This project is about the most widely consumed beverage in the world: Tea. Due to its history tea has a very rich and variegated culture which reaches back thousands of years. Originally made out of one specific plant called Camellia sinensis, countless plants where added to the endless range of tea cultivar – the herbal teas.

The Tearista is developed in cooperation with L'Oreal and two pharmacies in Vienna, where personalized tea blends for different needs were offered for years. As the positive effects of herbal blends is still very underestimated as perfect preventive medical treatment, Tearista proposes to bring tea into peoples everyday lives. Therefore a new contemporary ritual of brewing and consuming tea that fits the modern western lifestyle was necessary.

2015 - University of Applied Arts

Within ethnographic studies I tracked the daily habits of people of different ages and occupations to identify their nutrition levels as a key factor to a preventive lifestyle and to get an idea where tea fits into their daily lives.

The Tearista consists of traditional materials associated with tea, while still breaking its common aesthetics & preparation methods. The setup is ment to prepare cold tea (herbal decoctions) that can be enjoyed throughout the year. 

The ceramic base is forming the lower part of the tea bottle. It is opaque to protect the tea from sunlight and topped with a glass upper which can be twisted off to be used as a drinking glass. For preparing the tea within the bottle I designed a glass cube, which contains the herbes and also works as the stabilizing part when put into the fridge.

When implementing a concept in everyday life, it doesn't stop at the consumer side. It was important to think about the presentation of the herbal blends in the pharmacies as well. The idea was to create a new image with a simple step: Taking the teas from behind the scenes directly to the shelves in the shop area. Space in pharmacies is always rare, so in order to do so, I had to come up with a simple and space saving, yet still effective solution:

Simple and reduced herb dispensers, hanging from the ceiling, presenting the huge variety of cultiva, ready to be mixed individually for every customer.