How a Swiss Visionary Is Redefining Tea – From Dubai
How a Swiss Visionary Is Redefining Tea – From Dubai
Our author met the Avantcha founder in Zurich – and the conversation quickly turned from tea and the secrets of matcha to a deeper exchange about quality, culture and life itself.
Speaking with Swiss entrepreneur Markus Zbinden, who is setting new global benchmarks in the tea market with Avantcha, inevitably leads to bigger questions: taste, design, and values.
Zbinden is an entrepreneur with an eye for both opportunity and aesthetics. While tea remains an afterthought in many Western countries, he recognized its potential a decade ago: as a symbol of culture, craftsmanship, and refined, responsible luxury.
Modern Tea Culture
His products bring these qualities to the fore. Operating out of Dubai, Zbinden and his co-founders have built one of the most exciting contemporary tea brands, appreciated by designers, chefs, and connoisseurs alike.
While many in Europe still view tea as a remedy or winter beverage, the Swiss entrepreneur is building a modern tea culture. Together with co-founders Marina Rabei and Chris Lehmann, he has established a brand that redefines enjoyment, origin, and aesthetics. Today, Avantcha stands for premium tea – minimalist in concept, visually distinctive, and internationally successful.
Avantcha teabar and retail store in Dubai. (Image: Courtesy)
A Global Idea
Zbinden hails from Switzerland – a country better known for precision, watches, ideas, and Zweifel potato chips than for tea culture. That may have been part of the appeal: reimagining tea as a blank canvas.
He left Switzerland with the idea in mind. In Dubai, Zbinden found the ideal location: cosmopolitan, discerning, open to new forms of indulgence, and strategically positioned. Asian tea gardens are as close as Europe.
Design, Clarity, Respect
In 2014, he launched Avantcha with his two partners. The name fusing «avant-garde» with «cha», the Chinese word for tea.
«We wanted to reinterpret tea and bring it out of the shadows for European consumers,» Zbinden said. The goal: to move beyond outdated clichés toward design clarity and deep respect for the product.
Avantcha sources its teas from prestigious gardens in Japan, China, India, and Sri Lanka, many of them organically cultivated. Packaging is clean, modern, and functional. Even in storytelling, the brand avoids stereotypes: «We talk about quality, terroir, and flavor.»
Not a Trend – a Craft
Avantcha’s flagship product is matcha. While many brands market matcha as a lifestyle trend or superfood, Markus Zbinden takes a purist, quality-driven approach.
«To us, matcha isn’t a trend – it’s a centuries-old craft,» he explained.
Avantcha sources from small, specialized gardens in Japan where the leaves are shade-grown, hand-picked, and stone-ground. The result: a vibrant green powder with a complex aroma, refined bitterness, and intense energy.
The Secrets of Matcha
The company emphasizes education and proper preparation. «Bad matcha tastes flat and grassy – good matcha is creamy, structured, and vibrant. The color should be deep green. If it’s brownish, that signals poor storage or low quality.»
At Avantcha boutiques, in barista trainings, and in the culinary world, matcha is not just served, it’s explained, celebrated, and taken seriously. Starting this fall, matcha workshops will also be offered in Switzerland.
Matcha cocktails and pairings with sweet or savory snacks are also growing in popularity, particularly among urban, health-conscious consumers seeking alternatives to coffee or alcohol.
«More Than an Infusion»
To Zbinden, matcha is the perfect fusion of focus, enjoyment, and modernity: «Anyone who’s experienced true matcha understands that tea is more than just an infusion.»
In a world defined by speed and overstimulation, conscious rituals offer a counterpoint. Matcha – with its intricate preparation and quiet power – provides a moment of deceleration, clarity, and calm. Other teas, like oolong and pu’erh, offer similar me-time potential.
A Stylish Answer to Coffee Culture
Zbinden sees urban consumers embracing matcha as a stylish counter to coffee culture – less frantic, no less energizing. The combination of caffeine and L-theanine in matcha produces a calm, sustained focus that many find more centering.
«It’s not just about pleasure – it’s about intention,» said Zbinden. «Matcha demands attention, and gives it back in return.»
Cold Brew Tea: Quiet Refreshment With Depth
If matcha represents power, ritual, and focus, Cold Brew tea is its glass-bound counterpart: lightness, elegance, and understatement. Cold extraction reveals aromatic notes that are often hidden in hot brews – fewer tannins, more floral, fruity, and mineral tones.
«Cold Brew is like the essence of tea in slow motion,» said Zbinden.
With its Platinum Collection of top-shelf teas, Avantcha’s Cold Brews offer a refined sensory uplift. In restaurants, Cold Brew tea is increasingly used as a non-alcoholic pairing or a base for summer cocktails.
Product Design and Visual Identity
A key to Avantcha’s success lies in its design: minimalist and modern with strong brand recognition. Packaging is functional yet elegant, with colors, shapes, and textures that reflect the premium nature of the contents.
This visual language is no accident. In a world where brands are judged on Instagram, Avantcha ensures that tea is perceived as a lifestyle experience. «Design isn’t an add-on – it’s part of the quality,» Zbinden emphasized.
Hospitality, Education & Community
Avantcha invests heavily in education and community-building. The company offers training programs for baristas, sommeliers, and chefs, organizes matcha ceremonies, and hosts food-pairing events. The goal: to elevate tea to the same level as wine or coffee.
In gastronomy, tea is increasingly served with dessert or as a base for non-alcoholic cocktails. In Dubai and Bangkok, Avantcha operates its own teabars. A recent license in Thailand now allows the sale of alcohol – and tea-based cocktails, both with and without alcohol, are now part of the offering.
Sustainability as Standard
Avantcha’s commitment to quality is inseparable from its approach to sustainability. Collaborations with small producers, fair pricing, and long-term relationships are integral to the business model. Zbinden insists: «Luxury and responsibility should not be opposites – they belong together.»
The company actively reviews its ecological footprint – from packaging to logistics. Full traceability back to the harvest is a given.
Perhaps the truly avant-garde aspect of Avantcha isn’t the tea itself, but the conviction that tea belongs in a more conscious, more beautiful life.
Avantcha at a Glance:
- Founders: Markus Zbinden (Switzerland), Marina Rabei (Moldova), Chris Lehmann (Switzerland)
- Core Offering: Green tea, oolong, black tea, matcha, white tea, fruit infusions, herbal teas – a total of 180 varieties
- Key Features: Minimalist design, matcha expertise, sustainability, hospitality training
- Distribution: Over 30 countries worldwide, premium hospitality, concept stores, proprietary boutiques
