10 questions with tea-importer and entrepeneur Bob Paardekooper
1. Tea or coffee?
"I usually drink more coffee than tea, but as an entrepreneur I am mainly active in tea. With Geels we import tea for specialty coffee and tea shops and with Tea Cultures for luxury hospitality businesses. Thirteen years ago tea was still a very dusty product. That image has now changed. Today you see more and more special flavours, both in pure varieties and blends."
2. What's in your cup now?
"A Japanese sencha. We import this tea from Fukuyu and is slightly more exclusive than usual."
3. Are you tea-headed (stubborn)?
"I fear that I am generally stubborn. I know what I want, also in the field of tea. I taste many different teas, because I want to know what I am offering. Nevertheless, I always return to my favourites: coffee or a sencha during the day and a vervain infusion in the evening."
4. Loose tea or pouches?
"Loose tea. In general, loose tea has more taste. Some quality teas with large leaves are not even put in a bag. The machines simply cannot handle that."
5. What is your best tea experience?
"Waking up in the morning in an old tea factory in Ella, Sri Lanka. In the morning, the tea fields are still foggy: that's a very nice view. That undoubtedly compensates for the jet-black tea with milk and sugar that the locals eat serve breakfast."
6. Who would you like to drink a cup of tea with?
"We have now launched Thee Cultuur internationally under the name Tea Cultures. It would be nice to drink tea with an international star chef like Pierre Gagnaire to see what we can do for him as a company. Someone else who can help us on our way helping on the international market is always welcome for a cup of tea. "
7. Tea or infusion?
"Tea! In my opinion, it is more flavourful. Whenever I sit on my caffeine tax in the evening, I opt for an infusion or something with ginger."
8. Which tea trends are we going to see in the coming period?
"In recent years, herbal, green and white teas have gained popularity. Blends have also been on the rise. The last one is changing. The preference is increasingly for luxury, pure products. People are willing to pay more for tea and therefore for better quality."
9. Tea tip for hospitality entrepreneurs?
"Make sure that you also offer a good tea assortment in addition to coffee. Tea is usually the forgotten child. That's a shame. People come back to you for high-quality tea. You can distinguish yourself with loose tea."
10. What do you want to draw to the reader?
"Drink tea in your own way, but also try something different from time to time. People who only drink tea from bags, I recommend you to try loose tea. You'll get used to it surprisingly quickly and you continue to spoil yourself with it."
Source: KoffieTheeCacao
