{"id":484,"date":"2026-09-07T17:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/the-teepapst\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:18:18","slug":"the-teepapst","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/the-teepapst\/","title":{"rendered":"The Teepapst"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4c11dcb7 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0.75rem;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"tp-thomas-columns wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-f56f613f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"tp-portrait-col wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:38%\">\n<figure class=\"is-style-tp-hairline tp-portrait-fill wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/wp-content\/themes\/teepapst\/assets\/img\/thomas-groemer.jpg\" alt=\"Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer, the Teepapst\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"tp-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">Follow<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"is-style-logos-only wp-block-social-links has-normal-icon-size has-icon-color is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-452be97a wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><li style=\"color:#2E2D2C\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook has-dark-grey-color wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/de-de.facebook.com\/Teepapst\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li style=\"color:#2E2D2C\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-youtube has-dark-grey-color wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCQCEUNwuwJ2cd9QqPpk-85A\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M21.8,8.001c0,0-0.195-1.378-0.795-1.985c-0.76-0.797-1.613-0.801-2.004-0.847c-2.799-0.202-6.997-0.202-6.997-0.202 h-0.009c0,0-4.198,0-6.997,0.202C4.608,5.216,3.756,5.22,2.995,6.016C2.395,6.623,2.2,8.001,2.2,8.001S2,9.62,2,11.238v1.517 c0,1.618,0.2,3.237,0.2,3.237s0.195,1.378,0.795,1.985c0.761,0.797,1.76,0.771,2.205,0.855c1.6,0.153,6.8,0.201,6.8,0.201 s4.203-0.006,7.001-0.209c0.391-0.047,1.243-0.051,2.004-0.847c0.6-0.607,0.795-1.985,0.795-1.985s0.2-1.618,0.2-3.237v-1.517 C22,9.62,21.8,8.001,21.8,8.001z M9.935,14.594l-0.001-5.62l5.404,2.82L9.935,14.594z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">YouTube<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li style=\"color:#2E2D2C\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-tiktok has-dark-grey-color wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@der_teepapst\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M16.708 0.027c1.745-0.027 3.48-0.011 5.213-0.027 0.105 2.041 0.839 4.12 2.333 5.563 1.491 1.479 3.6 2.156 5.652 2.385v5.369c-1.923-0.063-3.855-0.463-5.6-1.291-0.76-0.344-1.468-0.787-2.161-1.24-0.009 3.896 0.016 7.787-0.025 11.667-0.104 1.864-0.719 3.719-1.803 5.255-1.744 2.557-4.771 4.224-7.88 4.276-1.907 0.109-3.812-0.411-5.437-1.369-2.693-1.588-4.588-4.495-4.864-7.615-0.032-0.667-0.043-1.333-0.016-1.984 0.24-2.537 1.495-4.964 3.443-6.615 2.208-1.923 5.301-2.839 8.197-2.297 0.027 1.975-0.052 3.948-0.052 5.923-1.323-0.428-2.869-0.308-4.025 0.495-0.844 0.547-1.485 1.385-1.819 2.333-0.276 0.676-0.197 1.427-0.181 2.145 0.317 2.188 2.421 4.027 4.667 3.828 1.489-0.016 2.916-0.88 3.692-2.145 0.251-0.443 0.532-0.896 0.547-1.417 0.131-2.385 0.079-4.76 0.095-7.145 0.011-5.375-0.016-10.735 0.025-16.093z\" \/><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">TikTok<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li style=\"color:#2E2D2C\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram has-dark-grey-color wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/der_teepapst\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li style=\"color:#2E2D2C\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-linkedin has-dark-grey-color wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/thomas-groemer\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:62%\">\n<h1 class=\"tp-eyebrow wp-block-heading\">The Teepapst<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-2-xl-font-size\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer, &#8220;the Teepapst,&#8221; is a trained tea taster and one of the few Europeans to have studied Tea Science in Japan. He has been working with Japanese tea since 1991 and was the first to bring Matcha to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From cultivation through harvest to grinding, he acquired his knowledge directly on-site in Japan and traveled the growing regions for years. His specialty is green tea, particularly Matcha: <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/the-7-worlds-of-tea\/matcha\/#anbau-und-ernte\">shading<\/a>, harvest timing, processing into <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/the-7-worlds-of-tea\/matcha\/#anbau-und-ernte\">Tencha<\/a>, and grinding on <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/the-7-worlds-of-tea\/matcha\/#verarbeitung-und-vermahlung\">stone mills<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a trained tea taster, he brought the aiya \u2013 THE TEA brand to Europe and built its distribution over more than 30 years. With the <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/teepapst-selected\/\">Teepapst Selected<\/a> line, he now also makes his expertise available to the hospitality trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Studied Tea Science in Japan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Trained Tea Taster<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Brought aiya \u2013 THE TEA to Europe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">YouTube channel, Instagram, and expert talks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More on his knowledge of Japanese tea can be found in the <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/\">Tea Encyclopedia<\/a> and in his <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/blog\/\">latest posts<\/a> on the blog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"tp-rule is-style-wide wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"tp-prose wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4cec59f1 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">It started with a sour fruit tea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vienna in the late 1980s is a coffee city. Anyone growing up there learns Melange, Verl\u00e4ngerter, and Einsp\u00e4nner, but not tea. And if they do encounter it, it&#8217;s in the version Thomas knows from school ski-trip lodges: a fruit tea for breakfast, so sour it&#8217;s only drinkable with generous amounts of sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Viennese coffee house, it&#8217;s hardly better. You get a cup of hot water, with a tea bag on the saucer beside it. Thomas describes this as a silent