Ronnefeldt: 200 years of tea culture from Frankfurt
When a tea house has existed since 1823, there is more behind every cup than just an infusion. Today Ronnefeldt is one of the leading tea brands in international top-class hotels – and has nevertheless remained a family business.
A bold start away from the seaports
In 1823 Johann Tobias Ronnefeldt founded his tea house in Frankfurt am Main. For the time, that was a venture: the tea trade took place in the big seaports, not inland. Looking back, the company itself calls it “a bold step”. The house outlasted wars, crises and several changes of generation – and is still run as a family business today, currently by its owner Jan-Berend Holzapfel.
Over 350 varieties and in-house tea tasters
Around 130 employees, over 350 kinds of tea, Ronnefeldt tea in 80 countries: the house has grown without losing its standards. In-house tea tasters select the lots, regular checks safeguard the level.
Origin here is not a label but craft. With around 660 tea gardens, Assam is the largest contiguous growing area in the world and lies at 300 to 800 metres on both sides of the Brahmaputra. The Darjeeling gardens reach up to 2200 metres – there the moment of harvest decides the character, from the flowery First Flush through the full-bodied Second Flush to the Autumnals. On Ceylon the monsoon determines the picking times: in Uva the harvest runs from July to September, in Dimbula from January to March.
Knowledge that is passed on
It is remarkable how consistently Ronnefeldt passes on tea knowledge. The Ronnefeldt Tea Academy ranges from the two-hour basic seminar through the TeaSpecialist to the Tea Master Gold, which is completed over eight days on tea plantations in Sri Lanka. Every year over 100 Tea Masters are trained and around 20 000 employees worldwide are given instruction. Anyone who has ever been served a really carefully brewed tea in a good hotel has probably had this system in the glass.
Responsibility at origin
Ronnefeldt is organically certified (DE-ÖKO-003) and has been a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership since 2013. By 2027 the organic share of the range is to rise to 26 per cent. Some of the partnerships with suppliers have existed for generations – transparency and traceability are a question of the relationship here, not just of the seal.
Our Ronnefeldt selection
At Feinkost Schmitz you will find Ronnefeldt in three forms: the practical Joy of Tea sachets – such as Morgentau, English Breakfast, Masala Chai or Green Dragon Lung Ching –, loose tea in the 100 g tin such as Almkräuter, Bio Bergkräuter or the Ruanda Rukeri, and the tasting boxes. The latter are our tip for getting started and as a gift: ten varieties, one decision fewer – for example the Genusskollektion or the green tea tasting box.
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