East Frisian tea ceremony

Traditional "Teetied"

There is no other place where people drink as much tea as in East Frisia in Lower Saxony. Drinking tea is a delightful ceremony there. This requires porcelain cups with thin walls and the red "East Frisian rose" or blue decoration, a cream jug, a cream spoon, a "Kluntjepott" for the candy sugar cubes with tongs, a teapot warmer and a voluminous teapot. East Frisian tea uses a strong blend carefully selected from Assam, Ceylon, Java and Sumatra.

Curious about the taste of East Frisian tea? Then we would like to warmly invite you to an original East Frisian tea ceremony.

© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

The tea ceremony

Find out about the individual components of an East Frisian tea ceremony and acquire a deeper insight into the typical customs and traditions.
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 1

Pour the tea blend into the teapot and infuse with hot water. Then leave to steep for at least five minutes.
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 2

Remove a large chunk of Kluntje from the container using tongs and place it in the cup (Kluntje is a large dose of white candy sugar).
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 3

Slowly pour the tea into the cup. If the candy sugar "cracks", then the tea was hot enough. Do not stir.
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 4

The cream is then added to the tea on the inside edge of the cup using a small ladle. You do this anti-clockwise. You can now pause for a moment to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and watch what is going on in the cup.
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 5

Now it's time to marvel at the famous "Wulkje", which is created by the cream. The host takes the first cup before the guests are given a cup. This is a good way of checking whether the tea really tastes good. By the way, sipping is allowed and three cups of tea is "East Frisian law". Prior to drinking, the tea is not stirred to ensure that all three layers of tea can be savoured separately: creamy, bitter and sweet.
© Nordseeküsten-Radweg/ Florian Trykowski

Step 6

You should put your spoon in the cup if you don't want to drink any more tea after the third cup. Otherwise more and more tea will be poured.