Eighty Degrees Magazine

Some things are just toooo exciting.

At Eighty Degrees, we have discussed how some tearooms are seizing the opportunity to use tea as an ingredient in novelty concoctions. Some infuse spirits with tea leaves, while others focus on wonderful cold brew blends.

On our trip to Hong Kong last month, we had the pleasure of an impromptu visit to a recently (ish) launched evening tea bar. As an avid cocktail enthusiast, this certainly piqued my interest!

The folks at take spirit enhancements to new heights by distilling, macerating, and using hot infusion methods. The results are mind-blowing and provide an excellent example of how to entice new people to tea.

1. Carnelian: Yunnanese tangerine pu’er with pu’er slow-cooked rum, tangerine syrup, and hawthorn cordial

2. Rusty: Taiwanese red jade with red jade-redistilled gin, thyme slow-cooked rosso vermouth, and Campari

3. Tortoise Shell: kuki hojicha from Uji with rye whiskey, yuzu, black & white sesame, spices, black sugar, and fresh milk

4. Mengding Ganlu cold brew (to cleanse the palate)

5. Blaze: keemun from Anhui with keemun slow-cooked gin, peach liqueur, Peruvian organic coffee, and tangerine peel syrup

It’s no exaggeration to say that while a traditional Espresso Martini is a hit or miss in many establishments (more often a miss), Blaze made me rethink my definition of delight.

Making Eighty Degrees is a process without breaks. Stories for issue 12 are already taking shape and I’m particularly excited about this one. Can’t say much yet, but a returning contributor will make us feel ‘changes’. For now, just enjoy this dreamy lavender stroll.

Any guesses what the back colour of issue 11 is?

It’s always tricky to photograph the magazine as each cover is printed with a specific Pantone colour, meaning it can’t be reproduced on a screen. Photos are deceptive. In this case, the front of issue 11 comes in a lovely peachy orange with a strong metallic green. Plus some embossing and debossing, making it tactile and just 😍

Cover design by .algarve

Hello issue 11! 💥📙
Darjeeling, ikebana, synesthesia... and much more!

Did you know that more Darjeeling is sold every year than is produced? We chat with Nalin Modha about what makes this ‘Champagne of teas’ so unique.

Let’s take a walk through a forest and heighten our senses. What do you see? What do you smell? What are the colours around you? Watarai Toru tells us how he sees nature and what drives him to recreate it at his home through the art of ikebana.

We contemplate the perfection of our daily tea moments and how life very often gets in the way.

We savour chai in Tokyo, sit by a lake in China’s countryside to reminisce about the ancient ways of tea and its new, modern approaches, and investigate a national treasure of many South American countries and its evolution across centuries.

Tea experts answer your most pressing questions about tea and its culture, and we go on a journey across centuries to explore the changes Japanese tea bowls have experienced over time.

Last, but not least, we speak with Friday Elliott, a poly-synesthete, who can taste sounds and memories to create unique teas, and we look into what is happening with tea in Laos.

As Issue 10 playlist proved to be very popular, we have curated a new one to accompany your issue 11 🎶

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You can pre-order now for the first shipment on January 2nd 2024 to avoid Christmas postal madness.

"[In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic] we were lucky to have amazing neighbours who volunteered to give us a hand in the fields, once it was possible to move around and meet others. But it taught me a lot — it’s always good to have a plan A, but also B and C. Things rarely go the way we want them, so being ready for unforeseen eventualities makes us more resilient."

Nina Gruntkowski from Chá Camélia in issue 10.

This teapot by award-winning goldsmith and lapidarist Tara Coomber is simultaneously robust and delicate. The dark ebony-coloured wood and sharp diagonal angles lends the work a sense of power, and yet it balances on the tiniest of points, creating the appearance of elevation. Coomber has cited Henning Koppel’s work for Georg Jensen as one of her earlier influences, admiring the organic quality of his silver pieces. The dynamic momentum in its form suggests the leap forward into the 21st century.

