Giusmìn is a tea lab in Milan that aims at innovating the tea landscape in Italy. “Giusmìn” means Jasmine but also something that is precious in dialect. Francesco started this project one year ago, carefully selecting the ingredients for his blends and continuously doing research to have the best tea selection in his shop.
What’s your story?
I was born in a small island in Veneto, with less than 400 inhabitants, and therefore I always thought that I could never live far from the sea. For this reason I decided to study in Trieste corporate communication and then in Rimini I specialised in fashion.
I worked in Milan for many multinational companies in the fashion and beauty industry, from the press office, to organising events and lastly, I took care of the customer experience of vip clients. Working for these big companies was a real life practice gym. I would spend my nights working and had two different phones, as I was dealing with colleagues from all over the world. But I have to admit that their lack of humanity made me a stronger person.
How did you realise tea was your passion?
In 2007 I decided I needed a break from work and give some time to myself. Back then, I knew little about tea, as a student I was drinking big cups of tea to focus, but nobody ever explained me much about it. Until, the owner of a tea house hired me and took me under his wing for three months. He owned an innovative shop, which served tea strictly following Chinese procedures and techniques, and that introduced new concepts such as that of double infusion. Since then, I became so curious about the world of tea that I could not stop thinking about it. And therefore, in my free time I started doing research about the most prestigious and niche teas on the market. I started measuring the quality of a tea shop by buying their most expensive earl grey and comparing it with others.
Three years ago I became a self-taught tea sommelier, by reading many books and watching online tutorials. Unfortunately, still nowadays tea books have inexact terms and often confuse many words, such as fermentation and oxidation, which are basic terms about two different tea processing. Then, I lately started attending an online course to become a tea sommelier in partnership with a Canadian institute.
What is your favourite tea?
I particularly appreciate Oolong teas for their complexity, as even a slightly different temperature can give always new aromatic notes, and every infusion gives you a different perception of it.
What are your top seller blends at Giusmìn?
My two top sellers are “Rossetto e cioccolato” (red lipstick with chocolate) and “Sunny”. These two blends are named after two of my favourite songs, which represent emotional concepts. I usually get inspired by places, movies or songs that were important in specific times of my life. “Rossetto e cioccolato” is a gourmet black tea from Yunnan, made with cocoa nibs, raspberries (which represent the red lipstick), cranberries, cinnamon and blackberry leaves (used as a natural sweetener). The name comes from the famous Italian song of Ornella Vanoni, who compares a relationship to a recipe, listing all the ingredients to ensure a good relationship.
Meanwhile, “Sunny” is inspired by Cher’s song and it is supposed to be a feel-good tea. It is a blend of Sencha green tea, dried pumpkin, orange zest and carrots. The natural aroma of grapefruit fills your house with a fragrance that makes you feel “sunny”, and brings some “sun” into your day. Dried pumpkin and carrots are ingredients that I use as a natural sweetener, to educate the consumer to stop using sugar and make them experience green tea in a different way.
What is your clientele?
Unfortunately, in Italy the oldest generations still perceive tea as a drink to have when you are sick or when you have a stomachache. However, I chose this specific neighbourhood (even if it’s on the other side of the city from where I live) as it is a young area of Milan, where people are aware and care about the food they eat. I can proudly say that the average age of my clientele is 35 years old. A lot of 20 years old girls come to Giusmìn and then share a bag of tea with their sister, their cousin or friend, which then come to me fascinated, asking for new teas and infusions to try. I aim at being in contact with the youngest generations, as they are curious and eager to learn about various teas and how to manipulate them. They are the ones that will influence the market and that make their loved ones try their favourite teas.
Tea is conviviality, and my clients share in a way my projects by supporting me. Coming in contact with new clients through world of mouth is one of the biggest acknowledgements!
What differentiates you?
Tea shops in Italy often have a mystic and spiritual vibe and are targeted to middle aged women. They are silent places, that make you feel uncomfortable by asking you specific questions about the tea you are looking for. This is exactly the opposite of what I do. Instead, I never ask my clients what they want (as anyone rarely knows what they actually want to buy!) but I often ask in which occasion they want to drink a tea (for example for breakfast or before bed time). I enjoy reflecting with them and understand which tea is more suitable for them. Moreover, I never try to change people’s habits by being assertive, but by giving advice and educating them about the importance of timing to avoid extracting bitter aromas from certain teas.
Giusmìn has an innovative and young approach to tea, my strategy is to use instagram to widen my clientele, using an easy going approach to this subject by posting some tips about temperature, timing and different techniques. I like to collaborate with medium-smaller influencers that believe in my project and that want to dedicate time in understanding my products.
How do you select your ingredients?
I have multiple suppliers, to ultimately have the best quality of each tea. I have a small but loyal selection of each, as I believe it is a better strategy instead of offering four different kinds of the same one. Lastly, I prefer to choose sustainable raw materials, for example our Earl Grey is made with bergamot from southern Italy.
What are the pro and cons of your job?
Research is definitely one of the most exciting parts of my job. I am fascinated by experimenting food and tea pairing, since I treat tea as a wine. In my shop I want people to experiment (especially through workshops) and knowing that my clients share my philosophy and make their loved ones try my products makes me feel fulfilled. I’m full of enthusiasm and I feel as if I was growing a newborn, who needs to be taken care of. I do everything on my own, and therefore I am sacrificing a lot my private life, as this projects needs all my time and attentions. However, I need to learn how to let go and sometimes relax, to ultimately dedicate some time to myself and my loved ones as well.
What were the main challenges of this year?
I opened Giusmìn one year ago, few months before Covid-19 arrived in Italy. I had to work a lot on the image of my tea lab, especially online, to build a clientele. However, when the pandemic arrived everything changed. I started shipping boxes around Italy to keep in contact with my old clients and to be able to reach new ones as well. Furthermore, one of the biggest challenges I had to face was summer. In Italy people consume tea seasonally, mainly during winter, therefore I had to find a strategy to sell my products also during summer. I invested a lot of time and effort on social medias communicating the importance of hydrating during this season, recommending green teas with low theine content and explaining how to prepare cold infusions. Seasonality is a big enemy in Italy!
Moreover, another challenge that I have to face is when clients come to my tea shop asking me for teas with “special properties” (such as anti-carcinogenic or weight loss). Educating my clients is part of my job and it is very important to explain that tea is not a magic potion, but a tasty and healthy drink that needs to be enjoyed.
What are you favourite tea rooms?
In Milan “Eastern leaves” is definitely one of my favourite tea rooms, as they strictly follow the Chinese tea ceremony tradition. The owner spent several years deepening her knowledge about Chinese pure teas and through workshops, she makes you experience the Chinese culture as if you were traveling to China. In Rome I advise you to go to “Babingtons”, an English style tea room of the nineteen century in Piazza di Spagna. Last but not least, “Acqua Madre” in Catania is one of my favourite places, as they join Sicilian food together with pure Asian teas.
What are your most exciting collaborations?
I particularly enjoy collaborating with small businesses which share my philosophy. One of my latest collaboration was with a Belgian chocolaterie in Milan, with whom I created a praline made with my earl grey. Moreover, I am now working for a Michelin star restaurant to come up with a “tea list” to pair with their menu.