What’s the connection between tea and peace? For many avid tea drinkers, they swear by the beverage’s properties to instantly bring some inner tranquillity. This rings true in Pieces of Peace, a cosy tea room where visitors can embark on a tea journey full of fascinating traditions, one comforting cup at a time.
The store that sits in one corner of Petak Enam in Glodok is a place of discovery and rediscovery of a tea culture that is slowly dimming in popularity. Here, they bring it back with extra flair, offering a wide selection of traditional teas namely from China, Taiwan and a handful of brews from Japan—in other words, countries where tea has its deep roots. Each teapot is brewed in heeds to traditions that you can observe in play at the tea bar.
From oolong to green tea, the selection is varied with more than 50 brews to choose from, most of which are single-origin teas from the aforementioned countries, including Indonesia, and blends from in-house tea brand Koningsplein Co. For the passionate tea drinkers, like the founder of Pieces of Peace Hutomo Joe, they may already know how they fancy their cup: a brew of an aged pu’er black tea (tea leaves aged and fermented for upwards of 3 years) or the simplicity of a silver needle white tea. “Like coffee beans, every tea tastes different. It’s a whole world of its own,” Joe put it nicely.
However, this tea room isn’t reserved for the connoisseurs only. Those with a little curiosity to spare is encouraged to find their cuppa, and starting simple is certainly the way to go while learning the customs and traditions of tea drinking. A cup of Japanese houjicha, for example, is drunk using one hand and in small searing hot sips. On the other hand, make sure to drink your matcha by holding the bowl in your two hands. It’s no pressure to get it right, yet the moment can be the inspiring gateway into this harmonious and novel world of tea.
While you bask in the harmony, soon enough you’ll notice a stream of old and young visitors settling in for their afternoon tea. While Pieces of Peace is proud of its traditional selections, their fun tea-based refreshers like the Momo Oolong (iced and sweetened oolong tea, served with a skewer of grapes) and a warm cup of Matcha Latte (served with Japanese mochi) are variations worth noting too. These drinks are proven popular among the youths but nothing will stop the grown-ups from enjoying a refreshing glass on any given day. Tea, in all its variations, is timeless.
Whether the visit to Pieces of Peace was a quick one or lasted three whole teapots, you will walk out of the store with a more peaceful mind than you came in. It could be the elixir, the soothing experience of tea making or simply both that work in mysterious ways to rejuvenate the mind.