make tea not war

Oliver G. Seifert imports his teas directly from Japan, Taiwan, and Korea and also serves them at Greifswalder Straße.

make tea not war: Direct Import and Teahouse in One

Oliver G. Seifert ran a bookstore in Prenzlauer Berg from 1990 to 2000 before tea became his profession. He acquired his knowledge on site: study trips to South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, and China since 2003, a tea study with Nagatani-soen in Japan and Bih Lu in Taiwan. Under the company name KOS-tea, he now imports directly from Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, organically certified under DE-ÖKO-005. He also publishes the t-Magazin, now in its ninth issue.

The shop on Greifswalder Straße is both a tea shop and a teahouse. Tea is brewed in GungFuCha style or Japanese teahouse style, accompanied by homemade cake. Jazz or classical music plays in the background, which is part of the concept: Seifert sees tea drinking as a deceleration and a quiet counter-proposal to the accelerated present.

Kabusecha, Jaksul, and Oolongs from the Mountains

On the shelves are organic Kabusecha from Yamaguchi, Korean Jaksul teas like Ujeon and Gamnong, Hwang Cha from Gwangju, and Taiwanese Oolongs from Four Seasons to High Mountain and Sun Moon Lake. A rarity is a Hong Cha from Xishuangbanna, hand-picked from around 100-year-old Yunnan tea trees and packaged in handmade paper. Additionally, there are Japanese ceramics, Tetsubin cast-iron teapots, and gift sets.

Regular visitors will find a fixed event program: JazzKissa on every first Thursday of the month, Blues-Kissa on every third, plus the OrigamiLab on two Mondays, each from 17:00 to 20:00.