The Story of Dobrá Tea

Dobrá Tea began in Czechoslovakia during the last few years of Communism. Due to a shortage of foreign currency, high quality teas were reserved for the government and military elite. The founders and suppliers of Dobrá began as a group of young tea lovers (“devoteas”) who began meeting to sample rare Indian, Chinese, and Japanese teas smuggled into Prague from East Germany.

After the Velvet Revolution (1989), the devotees founded their official Society of Tea Devoteas (1992) and their first Bohemian-style tearoom, Dobrá Čajovna, in Prague (1993). The Tearoom became a shelter, where like-minded individuals could gather and taste the world of tea. The company began to spread its tea concept to cities and small towns throughout the Czech Republic.

In 2003, Dobrá Tea opened its first U.S. tearoom in Burlington, VT. Dobrá has since opened additional tearooms in the United States and presently operates in Asheville & Black Mountain, NC; Portland, ME; Pittsburgh, PA; Northampton, MA, and as of Summer 2014 in ASHLAND, OR.  Each Dobrá Tearoom is independently owned and operated by highly trained Devoteas who maintain the very high standard of service that the tearoom requires.

Tea Travels

Traveling to tea growing countries annually, we have gone to great distances to source all of our teas directly from their regions of origin. Our direct relationship with tea growers allows us to ensure that our teas represent the best balance of quality, growing practices, and value.

The Ashland Tearoom

At Dobrá Tea we create an atmosphere where you may find serenity alone or connect with friends and loved ones. Our tearoom is an eclectic mix of Bohemian, Moroccan, Middle Eastern and Asian aesthetic, offering a comfortable transporting break from the every day.

For those of us at Dobrá — tea is a way of life — and the concept of a tearoom is both ancient and modern. The tearoom gives us an opportunity to share in the very old practice of tea drinking in a meaningful space that does not discriminate. The tearoom is a focus, a center, and a space where balance is sought. It is a place that is always there to even out the impacts of external influences — cultural, social, communal, religious, international, or internal.  Just as an empty tea cup welcomes each infusion, the tearoom is a vessel holding space for individual reflection or community connection.

Welcome to Dobrá Tea!

In Service and In Tea,

Travis Peterson (owner)