How teplo Official Tea Leaves Are Made: Part 1

At teplo, we refer to the tea leaves we sell as « teplo Official Tea Leaves. » We introduced our thoughts behind teplo Official Tea Leaves in a previous article. This time, we will introduce the three processes involved in delivering a single type of teplo Official Tea Leaf, one by one, over three articles:

1. Finding the tea leaves
2. Determining the tea leaf quantity and standard extraction conditions
3. Setting up the personalization extraction algorithm

In this article, we will first introduce the process of « 1. Finding the tea leaves. »

This process involves using both footwork and data.

First and foremost, it’s crucial to visit tea shops and tea leaf exhibitions to encounter a wide variety of teas. Engaging in conversations with tea shop owners to hear their stories, or stumbling upon delicious teas at tea booths, is one of the very important steps for us.

However, since there are said to be thousands of types of tea in the world, relying solely on footwork has its limitations. Therefore, we refer to the feedback data from teplo teapot users. Since its general release began in August 2022, the teplo teapot has accumulated tens of thousands of consumption data from teplo users over the two years. This data has gradually clarified the taste preferences of teplo users. By analyzing this data, we can identify the types of tea leaves we should search for.

We find tea leaves by not relying solely on footwork or data but by complementing each other and striving for a balanced approach. Then, we conduct tea tastings on the teas we find and select the ones that will proceed to the next stage.

Selecting doesn’t mean picking from a superior position but rather searching for teas that pair well with teplo. Keeping in mind whether we can provide users with delicious surprises and impressions, we carefully analyze user feedback data and, with input from in-house Japanese tea instructors, sommeliers, and chefs, we thoroughly discuss and finalize the tea selection.

In the next article, we will introduce the process of « 2. Determining tea leaf quantity and standard extraction conditions, » which forms the basis of extraction conditions.