From the Chitra Collection in London.

Le Goûter (Tea Time) - Jean Metzinger – 1911 - Philadelphia Museum of Art

The captivating story of the O***m Wars — a 19th-century conflict driven by economic interests, power dynamics, and the o***m trade's devastating impact — left a lasting imprint on global history. In issue 03 we uncovered the intriguing events, notable figures, and far-reaching consequences in this remarkable journey through time.

Simply summarised: China controlled every option in what British traders could buy and where from, and how they had to pay for it. As the giant East India Company grew, tea was the major 'what' and 'where', as Britain’s demand grew and grew through the 18th and 19th centuries. But the Chinese Empire did not want or need corresponding European goods and accepted only silver in payment, leading to a huge trading deficit in Britain — a situation only a war could 'resolve'.

Did you know a new category of ships was create in the 19th century to carry tea from China to Europe at incredible speeds?

Meet Cutty Sark, perhaps the most famous tea clipper which, despite its relatively short career of transporting tea, set speed records and became an icon of Victorian engineering and sailing ship design.

154 years after it was built and numerous journeys across the oceans, it is now docked, refurbished and preserved in London, where it is open to public.

You can our interview with the Cutty Sark curator Louise Macfarlane about its sea-faring journeys in issue 10.

Photos by Royal Museums Greenwich.

How's your collection going?

2 June 2020
I count my blessings. I have not been sick. I still have a job, and I’m writing this entry from the comfort of my home. Tea has kept me afloat. It’s been three months already, into something we thought would pass within two weeks. Three months of tea and tumult. Yet tea is a timeless companion. A peaceful presence and a sparkling remembrance. Especially at this time, a place of refuge from the chaos that surrounds us.

Powerful and uplifting words from Farah Abdessamad's diary in issue 05. Looking back at what seemed like an impossible situation. A reminder that nothing is permanent and that solace can be found in the ordinary too.

Stunning illustrations by the one Silvan Borer.

Once I understood the health benefits from drinking tea
— all the things it does with its antioxidants and polyphenols, amino
acids, and great compounds; how it helps us age better — I wanted to
introduce it to my community. That was super important. Because from
research, we know the Black community is the unhealthiest group in
the United States. We deal with a lot of ailments. And tea is the one
beverage that continues to help us manage or lower the percentage of
these ailments that we deal with. It’s a superfood; it’s a ‘superdrink.’
And not just the Black community. I learned this is the American
community: For the most part, we lead the world in numerous ailments.

-- Wayne Ashford in issue 10.

Studio by Song Feng in Jingdezhen. Photo by Shokan.

Wuyishan stories

Photos by Simone Engelen

"Tea is the only simple pleasure left to us."
- Oscar Wilde

Europe has its cafés and pubs, so China has its own gathering place: the tea house. Widespread from the late 19th century until the 1950s, it evolved across different regions, with each region retaining its own style. Sichuan province, particularly the city of Chengdu, still keeps this traditional public space as an inherent part of its daily life.

Afternoons are busy, with all Chengdu society converging there: idle youngsters, businessmen negotiating deals, elders chatting or playing mahjong. In the past, when little entertainment was available, tea houses would be filled in the evenings, becoming cultural centres of folk performances such as storytelling or ballad singing.

The tea house is a common space where everyone has an equal right to relax and to interact with public life, while enjoying a cup of tea. Its affordability makes it a natural meeting place for all Chengdu residents as a daily habit, if not an addiction. Despite political changes, economic crises and modern urbanisation, Chengdu’s tea houses are the strongest representation of small businesses and local culture surviving and adapting down the centuries.

Text and photos by Gwen Chesnais.

Farmers weeding at noon,
Sweat down the field soon.
Who knows food on a tray,
Thanks to their toiling day?

