Why do we love tea?
What is tea for us?
Why is mindful tea drinking more than just a cup of tea?
Tea is a drink, tea is an art, it is a way of life, a philosophy, a lifestyle, a daily companion, and a deeply important ritual. Mindful tea drinking offers a completely different experience from what might seem like an ordinary everyday action. And our main goal is to instill, teach, spread, and promote sophisticated, mindful, and attentive tea culture rituals in all their forms, bringing tea consumption to another level.
We are sincerely convinced that tea culture can be one of the crucial keys to the transformation of society, to the formation of a deeper, more mindful way of spending time, which can unlock many hidden potentials in each person. We are not speaking in lofty phrases — for us, tea truly is this kind of drink. Serving tea and serving tea culture is our mission and life’s work.
My name is Sergey Shevelev, I am the founder of Moychay, and today I want to tell you why mindful tea drinking can become one of the best companions in your life, can change a lot (if not everything!), and what the mission of our company is.
Tea culture can be understood in many different ways, and it has taken many different forms across the traditions of various peoples around the world. Tea is the second most popular beverage on the planet after water, so it is no surprise that in many countries tea culture has become widespread.
Whether it is the traditional Chinese tea ceremony, the Japanese way of tea, or the tea traditions of Morocco, Turkey, England, and other countries — in each place, tea has found its own form, its place in daily life, and has developed its own rituals.
In Moychay, we place special emphasis on the tea rituals of Asia, primarily China and Japan, because China and Japan are the true sources of modern tea culture — and of the tea plant itself, which first appeared in China before spreading throughout the world. It is therefore not surprising that the greatest diversity in tea leaf processing methods, brewing styles, teaware, and approaches to tea philosophy originated in China, Japan, and some other Asian countries.
We believe that the Gongfu Cha tea ceremony, as well as simply mindful and attentive tea drinking using traditional, calming methods of brewing, offers not only aesthetic beauty but also deep psychological benefits and practical advantages. It’s not just beautiful — it’s delicious. It allows you to experience tea in a completely different way. When it comes to natural loose-leaf tea, proper brewing unlocks an experience that is worlds apart from the standard European-style brewing of simply steeping tea in a cup.
We genuinely believe that promoting tea culture also has significant social value. As we said, tea drinking holds an important social role in many countries where tea is popular. We believe that, in our turbulent times, mindful tea rituals can become a tool for dialogue — a space where people from different cultures, traditions, and backgrounds can come together. Tea creates an environment of harmony, communication, and friendship.
That is why, when we founded our first EU tea club in Amsterdam, we put all our efforts into making it a place of clear comfort, harmony, and aesthetics. We wanted people who came there to feel at home — to experience an atmosphere that stands apart from the usual café, bar, or restaurant setting. This truly highlights the value of mindful tea drinking.
We also pay especially close attention to the tea we sell. As the founder of the company, I have a very deep interest in and passion for artisan tea culture. For the last 16 years — up to half of my time — I have invested in constant education and travel to China, Vietnam, Georgia, Thailand, Laos, and other tea-producing countries to find not only the best but also the most unusual and rare teas. Of course, we focus only on natural tea with unique characteristics and sustainable agricultural practices.
I have a strong spirit of exploration and am always driven to bring something new, to improve the old — never to stand still. Therefore, one of the key points of our mission is to bring unique products that will constantly surprise, delight, and inspire emotion.
We have our own tea production facilities in Thailand and Georgia, and we work with several hundred factories and individual farmers in China and other countries. We only work directly with producers or produce tea ourselves. Every year, we conduct many hundreds of tastings and pay great attention to the quality and uniqueness of our product. Most of our assortment you can’t find anywhere else — because most of the tea is rare or produced by our own developed technology or blending methods.
We maintain an assortment of several hundred types of tea and are constantly expanding it. We are always learning, training our staff and clients, and investing significant resources to make sure that the products we offer are not only good and high-quality but also in some way unique.
We are constantly developing tea blends — both blends of different types of tea and blends of tea with herbs and flowers — using only natural ingredients without any artificial flavorings. We also pay great attention to herbal teas, which we mainly produce at our small tea factory in Ozurgeti, Georgia.
Special attention should be given to our collection of teaware. Without proper brewing and proper teaware, it’s impossible to truly enjoy tea. That’s why we focus on high-quality teaware — mainly Chinese and Japanese — and we also work with some European potters. We are constantly expanding our collection, offering both unique, artisan items and more accessible pieces.
In terms of our strict assortment policy, we only adhere to the mid- and high-end loose-leaf tea segments and pay no attention to the mass-market, highly affordable teas of any kind, because they are generally of a very low level of organoleptic characteristics — taste, aroma, fragrance complexity — mostly made from low-grade tea material, and grown using unsustainable, aggressive agricultural methods. We do not include such teas in our lineup.
We believe it is important to change the global perception of tea as a low-grade product. While coffee, wine, and many other gourmet products have long achieved premium status in the West, tea still has a long way to go. We believe that high-quality loose-leaf tea deserves to be recognized as a high-value, premium product in its own right.
When talking about other beverages, we firmly believe that tea is a healthy alternative to more harmful consumption and even psychological habits. Many studies show that tea is gentler on the heart compared to coffee and causes less stress on the body. Furthermore, tea rituals can naturally replace harmful habits like alcohol or even drug use. Also, many types of tea bring a very relaxed, calm state of mind, opening an absolutely new perspective on the term “tea time.” Based on the experience of hundreds of our customers, many have quit different types of harmful habits simply by getting into attentive tea drinking — drawn in by the ritual, the effect of tea on the body, and the aesthetic and meditative aspects of tea culture.
Thus, our work carries a strong ideological component that we are proud to promote — knowing that what we do contributes to the health of society.
Additionally, we are seeing tea develop as a youth trend. That is why we promote the idea of a tea bar, where we use only natural ingredients, avoiding sugar and artificial additives. The tea bar concept is a trigger to attract people to tea culture, offering an alternative to soft drinks or bubble tea (which, despite its name, is often filled with sugar and not true tea). We believe the tea bar is a great way to engage young people with tea, gradually leading them from tea cocktails into deeper tea culture appreciation.
We also organize many events both in our Amsterdam tea club and beyond.
We participate in major tea tours across Europe, visiting dozens of countries with our tea tastings. We sponsor and take part in almost all major European tea festivals — from Prague, Berlin, and Brussels to Paris, Vienna, and others.
In 2026, we will hold our first tea festival in Amsterdam, inviting many tea enthusiasts from all over Europe and beyond. The goal of the festival is to build a base for faster tea community growth in Amsterdam and the Netherlands.
We stay curious and open to new ways of tea culture collaboration projects. And we welcome and respect anyone who contributes to the spreading of the tea movement!
Sergey Shevelev
24.05.2025