message to the guest: make your own drink, we can&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 18, he travels to Japan for the first time. There, he consciously drinks real tea for the first time, and it&#8217;s a second shock \u2014 this time a positive one. Green tea, unsweetened, without milk, without additives, and it tastes good right away. In Austria, tea is mostly something you drink when you&#8217;re sick. In Japan, it&#8217;s part of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This single experience sets a plan in motion, one Thomas himself describes in this order: learn Japanese, study business, study tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">A Theologian of Tea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He goes to Japan and studies Tea Science \u2014 in German, the field is playfully called &#8220;Tee-ologie,&#8221; a pun on the word for theology. It&#8217;s a fairly technical program dealing with cultivars, growing conditions, processing methods, and sensory evaluation. Even during his studies, he specializes in green tea and Matcha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He doesn&#8217;t stay in the lecture hall, though. He spends much of his time on the tea fields with the farmers, learning cultivation, harvesting, and processing from the practical side. He can harvest and process tea himself. He knows how aroma develops, what role microclimate and fertilization play, and how to recognize it later in the cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He then trains as a tea taster, specializing in Japanese green teas. Today he distinguishes varieties, cultivars, and growing regions \u2014 for example, teas from Uji versus teas from <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/\">Nishio<\/a> \u2014 as well as the quality tiers within a single harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To this day, by his own account, he is Europe&#8217;s only trained expert in Japanese teas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">An Encounter in the Tea Field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The connection to Aiya doesn&#8217;t begin in a conference room, but between two rows of tea plants. Thomas works in the fields with his friend Takeshi, a tea farmer. At some point, Takeshi tells him he&#8217;s the only non-Japanese person, far and wide, who has ever taken a serious interest in tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Takeshi tells his family about it. His father and grandfather are also tea farmers, and the grandfather supplies, among others, a company called Aiya. Word gets around there that a foreigner is working in the fields. They want to meet him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s how Thomas meets the father of the current president \u2014 the fourth generation of the Sugita family. The company traces back to Aijiro Sugita I, who built up an indigo and tea production in Nishio in 1888, supplying mainly temples. Today, Aiya is run by the fifth generation. The partnership has existed for more than 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">The Moment the Decision Was Made<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Thomas has to narrow it down to one moment, it&#8217;s one that took place in the field. He notices that even in Japan, understanding of tea isn&#8217;t unlimited. For many people, it&#8217;s simply a product that&#8217;s assumed to be available in high quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hardly anyone sees the work behind it. For Matcha, the fields are shaded for six weeks. That means: covering them every morning, uncovering them every evening. For weeks. Across several hectares, managed by a married couple or a small family, with the children helping out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can taste this precision, Thomas says. It&#8217;s not about producing the cheapest possible product, but about a claim to excellence that still remains economically viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">33 Square Meters, a Fax Machine, and a PC Tower<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The business side begins in 2001, and quite unspectacularly. His own Vienna apartment doubles as the office: 33 square meters, a fax machine, a telephone, a PC tower, a printer. Minimal equipment, a single goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It takes two years before the first notable successes appear. Between 2003 and 2008, the first employees join, more customers come on board, and processes become more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2008, a strategic decision is made: the move to Hamburg. In Vienna, with its coffee house culture, tea isn&#8217;t an everyday drink. In Hamburg, it&#8217;s part of the city&#8217;s history, and the business environment offers a better network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One thing Thomas still likes to recall: all four employees came along. His first employee, a former fellow student, was half-Japanese and brought, alongside professional expertise, the linguistic and cultural competence that makes the difference at the interface with customers, partners, and suppliers in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">Three Mistakes He Talks About Openly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entrepreneurship in the early 2000s happened without today&#8217;s infrastructure of podcasts, online courses, and founder communities. Anyone who wanted to build something had to figure it out themselves. Mistakes happened accordingly, and Thomas names three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Too little courage to take risks.<\/strong> The fear of failure was too present for too long. His advice to his younger self: failure is part of learning, a failed project is a source of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The wrong market environment.<\/strong> Building a tea company in a coffee city cost years. The move to Hamburg corrected that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Specialists, too early.