— Li Shen, Toiling Farmers

Photos by

Farmers weeding at noon,
Sweat down the field soon.
Who knows food on a tray,
Thanks to their toiling day?

— Li Shen, Toiling Farmers

Photos by Simone Engelen

Stepping into a realm of discovery and beauty - where the senses are engaged, and rituals shared. Yugen Tea Bar

In the early days, the tea shop offered a selection of white teas, wulongs, and black teas, but Sebastian had a clear vision of creating something unique. That’s when the idea of Earl Grey Portugal took shape. “Earl Grey is one of our bestsellers. It’s a well-known tea, and many people, even those unfamiliar with tea, have heard of it, although they often mistake it for a specific brand rather than a blend. Our Earl Grey is my own creation, combining black teas from China, India, and Sri Lanka with locally grown bergamot.

Working with bergamot brings me pure delight. When people enter the shop, they are instantly intrigued because bergamot has a familiar scent, as it was widely used in perfumes in the past, even though many may not know what it is. Earl Grey Portugal is a beautiful tea that can be enjoyed on its own in the afternoon or paired with a sandwich. And since it is partly a product of Portugal, it holds a special place in my heart.”

Sebastian Filgueiras of .portugueza.do.cha in issue 10.

"Tea is the beverage of those who refuse to rush through life."
- Unknown

Photo by Zhong Yuemin

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, made from the leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. This small, evergreen tree with yellow-white flowers is cultivated in over 50 countries around the world. It is native to China, where its usage dates back to around 4,000 years ago, both as a beverage and a medicine. However, the actual tea cultivation in China started only around 200 BCE, and by 600 CE it had travelled to Japan with itinerant Buddhist monks. Camellia sinensis then spread quickly throughout Southeast Asia and into Europe, and beyond. Plantations are today found across the world: in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. There is even tea grown in North America.

For such a ubiquitous plant and drink, you might expect that this species is under no risk of going extinct. However, a 2017 study of the extinction risk of the entire tea plant family, the Red List of Theaceae by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), saw that many relatives of the tea plant are at high risk, and Camellia sinensis was assessed as Data Deficient. But how can such a widespread and widely cultivated species be classified as lacking data?
The reason lies in the long history of the plant’s use. As this species has been in cultivation for so long, no truly wild populations are known. This means that we do not know the distribution of its wild populations, how many individuals are left or if they are experiencing threats. There are many old records of tea that date back many thousands of years, but these are the remains of abandoned ancient plantations. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish between the cultivated plants and wild plants in the tea-growing regions.

“To me, tea is an art form in its own right. It requires a slow and deliberate approach.”

Sebastian Filgueiras, the owner Companhia Portugueza do Chá , a tea shop nestled in the historic heart of Lisbon, readily puts you at ease. His friendly composure, passion for the arts, and eagerness to share his knowledge about tea create an inviting atmosphere that tempts you to explore every hidden corner of this treasure trove of a shop. In 2014, Sebastian opened his establishment to a sceptical clientele. While the Portuguese have long enjoyed their tea, their understanding of what tea truly encompasses remains somewhat hazy.

Full interview with Sebastian in issue 10.

Neon lights of Hong Kong in the heart of Soho.

Photo by

Attaya is the Senegalese tea ritual in which three consecutive cups of tea are consumed. The brewing process is purposefully laborious and time consuming, used to kill away the day-time hours in a social manner. Every corner of every town in Senegal is posted up with an attaya grill tucked into a shady spot, with a crowd gathered around it in the early afternoon.

The event is social and jovial but also taken in with practised consideration. I feel silly watching after the thirtieth back and forth from cup to cup, the froth no more or less in volume with each pour. To the young man making the attaya under the watchful guard and commentary of the old man in the chair, this is the rich continuation of a cultural staple that has been around for decades or more.

Words by Jake Potashnick in issue 5.

A favourite tea spot. What’s yours?

Photo by and location: Plantation HK