Organic wine, e-cigarettes, superfood ice cream… any way to enjoy your vice guilt-free is welcome in this city, so it’s a wonder T-Berlin’s alcoholic tea infusions haven’t caught on yet. Booze and antioxidants? We’ll drink to that.
Charmingly foppy Englishman and tea connoisseur Duncan McKenzie opened his equally charming bar/café in the quiet, leafy streets of southwest Kreuzberg last year. No teabags or blasphemous herbal blends to be found here: on the menu are whole leaves from small farms, ranging from a black breakfast blend to delicate oolong.
€2.90-3.50 buys you a pot that can be lingered over for hours. But the highlights have to be the ‘cockteas’ – tea steeped in spirits and served warm in a teapot (€11/two people; €6/ one) – and infusion shots like jasmine Pearl vodka and the fizzy earl Gin of Berlin, both €2.50.
It’s not just a place to get sozzled on quality juice, though: since its opening, T-Berlin has fast become a hub of expat activity to rival the neighbouring English Theatre, playing host to English-language entertainment from yoga courses to jazz concerts to basement comedy shows… and, of course, tea tastings.