Tea&Tao
Behind the Arco della Pace there is a quiet corner where you can sip excellent tea made with care and wisdom. It is Tea&Tao and it is a small tea shop opened in 2019 by Mr. Marco Albasio and managed together with his wife and daughter.
The shop is simple and essential. These characteristics are desired because they respond to the need to create a space to relax and enjoy tea in peace and harmony. Mr. Albasio, scrupulous and attentive professional in the sector, told me about it, illustrating his personal path:
Before I dealt with tea, I was an engineer and worked in the communications field. In fact, since university, I have always been attracted to Eastern philosophy and spirituality. During all these years I have traveled a lot and with my family I have lived in America and France. Back in Italy I continued to deal with communications until, two years ago, the meeting with my dear friend Fabiola Ruggiero changed the course of events. She has a property in the Marche region, she is the owner of the CosediTè company. Talking to her triggered something: this meeting was decisive for my wife and me because at that moment we decided to take care of other things and change the work of our life.
Thus began the great adventure in the multifaceted world of tea. A journey that does not only concern this precious oriental product, but all the knowledge that it entails.
I have been studying Chinese for ten years, my wife and kids also study this language which is the future. Chinese is a language made of symbols that indicate specific and profound meanings and this knowledge is the basis of the work we do here. Our shop is called not by chance "Tea & Tao", or the union of the whole. Here, meditation sessions are held, we have organized Tibetan bell events, laughter yoga and even poetry night.
From this pleasant conversation comes the whole research of Mr. Albasio, his knowledge on the subject is truly encyclopedic.
He shows me the products in the shop, 60 types of tea divided into three families (pure for the ceremony, flavored and herbal teas) and explains to me that here customers can make their own blend starting from their favorite pure base, to which it is then added the bouquet that the customer likes.
He manages to make me notice all the aromatic notes of the six colors of pure tea, making me notice the differences in chromatic shades and the various scents: white (with young leaves), green (the Chinese one is put in a pan at 150° to make it remain this color bright, while the Japanese one is "cooked" at 50° in steam), blue (the famous oolong), black (of this color because oxidized) and red (fermented, some are up to 70 years old and are very expensive).
Personally, I really appreciate matcha tea and ask if by chance I can try it: I am made to sit in the tea room and here a real magic happens. With obsessive precision, Mr. Albasio shows me all the traditional tools of the Japanese tea ceremony and prepares an incredible matcha tea, perhaps the best ever drunk so far.
He also shows me all the tools of the Chinese tea ceremony (here you can have this fantastic experience, which I absolutely recommend), explaining that each customer has three cups because each tea can be brewed up to three times to feel all the aromatic differences.
Tea & Tao is a reality that lovers of the genre (and not) cannot miss. The teas are obviously also on sale and in the span of time that the meeting lasted I found that many people have already started to appreciate them, given the number of customers.
The quality of the products is very high and the professionalism of the owners is of a higher level.
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