Adnan Smajic is the only certified sommelier for tea in the Balkans, and he completed the school in Germany. He worked as a doctor when the aggression on our country led him to Germany, where he met the world of tea for the very first time.
Although our country is known for its coffee-drinking tradition, his little tea store named Franz & Sophie has its regular customers, both older and younger ones, who are happy to come for a cup of their favorite beverage that Adnan prepares in a very special way. For those who are in the rush, Adnan has already prepared small paper bags with the tea they want, as well as the recommendation on how to prepare and drink it.
“At the moment, I have a total of 220 kinds of tea from China, Japan, India, Ceylon and many other countries from all over the world, whose tradition of drinking tea has become a real treasure. Citizens of BiH, unfortunately, do not have a much-developed habit of drinking tea, but that is something that is changing. People are discovering the benefits of this drink on a daily basis, and when I compare the year of 2010 and now, I can say that we improved a lot,” said Smajic and added that our citizens like to drink green and white tea as well as those flavored with aromas like ginger and fruit.
The most expensive tea in his store is gyokuro, made of Camellia Sinensis, which grows in Japan and costs about 1,600 BAM. “The most valuable drops of dew”, would be the correct translation of the name of this tea. The oldest tea in Smajic’s store is 15 years old.
The way of preparation also gives a special value to tea. Some countries brought this process to perfection. Smajic explained that there are still some tea-making schools in Japan as well as a special tea store in which you can come and look how masters are preparing some kinds of tea for hours.
(Source: akta.ba)
