life.
You have until 6pm tomorrow, Tuesday 15th January, to enter. Good luck!
The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES):
1. You must be 18 years or older to enter.
2. We will keep a record of each comment in a database and then a random number generator picks the winner.
3. We will announced the winners via our Facebook page on Wednesday 16th January.
Papaerk says: Love the pics, b and w always have a different effect bringing a new dimension to the shot..well done.
Loving the shots!! Make me miss Berlin! Even in the wintertime!! Enjoy and keep warm – might be the worst winter of all times coming (as every year). haha!
By Mike T West.
American alternative rock will land at Templehof this Wednesday as indie veterans Nada Surf drop into town in support of their SEVENTH long player The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy.
You may recognise “The Surf” from their mid-90s sarcanthem “Popular”. Fifteen years later the three piece are still quietly reinventing themselves from album to album; changing their sound just enough to maintain forward momentum while still penning cosy, melodic tributes to hopeless romantics like us. These three gents make contemplative music which is okay to fall in love AND rock out to.
They’re also really big in France.
Nada Surf play C-Club this Wednesday 14th November at 8pm with support from Ezra Sherman + Tall Ships. Get tickets here.
Her little face on the last one is wonderful …the eyes the quizzical look on her face is a delight and all the fotos smell of spring which is great…..well done.
So cute! Its the perfect weather to start enjoying photo walks again.