From Tea Trade to Tea Culture: InfiniTea Leaves on Building Speciality Tea in Hamburg
Hamburg may be one of Europe’s most important hubs for the tea trade, but that does not necessarily translate into a thriving speciality-tea culture among consumers.
This is the space that InfiniTea Leaves, founded by Peter and Jakub, is trying to explore. Rather than beginning simply as a tea shop, their project grew from tastings, community events and a desire to make the culture, craftsmanship and diversity behind tea more accessible.
With a particular focus on Japan and South Korea, direct relationships with producers, education and a long-term ambition to open their own tea house in Hamburg, InfiniTea Leaves offers an interesting perspective on what it actually takes to turn a passion for tea into a viable business.
We spoke with Jakub about discovering tea, sourcing, importing small quantities, building a community and why working professionally in tea involves far more than drinking it.
1. How did tea first become part of your life, and when did you realise it could become something more than a personal interest?
My tea journey actually started through my work at TeeGschwendner. I was studying at the time and working there part-time, initially simply as a temporary job. That was my first real opportunity to become more deeply involved with tea.
Several people around me were genuinely passionate about it. I didn’t have that same passion when I started, but being surrounded by people with so much knowledge and enthusiasm had a strong influence on me.
That is also where Peter and I met.
From there, tea gradually became a hobby for both of us. We started exploring it together, learning more about different tea cultures, production methods and preparation.
For me personally, the decisive moment came after travelling to South Korea in 2022. Experiencing Korean tea culture firsthand and seeing tea from a completely different perspective greatly strengthened my interest. By then, I knew that I wanted tea to become more than just a hobby.
2. When did that shared passion become the idea for InfiniTea Leaves?
At the beginning of 2023, Peter and I started seriously discussing whether we could build something of our own.
One of the main motivations was that we felt Hamburg was missing a place where people could really discover tea beyond simply buying a product.
We wanted people to understand how much lies behind a single tea: the culture, the craftsmanship, the production, the people and the knowledge involved.
We also felt that tea deserved to be approached differently as a high-quality food product. In terms of diversity and complexity, tea does not need to hide behind wine, whisky or other premium categories.
There is such an enormous range of aromas, production methods, cultures and stories within tea. We wanted to create a concept that could communicate that diversity and make it more accessible.
3. “Speciality tea” can mean very different things to different businesses. What does it mean to you?
Taste is always our starting point.
A tea has to excite us personally or fulfil a particular purpose. Sometimes I want something aromatic and easy to brew while I’m working at my laptop—something forgiving if I leave it slightly too long. During a Gong Fu Cha session, I might instead look for depth, complexity and a tea that rewards much more attention.
Once we know that we like the tea, we look more closely at the producer.
Can we have a genuine conversation on equal terms? Are they passionate about what they do? Are they transparent when we ask questions? We then consider how the tea is grown and processed, where it comes from and, whenever possible, visit the place of production ourselves.
Interestingly, price comes relatively late in the decision. The bigger question is whether the price makes sense in relation to the tea and the work behind it.
For me, the distinction between premium and speciality is primarily about depth and specialisation.
Premium can mean good quality, good selection and good advice. Speciality goes further. I want to understand where the tea comes from, who made it, how it was produced and what kind of work went into it.
So I wouldn’t define speciality through price, rarity or even quality alone. It is also about knowledge, relationships with producers and thoughtful curation.
4. Hamburg is one of Europe’s major tea-trading hubs. Does being based in a “tea city” actually make building a speciality-tea business easier?
Not as much as people might imagine. Of course, Hamburg's port and airport give us good access to international shipments, which can be an advantage logistically.
But from the consumer side, I don’t think Hamburg's position in the international tea trade automatically creates an advantage for a business like ours.
There is definitely a disconnect between Hamburg being such an important centre for the tea trade and the way high-quality loose-leaf tea is actually perceived, purchased and consumed locally.
A city can be very important for the tea industry without necessarily having a strong speciality-tea culture.
5. What has been the most difficult commercial reality of turning that passion into a viable business?
Interestingly, convincing people why speciality tea costs more has not been the main difficulty. The bigger challenge is making people aware that speciality tea exists in the first place.
On the operational side, imports have also been challenging, particularly because of the small quantities we work with.
