The Way of Tea grows in the world, also inspired by fashion

The orange tones of marigold and safflower petals recall the light of the city's sunsets, the aroma of vanilla evokes one of its most famous sweets, maritozzo. Together, they meet the sophisticated note of semi-oxidised Oolong tea, in a special blend developed by La Via del Tè to celebrate the opening of its first shop in Rome, in Via Cola di Rienzo, a few steps from the Vatican walls. For the Florentine company, founded in 1961 by Alfredo Carrai together with his wife Amelia, and solidly guided by the second and third generations of the family, this is the eighth shop and the further expansion of a successful vision that has brought the culture of tea to Italia: "We have always been faithful to our code, the high quality - explains managing director Paolo Carrai, who leads the company together with his five brothers -. We only process the noblest parts of the plant, and this has also allowed us to have a high quality clientele in all our channels: in retail, we are present with our shops and a distribution network of excellent foodstuffs; we are also increasingly present in haute cuisine, because starred chefs are starting to consider tea and infusions as interesting proposals for the end of a meal, but also in historic bars, from Cova to the Florian, and in a channel that is rapidly expanding, that of luxury hoteliers'.

Paolo Carrai

Consistent with this philosophy, La Via del Tè's eight shops - three in Florence, three in Milan, one in Turin and, indeed, in Rome, where space is already being sought for two more locations - are all located in central city streets: "For our shops, we were inspired by fashion, thinking of them as an enhancement of the brand," Carrai continues. Indeed, each shop has a precise concept, culminating in the large green tins where some of the almost 450 creations made by the company in 65 years are stored. 'We are the only food shop on Via della Spiga, in the heart of Milan's fashion district,' adds the CEO. 'We wanted to approach luxury understood not so much as price, but as product quality. And we are having excellent results. We are also inspired by style in the storytelling of our products, and being based in Florence helps a lot in this sense. We have real collections, with a very precise narrative, as in one of the most recent, Giardini Segreti, where we interpret some of the most beautiful gardens on the planet: for example in the Sentiero degli Innamorati blend, inspired by the Tunnel of Love in Japan, we have included notes of yuzu'.

Perfumed teas are now among the most loved, especially by those approaching the world of tea for the first time, a community to which La Via del Tè also dedicates courses in its premises, once a month, always sold out, alongside those designed for professionals. "For us, tea is also and above all culture," Carrai continues, "which is why in our shop in Palazzo Frescobaldi, in Florence, we have also opened a tea room with 60 seats, to promote the knowledge of tea, but which is also very useful for understanding the tastes of customers. We serve it the European way, hence espresso, at the right temperature, and before serving, the tea barman tastes it to be sure of its perfection. However, we are not only inspired by the Anglo-Saxon world, also by China, Japan, Morocco, embracing every tea culture'.

Raccolta di foglie di tè in Piemonte

Around the world, La Via del Tè generates about 15 per cent of its turnover of more than EUR 10 million, 'a percentage that surprises us positively, because we do not offer an 'Italian' product like wine or olive oil. With our distributors, always of high quality, we are doing very well in Europe, the United States, but also in countries with a deep tea culture such as Japan and China, which makes us very proud,' adds the CEO.

And yet, in its constant propensity for research, the company is also working on Italian tea, thanks to a collaboration with La Compagnia del Lago Maggiore, a company specialising in the cultivation of Camellia Sinensis, the plant from which the precious leaves are harvested: in Premosello, in Piedmont's Ossola Valley, the first Italian tea plantation (and the largest in Europe) is located, which finds an ideal context under the slopes of Monte Rosa and thanks to the generous silt of the Toce river. 'Production is really niche, about 100 kg per year, and has quite significant costs, but it is a project that we care a lot about, above all for its cultural value,' Carrai concludes. 'It would be wonderful, and for us also a sort of closing the circle of our company, to propose experience and hospitality formulas linked to tea, from cultivation to tasting. We are working on it'.