Patrik Gertschen takes his time. A personal tasting at the Markthalle im Viadukt in Zurich is exactly the right setting for tea – far better than a hasty sip between meetings. A tea leaf only reveals itself fully when water temperature, timing, and stillness come together. Gertschen is a restaurateur and selects teas for Doktor Tee in the Suedhang universe. As a tea sommelier, he handles tastings, orders, and private inquiries – at a place where wine knowledge and tea expertise meet in practice.
We work through several teas, each in small pours. The goal is not to quickly like a tea, but to understand it. Every tea gets multiple steepings, every temperature is deliberate. It quickly becomes clear how much a leaf can change when given room to open up. The first infusion sets the direction, the second reveals the real shape, and only afterward comes that quiet depth that makes tea so compelling.
Patrik Gertschen at work with oolong. (Image: Peter Jauch for finews)
Of everything we taste, one oolong stays with me: Oriental Beauty, from Taiwan. In the cup, an image of fresh peach emerges – juicy, bright, not jammy, more like biting into the fruit than eating dessert. That peach note carries through each infusion, sometimes more present on the nose, sometimes as a soft fruity sweetness on the palate, always precise.