<\/strong> In a company&#8217;s early phase, it needs generalists. Specialists develop their strengths later, once structures are clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fourth point concerns communication itself. In the beginning, he explained far too much and let people taste far too little. The realization that Matcha has to be prepared the way people actually like it \u2014 and that then there&#8217;s hardly anything left to explain \u2014 cost him twenty years and about a thousand wrong turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">Why a Ceremonial Matcha Doesn&#8217;t Belong in a Latte<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thomas&#8217;s specialty is the differences you can&#8217;t see on the packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/\">Ceremonial Grade<\/a> refers to the highest-quality tea from the first harvest, intended for pure preparation. Using it for milk-based drinks, Thomas considers a misunderstanding. His analogy: you don&#8217;t mix cocktails with grand cru champagne. Not a sin, but wasteful, since the nuances get lost in the milk anyway. For a Matcha with a splash of milk, he recommends a quality <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/\">Barista Grade<\/a>, tailored for that purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what many underestimate: genuine ceremonial quality can only be scaled to a limited extent. The stone mill needs about an hour for 30 grams of Matcha. It can&#8217;t go faster without the quality suffering. Thomas compares this to handmade Swiss watches. Barista and food-grade qualities can be scaled more easily; genuine ceremonial quality remains scarce, and the price will keep rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For him, there&#8217;s a simple reason why so many Matcha products on the market disappoint: ground green tea is used where Matcha should be. As he puts it, that tastes terrible, and customers buy it once and never again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">Kaizen, Punctuality, and a Calendar with Two Fixed Points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty years of Japan have left their mark, and Thomas names them specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Respect, regardless of the other person&#8217;s social standing. Punctuality, thoroughly instilled in him in Japan: arriving right on the minute is already late, five minutes early is the minimum. And Kaizen, continuous improvement, which by his own account sometimes drives his employees to despair, because it can feel like nothing is ever good enough for him. The idea behind it is different, though: to keep questioning yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He describes his leadership style as passionate, consistent, disciplined, and draws the connection to marathon running himself: set a goal, keep going, cross the finish line. He expects excellence from his team, though he explicitly doesn&#8217;t understand that as flawlessness, but as a standard you hold yourself to. He likes giving people tasks that are a bit too big for them, because he usually sees more potential in good employees than they see in themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two things stay on the calendar, no matter how full it is. Tasting, because his love of the product is his core motivation. That also includes sampling small amounts of inferior products from the market, to stay informed. And the team: if someone has a concern, he makes time for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked how he likes to drink his Matcha, he answers in two words: <a href=\"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/tea-encyclopedia\/\">plain, straight<\/a>. With the addition that tastes differ, and everyone should do what tastes best to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-xl-font-size\">The Goal: The Fourth Pillar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vision was ambitious from the start: to establish Matcha as a fourth category alongside coffee, tea, and cocoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took twenty-five years to bring Matcha out of its niche. The social media hype of recent years has accelerated what Thomas prepared over two decades. Iced Matcha Latte has become a pop-culture phenomenon. He says openly that the many variations with milk and fruit pur\u00e9e aren&#8217;t his preferred way of preparing it, but he still sees the benefit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New tastes need time. The first beer probably didn&#8217;t taste good to almost anyone either. Gradually, people dive deeper and come to appreciate Matcha plain, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-paper-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9fae132e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<p class=\"tp-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">Quick Profile<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer at a Glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-style-regular wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name<\/td><td>Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Known as<\/td><td>The Teepapst<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Since<\/td><td>Working with Japanese tea since 1991<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Education<\/td><td>Japanese, business studies, Tea Science in Japan; trained Tea Taster<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Specialty<\/td><td>Japanese green teas, particularly Matcha: cultivars, growing regions, quality tiers<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Goal<\/td><td>Establishing Matcha as a fourth category alongside coffee, tea, and cocoa<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Channels<\/td><td>YouTube @Teepapst, Instagram @der_teepapst, LinkedIn<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"tp-dark wp-block-group alignfull has-black-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<p class=\"tp-eyebrow is-gold has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Buy at <span style=\"white-space:nowrap;text-transform:none\">aiya \u2013 THE TEA<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">Ready for real Japanese tea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"tp-cta-line has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">The complete range for private and business customers can be found in our aiya \u2013 THE TEA brand&#8217;s webshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-20959078 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"is-style-tp-gold wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/aiyatea.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shop for private customers<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-style-tp-ghost wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/aiyatea.com\/b2b-registrierung\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">For business customers<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow The Teepapst Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer Thomas M. Gr\u00f6mer, &#8220;the Teepapst,&#8221; is a trained tea taster and one of the few Europeans to have studied Tea Science in Japan. He has been working with Japanese tea since 1991 and was the first to bring Matcha to Europe. From cultivation through harvest to grinding, he acquired [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-landing","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-484","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teepapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}