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A^]`ZWUV`( 2]PdO BSO continued from page 63 A tep inside Dobra Tea in downtown Burlington, Vt., and you will think you're in a different country. In a sense, you are. But the country in question is not Sri Lanka, China or any other exotic tea-source locale that so many teahouses strive to conjure. The country is the Czech Republic, in the heart of Europe. The cheerful wood chairs, tables, cabinets, shelves—essentially the whole business—arrived from Prague in a container in 2003 and were installed in a leased space just a few paces from the upscale shops and restaurants of Burlington's lively Church Street pedestrian zone. Instead of faux-origin decor, you get an authentic European import. Authenticity is what Dobra is all about. While the com- pany has grown from a single shop on Prague's Wenceslas Square to a network of 20 shops in Europe and four in the United States, with more than 225 employees (or "devotees," as the company terms them) in the Dobra community, it remains true to its ori- gins and its focus on tea expertise. WINDOW OF FREEDOM Dobra began as an act of civil disobedi- ence. In the 1980s, Czechoslovakia was under Communist rule. Like free speech and the right to assemble, loose-leaf tea was denied to ordinary citizens, though it was enjoyed by the political elite. Jiri Simsa found this intolerable and did something about it. "I started to drink loose-leaf tea as a protest against Communist society," he recalls. "Beer and cheap coffee were the only options here, and I did not want to follow the mainstream." Simsa and his friend—now business partner—Ales Jurina orga- nized a clandestine Tea Society, meeting in the apartments of its members to share loose-leaf teas smuggled in from Hungary, East Germany and other Communist countries. It was illegal for people to meet in groups without police permission, Simsa remembers, so the Tea Society remained a closely guarded secret. They gath- ered, listened to Radio Free Europe and tasted teas that took them far away from their shackled homeland. Tea remained Simsa's "window of freedom" during compulsory military service: "I spent many nights in some hidden corner of the barracks, observing leaves floating in my glass and dreaming about freedom." $" TEA ALMANAC 2012 That dream became a reality in 1989, when the Communist state dissolved during the peaceful "Velvet Revolution." The new Czech Republic was flooded with fresh ideas … and poor-quality tea. In response, Simsa and Jurina founded the Company of Tea Devotees in 1992, and the following year they opened the original Dobra Cajovna, or "Good Tearoom." The launch was less than auspicious. "On opening day, we expected lines of customers," says Simsa. "We sold just one bam- boo strainer, for $1.50—our first income." Success came eventu- ally, and the company was soon able to open more shops in the Czech Republic, as well as neighboring Poland and Hungary. CHURCH OF TEA According to Simsa, it is a Czech custom to meet friends in a café, bar or restaurant rather than at home. These places are homey, personable and relaxed. They're decorated to put guests at ease and to facilitate the free exchange of ideas and opinions. "We wanted some- thing like a special kind of living room where we could meet our friends," Simsa s ay s. "Someone told us that we had created something between a bar and a church." This spirit is reflected in the Burlington shop, partly because it was literally trucked in from the old country. Simsa and Jurina didn't know any Vermont cabi- net makers, so using photos and measure- ments of the space sent by email, they designed the interiors and had the furnishings made in Prague (at a fraction of the likely cost of using Vermont artisan craftsmen). The mood is not tea-pedantic, but upbeat and welcoming—buttery yellow walls, plenty of burnished and ceramic pots on display, the soft chiming of bells to request service, the hum of conversation and laughter. It's a perfect match for the location, a pictur- esque small city overlooking Lake Champlain and New York's Adirondack Mountains, with a strong college vibe and a progres- sive political and social outlook. This brings us to the other pillar of authenticity: Dobra's approach to tea itself. More than 70 percent of Dobra's product is supplied directly from growers in Sri Lanka, India, China, Japan and elsewhere with whom the company has nurtured relationships begun during site visits. These explorations are ©DOBRA TEA/ANDREW SNAVELY