Green Tea Blue Sky Shop

Maria Schlechter & Richard Eigner

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
Richard: Green Tea Blue Sky is run by my partner Maria Schlechter and me. The project was born out of Maria’s search for a ceramics workshop in Vienna, paired with my long-held dream of opening a tea space.

I had previously taken over the Green Tea Blue Sky online shop from Maria’s cousin, Bernhard Engelmann, a student of the Japanese Urasenke tea school. While walking through the Servitenviertel in Vienna’s 9th district, we spotted a notice in a window looking for the next tenant of a ceramics workshop.

As it turned out, the room had accommodated several ceramic artists for over 80 years. One of them was the famous ceramicist Kurt Ohnsorg, who used this room as an experimental laboratory. To this day, the huge kiln he installed is a cherished part of our tea room.

After six months of hands-on renovation, we refreshed the space while preserving its old charm. The front is now a cozy tea house and a venue for tastings and culinary events, while the back accommodates a ceramics atelier.

What part of the day, space, or creative process do those who work here enjoy the most?
Maria: I love discovering tools and materials that ceramicists have left behind in the workshops over the past decades. There are tile molds that I reuse for plates, or ashes from various plants that I can use for glazes.

Someone also collected sand from different regions of the world while traveling, which I can also use for glazes. There is also a collection of rare stones that could create interesting glazes. I just need to find a tool to grind them.

The tools and materials encourage new ideas and give me clues for processing ceramics that I could explore.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
Richard: We are known to have one of the largest selections of high-quality matcha from the eminently respectable tea companies Marukyu Koyamaen and Horii Shichimeien, but I would love to introduce Japanese oolong tea to a larger audience, so this could be really interesting for first-time visitors.

If you don’t want to drink so much tea, we offer Japanese Kioke soy sauce and miso, as well as soy sauce produced directly in Vienna by our friends at Wiener Miso.

We also have a curated selection of tea bowls and teapots from Japan, Austria, and some made by Maria and exclusively available at the tea house.

Maria: A chat about whatever interests them about tea, ceramics, the place, fermentation, food…

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
Maria & Richard: Immediately after our opening, we were surprised by the worldwide matcha boom, which led to a great demand for the two Uji tea producers we proudly represent.

This was a welcome catalyst for our business, but it also presented a challenge. Our true passion lies in conveying tea culture and a respectful approach to products that have been carefully crafted over generations, rather than chasing the latest trend of colorful, sweetened lattes.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
Maria: Many different influences converge here: our shared interest in plants, nature, food, and agriculture. But also a general curiosity about culture, such as Japanese tea culture, and our interest in art (fine arts, ceramics, music, literature…).

Richard has worked as a musician and sound artist, and Maria as a cultural sociologist for many years.

What place, project, or person has inspired you recently and why?
Richard: I’m always inspired by our friend Angie Yitsu Chen from Deerland Tea Taiwan. She’s the ultimate “tea detective”: consistently tracking down the most jaw-dropping Taiwanese loose-leaf teas and uncovering creative new ways to brew them.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
Maria: I would invite my favorite author Peter Handke, serve him tea at our tea counter, and make a movie about tea conversations with random customers who pop in.

Richard: We regularly collaborate with our incredibly talented friends, Thomas Marquardt and Jasmin Schweidler. Thomas is a wildly innovative vegan chef, and together we host exclusive fine-dining pop-ups.

Jasmin is an exceptional pastry chef whose Matcha Mille-feuille and Strawberry Mochi have already built quite a fanbase. I would love to continue working with them in the future.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
Richard: Part of our “décor” is actually edible! Every year, I craft a traditional Wagashi (tea sweet) called Yubeshi. It is a citrus fruit filled with a rich miso and nut mixture, which is steamed and then hung to dry over a long period.

If you spot it hanging around, I’d be delighted to serve you a sample!

Maria: The large kiln in the middle of the guest room not only contains various notes on firing processes that we haven’t yet been able to properly interpret, but it also stood at the center of social gatherings.

In the 1960s, when Kurt Ohnsorg worked with the kiln, electricity was cheaper at night. Since the firing temperature had to be adjusted manually, nightly firing and drinking sessions took place here.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
Richard: I’d love to choose Miles Davis’s Panthalassa, one of my favorite records. It is incredibly adventurous, multilayered, and never ceases to fascinate me.

My wish is that our project brings that same endless sense of discovery to our guests.