Laura Jamšek is an economist by profession, she worked in advertising for ten years, and with the new year she started a completely new story. Away from the chaos and crazy world, she took refuge in the world of teas, which she has loved since she was young. We can now find her, relaxed, as she hasn't been in a long time, in the fragrant tea shop Tea Time. Each of her days begins with tea, which she chooses according to her mood.
The question coffee or tea is certainly more rhetorical in your case?
It's true. I've never liked coffee, I've always been a tea lover. As a child, I collected herbal teas with my father and even then I immensely enjoyed the world full of scents and flowers. I have obviously passed this love on to my son, who loves tea, and the last time he told me at the age of five that he has mastered green tea now. 🙂
From a long career in advertising to a quiet tea shop. What happened in between?
I studied economics, then I was caught by the wave of the generation when everyone studied law or economics. Then came work and with it an impossible pace. Today, we are all in a hurry, we don't have time for family, friends, hobbies, children, we don't even have time for ourselves. But once you have to say stop and live now. I said stop Tea Time. The need to calm the soul, body, psyche has come. Our slogan - Tea time, time for yourself - expresses exactly what has been lost in the crazy pace.
You succeeded, do you now have more time for all this?
Yes, now I am even more organized and have time for myself, my family, and my child. Before, work always came first, and everything else was on the waiting list.
You say that Tea Time is not just a store, that it is a store with a concept and a vision. How are you different?
We didn't want to be just another shop in the tea market. In addition to tea, we also want to offer our customers advice, a chat and a smile. Sometimes a customer comes and says, for example, that he can't sleep, and it means a lot to me to be able to advise on which tea will be the right one.
How to drink tea?
First of all, it is necessary to find time for tea. You need to calm down, find a quiet place. Then it's nice to have a nice cup. This is very important, they say that the cup is the mirror of the soul. Of course, we need good tea, and last but not least, water is also important, as its quality affects the tea. We must take at least fifteen minutes for tea. And what's better than watching time pass and waiting for the tea to be made?
What is your favorite tea?
I have one favorite tea in each category. Among the greens, I like macha. Otherwise, it has a very demanding taste and if you are not used to it, you probably won't like it. Among white teas, I like Japanese cherry, among black teas I like English breakfast, which is a blend of the best black teas. For black flavored ones, I really like Earl Gray Blue Flower.
And how do you choose what to start the day with in the morning?
I choose teas as perfumes, depending on my mood. One day I like green, another day black.
Do you organize a tea party here and there?
I prepare tea parties for small groups, and here in the shop I have room for twenty people. I prepare three or four types of tea and cookies. It is more of a tea party in the British sense, but at the same time I will present some facts about tea to those present and also the ceremonial of drinking tea in the Japanese way.
Which type of tea drinking culture is closer to you, British or Japanese?
The British comes from the Japanese and is adapted to the Western way of life. On it, women chat and have a good time. While Japanese tea drinking culture is on a whole other level. I am also studying this ceremonial and it is very close to me, perhaps to a large extent this course encouraged me to take such a business path. The ceremony of drinking tea in the Japanese way calms you down a lot and is combined with Zen meditation. The Japanese place a lot on the soul, meditation, a head without thoughts, living in the moment, with oneself. I think that is the most difficult thing for a person to clear his head, to not have any thoughts. I see this as one big challenge, to immerse yourself in the moment.
Certainly there are certain trends and innovations in the world of teas as well. What will we drink this coming fall and winter?
Goji and Acai berry teas are very "in" now, Oolong teas are quite popular recently as a weight loss aid, and white teas are gaining more and more followers because they are said to have a rejuvenating effect. In any case, the trends here, as everywhere else, are going in the direction of organic products.
Tea Time is a company franchise Jasmin tea doo, where for twenty years they have been selling teas, tea porcelain, ceramics, tea accessories and everything else that is necessary for drinking tea. Laura Jamšek drank the best tea for her at Jasmin in Bled, and that encouraged her to take the story to Ljubljana as well. It is not a classic tea shop, but a shop with a concept, a kind of urban tea pharmacy, where real tea "grows" for almost all problems.
Tea Time
Beethoven Street 12
1000 Ljubljana
