Valérie Roubaud, founder of terre d’Oc, sharing her passion in tea.

Founder of terre d'Oc, Valérie Roubaud

What is your first memory of tea?
- "As a little girl, I used to steal rose petals to make a maceration that I called "tea" which I served to my gentle, patient grandmother."

If you could be a tea, which one would you be?
- "A Golden Jin Hou Smoky, whose buds and leaves are smoked in bamboo baskets over a fire of fir tree roots. The flavour of Scotch single malt!"

What are some of your favourite teas?
- "Genmaïcha for its rustic simplicity, its vegetal and of roasted cereal flavour."
- "Chai Masala, mellow and piping hot, served beside the road in the Himalayas!"
- "Oolong Goa Shan "Snow dragon", a marvellous blue-green tea from the jade mountain in Formosa, with a strong, sunny flavour of flowers."

In 3 words, what is tea for you?
- "Hospitality, sharing, kindness."

What is your favourite moment for drinking tea?
- "When I wake up in the morning, while my son does his homework!"

What is your favourite teaware?
- "A black iron tea caddy with a red label, found in a small shop in Ghangzhou."

What is you favourite tea place or house?
- "Wang De Chuan Tea Salon in Taipei or Tainan, a tea house created in 1862 which is incredibly modern. The temple of oolong tea!"

What would you like to say to tea lovers? And to those who are discovering the pleasure of tea?
- "Let go! Be daring! Tea isn't a holy drink!"

Source : terre d'Oc