MANILA -- Leafbeverages invites Filipinos to discover their own tea ritual with the opening of T2 specialty tea retail shops in the country.

Leafbeverages is the official Philippine distributor of T2, Australia’s premiere tea company. Established in Melbourne in 1996, T2 has been enticing tea lovers to discover their world of tea by embracing time-honored tea rituals and experimentation of blends with teas sourced from all over the world.

T2’s image is far from the stuffy old salons traditionally associated with tea. Rather, its bright open spaces are filled with bright colors showing off their vision of tea as part of a healthy, young and hip lifestyle.

Leafbeverages is a subsidiary of Visum Ventures, which has also brought Australian brand Koomi to the Philippines. We chatted with John Michael Hilton, CEO of VIsum Ventures who gave us some tips on creating your own tea ritual.

1. CHOOSE LOOSE LEAF OVER TEA BAGS

While T2 stores have tea bags, tea geeks will say the best way to enjoy tea is to brew with loose leaf tea.

“Most tea bags use low-grade tea dust and fannings compared to loose leaf that uses whole leaves. When you brew loose leaf, it has more room for tea leaves to absorb water and expand as they infuse. This allows the water to flow through the leaves and extract a wide range of vitamins, minerals, flavors, and aromas from the leaves. When you use teabag, its infusion is limited by the size of the teabag,” Hilton explained.

2. EXPLORE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF TEA

The shelves have a dizzying array of tea -- some common, some surprising. All the stores have a tea counter where they have three kinds of teas for sampling brewed hot and cold. It’s a way for T2 to make trying out these teas a friendly experience.

T2 may have the traditional or common flavors but T2’s version still stands out. For example, French Earl Grey is a universal blend. Many brands can be a bit of a floral overload, and send the senses into potpourri territory. T2’s French Earl Grey is a clean, fresh and balanced mix of Provence-style flowers with tropical and stone fruits.

T2 has many unique blends and some became instant favorites like the Sleep Tight, Detox, The Quite Mind, The Glowgetter and The Belly blends. "These herbal tisanes have distinct flavors and have different benefits like stress relief, gut health and better sleep," Hilton said.

3. SIP DIFFERENT TEAS FOR DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY

One key difference tea has over coffee is that tea can be consumed any time of the day. Sip a more caffeinated teas like sencha (Japanese green tea) or black tea with milk. Then wind down the day with a cup of chamomile or any of the fruity tisanes.

“Fruit and herbal tisanes can be drank anytime preferred. They don’t have caffeine because they does not have tea in it. Herbal tisanes are mostly consumed at the evening, after dinner because most helps you relax, sleep and good for gut health,“ he said.

4. ELEVATE YOUR TEA EXPERIENCE WITH TEAWARE

Having your own tea brewing station with proper teaware at home is one way to jump start your tea ritual. Take a while to admire the colorful tea kettles and cups sourced from Denmark and Spain. Most of the kettles have strainers that make it easy to brew loose leaf.

“Teaware are the functional and practical must-haves if you want to make a tea leaf brew. But tea drinking is an experience so T2 teaware aren’t just vessels for tea-making, their exquisite designs, exotic colors and groovy shapes enrich all your senses, not just your tastebuds. T2 makes brewing easy. Smart design enables easy and efficient brewing of the perfect cup of tea with no mess, no fuss and easy cleaning,” Hilton said.

5. PAIR TEA WITH FOOD

Whether it’s a cup of oolong to wash down a Chinese lauriat, or Earl Grey paired with cakes and cucumber sandwiches for English high tea, tea is a great companion with food.

“There are a number of ways to use tea to impart flavor in your cooking. Research the tasting notes of your tea selection to understand how to build complementary flavors around it to make Infusions: Marinades, rubs, broths and poaching liquids, smoothies and baked goods,” Hilton said.

Leafbeverages goes even further by infusing selected T2 teas in their blinis and gold leaf ice cream. Hilton said that they will be changing up teas for their ice cream on a regular basis.

As an added treat, Leafbeverages will be opening limited slots for Weekend High Tea Sessions at their SM Aura store from November 19 to December 20 featuring sandwiches and snacks from Shangri-La at the Fort. Slots start at P 880 per person with the high tea set and unlimited tea. Options including sparkling wine, a cocktail, and gold leaf ice cream are also available. For inquiries, please send a message to @leafbeverages on Facebook or Instagram.

Leafbeverages T2 retail shops can be found at The Podium, SM Aura, SM North Edsa, and SM Mall Of Asia. Check out the Leafbeverages online stores on Lazada and Shopee too.