Importing very small volumes can involve a significant amount of effort in relation to the value of the shipment. Especially at the beginning, that makes it harder to generate sufficient revenue.
Fortunately, as the business grows and we are able to order larger quantities, this is gradually becoming less of a problem.
6. You actually started with tastings and community events rather than retail. Why was that important?
Community and education were fundamental to the idea from the beginning.
When we started our tea journey as a business, we felt that tastings and community-oriented tea experiences were still not particularly established in Hamburg.
We therefore began exclusively with tastings and events.
Online sales of tea and teaware came later, and eventually we added physical retail as well.
I still think these experiences are incredibly important.
Someone can discover tea simply by purchasing a packet, of course. But sitting down at a tasting or attending a community event creates a completely different relationship with the product.
People taste together, ask questions and experience tea in context. That can transform an initial curiosity into a much deeper interest—and eventually into a long-term customer relationship.
7. You spent seven weeks working directly in tea production in South Korea. How did that experience change the way you work with producers?
It changed my perspective considerably.
For seven weeks, I was involved in tea production every day. Tea was not harvested on three rainy days, although there was still work to do even then.
I also spent time with different farmers, which allowed me to observe different approaches to production and ways of working.
That practical experience completely changed the way I communicate with producers. I understand the work behind tea much better, which means I can speak with farmers on a more equal level and be much more precise about the teas we are looking for.
It has also opened new possibilities for us, including custom or made-to-order teas. When you work closely with producers, you can sometimes develop teas that simply would not be available through conventional sourcing.
You also begin to understand that some exceptional teas cannot simply be discovered by requesting samples from Hamburg.
You need relationships. You need trust. And you need to understand what is happening at origin.
That proximity can lead you to teas that you probably would never encounter otherwise.
8. Tea can become very technical very quickly. How do you communicate concepts such as terroir, cultivars, processing or Gong Fu Cha without intimidating newcomers?
I think the best approach is to connect tea with things people already understand from everyday life.
Concepts such as terroir, cultivars or processing can sound very technical in isolation. Once you relate them to something familiar, they become much easier to understand.
At the same time, tea does not have to be complicated.
There can be an enormous amount of culture, knowledge and craftsmanship behind a tea, while the experience of drinking it can remain very simple.
Finding that balance is important to us. We want people to discover the complexity without making that complexity feel like a barrier.
Ultimately, taste and personal experience are usually what people remember.
When someone tastes something and recognises an aroma, a flavour or even a memory from their own life, the connection becomes immediate. That personal experience can often communicate more than a long technical explanation.
9. Your long-term ambition is to open your own tea house in Hamburg. What would make that concept culturally interesting but also economically sustainable?
Even with a physical tea house, I think it is important for us to maintain our specialisation.
Japan and South Korea alone offer an enormous variety of teas, cultivars and styles. There is already so much for us to explore within those two origins.
At the same time, we would like to present tea in different ways: both through more traditional East Asian preparation and through contemporary tea drinks.
At the moment, we imagine something relatively close to an East Asian tea house: tea, modern tea drinks and small snacks, complemented by workshops, our own events and collaborations with other people.
From a business perspective, I think the combination will be important.
Rather than relying on a unique revenue stream, the model could bring together gastronomy, retail, workshops and events.
There is still a lot to develop, but for us the question is how to create an experience that provides genuine value for visitors while also making the concept economically sustainable.
10. What needs to happen for speciality tea to become a stronger category in Europe—and what should someone know before trying to build a career around it?
First, people need to understand what they can actually look for in a good or distinctive tea.
And, even more importantly, they need to taste it.
Once someone personally discovers the value that speciality tea can offer, demand can begin to develop naturally.
It takes time, but looking at the changes over the past few years, I think things are moving in a positive direction. And that is not only happening in Europe. In South Korea, for example, we are also seeing renewed interest in tea.
For anyone who wants to work professionally in this industry, I think it is important to maintain that fascination with tea.
But you also need to understand the reality of the profession.
Probably 90 per cent of the work has nothing to do with actually drinking tea.
You can absolutely build a career around tea. But in most cases, you cannot make a living simply by drinking it.
Photo Credits: InfiniTea Leaves
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