I am East Frisian. Drinking tea is basically in my DNA. So you can imagine how high my tea standards are. For me, nothing beats East Frisian black tea with a thick lump of Kluntje – better known as rock candy among non-East Frisians. For us klönschnackers, drinking tea is everyday life, a hobby, a must. Even if the process is a little more time-consuming than simply pulling a coffee from the fully automatic machine.
First, water has to be boiled, then the tea bag is hung in the container. And then it’s time to wait and drink tea. No, wait! It’s not even finished yet. The tea must first steep for a few minutes before the bag can be removed again. It is important to find the right moment. Under no circumstances should the bag float in the water for too long, otherwise the tea will become too strong or even bitter. However, the bag shouldn’t be left in for too short, because then it has hardly any taste. This can be a challenge for some inexperienced tea drinkers. And there should now be a solution for this.
The founding duo Sebastian Kadhim (42) and Kai Stork (27) developed Teablobs. These are small drops that are reminiscent of vitamin tablets and are dissolved in hot water. The advantages: TeaBlobs are pressed tea tablets and do not require a sieve or bag. This should save time, packaging waste and shelf space. “Every year 50 billion cups of tea are drunk in Germany, 76 percent of which are prepared with a tea bag,” says Kadhim. “In a special production process, we grind loose tea very finely and press it into our practical tea lobes using only organic ingredients.” A pack of Teablobs currently costs 6.99 euros and contains 20 drops. There are seven varieties:
The founders want to get started and establish Tealobbs throughout Germany. To do this, they take part in the program “The Lions’ Den”. I’ll do the taste test.
So instead of a pot on a warmer, I now have 250 milliliters of hot water with a tablet in a glass. I try the “Green Mango” flavor, green tea with mango. The drop, the size of an ibuprofen, dissolves quickly and falls apart into a crumbly pile that settles at the bottom – like sand that appears uninvited in a wine glass during a visit to the beach. According to information, the pile of tea crumbs should remain on the ground, but it can still be consumed. I sip the glass. The steam wafts into my nose. It smells like mango, fruity, less like green tea. In terms of taste, the product keeps its promise. However, the last sips have a bitter aftertaste: the pile of crumbs is disturbing – in terms of consistency and taste.
I’m not impressed with the taste, mainly because of the unpleasant last sip. But as I mentioned at the beginning, I have a high standard of tea. I will probably continue to use East Frisian tea in the future. I get it (by the way) in a 100-bag package for 13 euros – significantly cheaper than the DHDL product. But the Teablobs clearly score points in one thing: the water-soluble drops are definitely more environmentally friendly than my beloved East Frisian tea in bags.
The founders of Teablobs will be competing in “The Lions’ Den” in 2023 to expand their business. They offer 20 percent of the company shares for an investment of 100,000 euros. Does one of the lions bite? Find out on Monday, September 25th at 8:15 p.m. on Vox.
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