This traditional Indian tea blend, made from black tea with cardamom, aniseed and cinnamon, ginger, cloves, fennel and black pepper, produces a wonderfully fragrant, spicy chai, which is topped up with milk or soy milk after the mixture has simmered (2-3 heaped teaspoons per pot). A little honey is very beneficial to the overall character of the chai, as it combines spicy and gently sweet notes.

ManuTeeFaktur is a little hidden away on Paul-Lincke-Ufer - in a typical Kreuzberg backyard location, but actually far away from the hustle and bustle on the sidewalk in front of it. Here, Manu Kumar - he had the first name even before he thought about a manufactory - is a cosmopolitan tea expert. His father, Indian and educated in the Himalayas, his mother East Prussian and blessed with a green finger, both gave him a soft spot and feel for herbs and aromas. This led Manu Kumar halfway around the world and finally to Berlin, where he worked as an artist and architect and delighted his office colleagues with homemade tea. Eventually, this became a real profession and he began to prepare and bottle tea in large quantities and according to traditional recipes. This was soon so well received that the ManuTeeFaktur grew and grew, just like the mint in the fields. The boss still harvests the mint himself, but the area of mint fields in Berlin and Brandenburg has increased almost tenfold. Other ingredients of exotic origin have to be bought in, although there are already contracts with organic farmers in Asia for lemongrass. Whether in small or large quantities, Manu's tea is made entirely by hand, even if it cannot be made entirely without machines, but it is still "truly man-made" and reflects a love of other cultures. Berlin is the ideal city for this, as Manu Kumar finds, because there is room for the whole range of culinary traditions. The artist and globetrotter, who has always been wherever the wind has blown him, has settled down a little and now packs his wanderlust and love of diversity into his refreshing, unusual drinks.

Sales description:

Organic tea blend

Ingredients:

Black tea*, cardamom*, anise*, cinnamon*, ginger*, clove*, fennel*, pepper* (*from certified organic farming).

Storage and preparation instructions:

Heat 2-3 teaspoons in water. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Origin / provenance:

Germany

Organic inspection body:

DE-ÖKO-070

Responsible food business operator:

Xerion TrockenTee UG Ritterstr. 2A 10999 Berlin Germany