Germany has a rich tea culture that most people have probably never heard of

Stefan Feldbusch serves Darjeeling First Flush in classic Frisian porcelain, in small, delicate cups that are slightly chipped. “I think the taste is better in thin-walled cups,” says Feldbusch, who is chief tea taster at the family-run Laurens Spethmann. “I’ve always had a soft spot for tea.” Frisia, in northwest Germany, has its own tea culture, dating back to the 17th century when tea was introduced by the British and Dutch. A century on, it had become popular throughout society – after all, many could not afford coffee. Tea replaced beer as the favourite drink and all the associated customs and traditions quickly became firm rituals. The Messmer brand is produced in Seevetal, Lower Saxony, by the Ostfriesische Tee Gesellschaft (OTG), which supplies 8 billion tea bags to supermarkets throughout Germany every year from the Nordheide region. OTG is the second largest tea producer in Germany after Teekanne in Düsseldorf. Some 95 per cent of Germans drink tea made from tea bags. The quality is so good that Feldbusch also enjoys a cup after work. A sixpence of tea Feldbusch barely lets the black tea steep for a minute when he makes a cup for himself. That is when the caffeine unfolds best, he says. Unlike the short-lived kick you get from a cup of coffee, tea has a stimulating effect over a longer period of time, but does not agitate drinkers. That makes it a good companion for the day, he says. To guarantee consistent quality – despite climate change affecting harvest times and causing crop failures – Feldbusch’s three-person team tests around 300 varieties every day. The team weighs each variety precisely from neatly arranged paper plates and pours it into white porcelain cups. Today, the focus is on varieties from southern India and green tea from China. It is a formal, scientific and businesslike process. Clad in a white apron, suit and tie, Feldbusch measures out around 2.86 grams (0.1oz) of dry tea leaves using a small, golden hand scale. For verification purposes, an old British silver sixpence, the international standard for weighing a cup’s worth of tea leaves, is placed in one of the small weighing bowls. He carefully pours boiling water from chunky kettles onto the samples, covers them with a lid and, after five minutes, they are ready to be tasted. The specialist and his colleagues sip from a spoon, which helps the flavour spread in the mouth. Afterwards, they usually spit it out. The different varieties are mixed at the end so that the teas retain a consistent taste throughout the year. Teas from China, Japan, India and South Africa are testedseveral times in Germany for pesticides. The holding company spends millions of dollars on quality control. Tea tasting is all about fine-tuning: do any of the many samples lined up after delivery by sea taste mouldy? After all, in rough seas, some pallets arrive thoroughly soaked. Herbal and fruit teas account for the largest share of sales. They are tasted separately in another room so the aromas don’t mix. “The trend is towards fruit teas, but they have become incredibly sweet,” Feldbusch says. How to become a taster A wholesale and foreign trade merchant, Feldbusch has been in the tea trade for 37 years, 30 of them at OTG. His first job was in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt, the port, where most of the containers from overseas arrive. When he started, 80 per cent of tea consumed was black tea, but that has fallen to 25 per cent. “There are only about 60 to 100 tea testers nationwide,” Feldbusch says. It is not a profession you can learn at college or school, unlike many professions and jobs in Germany’s highly structured labour market. “It takes about five to seven years to get there, then you can pick up on the nuances,” he says. Because he and a colleague will be retiring in a few years, two young people at OTG are being introduced to the job after completing a study programme. The experts also travel to the countries of origin, which for black and green teas are mainly India and China. China remains the largest producer with more than 3.74 million tons (3.45 million tonnes), more than half of the world’s total. It is followed by India, Kenya, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Once again, India was the most important supplier to Germany in 2024 with just over 10,443 tons, accounting for 21.8 per cent of German imports, according to the German Tea Association in Hamburg. Blends and trends Annual per capita consumption in Germany in 2024 was 67.2 litres. Consumers drank 27.1 litres of black and green tea and 40.1 litres of herbal and fruit tea. The proportion of organic teas reached a new high of 17.7 per cent. Herbal and fruit teas continue to top the lists of German households. Peppermint and camomile are the most popular single varieties among consumers. But new trends have emerged with matcha and cold brews, fruit teas in bags that are suitable for quick cold infusion. Are all these a threat to Germany’s hallowed ritual of coffee and cake in the afternoon? Perhaps it just depends on what your cup of tea is.

Germany has a rich tea culture that most people have probably never heard of

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In Frisia, northwestern Germany, where tea is more popular than beer, tea tasters are keeping a centuries-old culture alive, sampling 300 varieties a day

In Frisia, northwestern Germany, where tea is more popular than beer, tea tasters are keeping a centuries-old culture alive, sampling 300 varieties a day