Le Palais des Thés

Origins

Le Palais des Thés started out when François-Xavier Delmas, at the head of a group of forty-five tea enthusiasts, decided to create their own business in 1986. One goal: democratize tea and help the Occident to learn more about its cultural and gastronomical aspects. The first shops opens in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Four years later, François-Xavier Delmas acquires his partners’ shares in order to work full-time on its project.

Expansion

In 1991, after meeting a Japanese tour operator who had ordered a tonne of apple tea a few months earlier, Le Palais des Thés opened its first store as a partnership in Tokyo. Why a partnership, rather than a shop operating under its own name? Each choice is driven by the desire to retain flexibility and freedom in developing the business. In fact, this model has allowed Le Palais des Thés to launch new shops in numerous cities, in France and in other countries as such: Strasbourg (1997), Mulhouse (1986), Lille (1988), Lyon (2004), Montpellier (2005), Nantes and Toulouse (2005), Brussels (2001 and 2007), Oslo (2006 and 2007), Nîmes and Dublin (2008), Ljubljana (2009) and Tel-Aviv (2010).

Le Palais des Thés shops

Through its shops Le Palais des Thés sells a tea selection and other tea related objects.

Sharing knowledge and transmitting: the founding principles

The Tea School was created in 1999, 13 years after the first Le Palais des Thés shop. François-Xavier Delmas learned the tea business in the gardens and plantations, while talking to farmers and small producers. His travels took him to increasingly remote tea producing regions, providing him with exceptional experiences and discoveries, as well as images and words. Valuable relations were formed with artisan tea producers, and François-Xavier gradually built up a unique and extensive knowledge derived from many different sources. Convinced that Le Palais des Thés’ role was to share this knowledge with customers, he decided with Mathias Minet to create the Tea School. Initially set up in a small room in the Marais district of Paris, the first classes were attended by around ten students who would taste a variety of teas. There were two objectives: to impart knowledge of what takes place on the plantations, and to teach the art of tasting tea. Today the curriculum which is placing the emphasis on sensorial experience and hands-on tasting is also founded on an original pedagogical method. It has been elaborated by Carine Baudry, specialist in aromas and current manager for The Tea School. This method strongly links smelling and tasting which helps to learn progressively and to become a “tea tester”. With The Tea School going from strength to strength and to fulfill the demands of an ever wider public, Le Palais des Thés has created a new venue in 2008: a 200m² loft-style flat entirely devoted to tea expertise, in the heart of the 11th arrondissement of Paris.