A Tea Lover’s Information to Milan

Visiting natural farms, constructing relationships with farmers, touring to rustic corners of the world, and deciding which teas and herbs to supply are the most effective components of working a tea firm. However that is adopted in shut second by visiting the cities the place tea customs—whether or not by way of ceramics, design, and trend—are elevated to an artwork kind. So this summer time, I left New York for Milan to expertise tea tradition in what’s arguably one of many world’s most missed tea capitals.

Given Italy is a rustic extra well-known for its espresso than its tea, I used to be pleasantly stunned to see how the expertise within the Italian countryside translated seamlessly to the style hotspot—whereas the espresso menus at most locations had been the identical (espresso, macchiato, and so forth) I discovered teas from the world over, whether or not grown in Japan and China, or tisanes from neighboring Germany and from Italy itself.

Right here, be a part of me on my odyssey by way of Milan’s impressively wide-ranging tea choices throughout an early summer time go to to the town.

Dégustazione Ristoro e Dispensa

Picture: Maria Geyman

Via a suggestion, I discovered my first cease for tea in Milan, Dégustazione Ristoro e Dispensa. Within the Nineteen Sixties, Japanese artist Hidetoshi Nagasawa left Japan on his bike and with the assistance of some boat rides, ended up in Italy—the place his bike was stolen. He remained in Italy for the remainder of his life, finally settling in Milan. Since he handed away, his studio has been transformed to an artist residency on the second ground of the cafe Dégustazione Ristoro e Dispensa, run by Lorenzo Castellini. Castellini planted roses and an herb backyard to create an area the place “you’ll be able to sit within the afternoon with a newspaper.” The cafe and cultural middle additionally homes a backyard and cafe whose choices prolong from tastings of seasonal, vivid inexperienced Agricola Maraviglia olive oil alongside a cup of iced tea from Wilden, a Milan-based natural tea firm. Accompanying the cafe is a small choice of the objects utilized in cooking, which you’ll be able to carry residence as items.

Natalia Criado

Trendy Milanese tea tradition exists not solely in storefronts and tea homes, however by way of the work of the artistic undercurrent working by way of Milan. Colombian-born homeware designer Natalia Criado has been residing and dealing in Milan for a decade. Her work, which features a line of silver plates and rose quart teapots with accompanying cups, is knowledgeable and impressed by the rituals that sometimes accompany the ingesting of tea from world wide.

Villa Clea

Co-founded by director Alessandra (Allina) Pelizzari Corbellini and architect Matteo Corbellini, Villa Clea hosts multidisciplinary artists, trend shoots, and Airbnb company in a conceptual area that Corbellini designed to accommodate the numerous makes use of we have now of residence at present. Just some minutes away from Fondazione Prada, the property is stocked with a kitchen of white teaware and teapots complementing the interiors—a serene solution to begin the morning in a neighborhood that’s residence to lots of Milan’s younger artists.

Linda Calugi

Whereas having aperitivo with Criado and the Corbellinis, I additionally met ceramicist Linda Calugi, whose signature type contains monumental natural vases in earth tones. She has additionally ventured into cups and teaware, designing the tablescapes for the roving pop-up dinner collection We Are Ona throughout Milan Design Week, and taking customized orders for residence collections.

Portrait Lodge

Picture: Maria Geyman