Our history
La Via del Tè is the story of a family begun in September 1961 by Alfredo Carrai with his wife Lalla and carried on today with their children and grandchildren.
Alfredo, fascinated by the world of tea, accepted the challenge of introducing the culture of this drink at that time almost unknown in Italy. The desire to deepen the culture of tea leads him to make numerous trips in search of the rarest teas and the best teas harvested. Alfredo's first trips to China seem like pages of an adventure book.
After more than Sixty years, La Via de Tè is still a family business still animated by the same passion of its beginnings. From the import of the best harvests from the countries of origin to the creation of the blends and collections, carried out a balance between innovation and the love for details of the Florentine artisan tradition.
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1961
Alfredo Carrai founds the company SNAKE TEA. They begin importing tea from Sri Lanka
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1965
The company changes its name to SNAK
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1976
Alfredo takes his first trip to China, begins to import tea and porcelain teaware
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1986
Leonardo becomes the first of Alfredo and Lalla’s children to join the company
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1992
The first Japanese imports arrive, introducing Matcha, Sencha and Gyokuro tea
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1996
La Via del Tè is born with the launch of Classic, under the new brand name
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1997
The first La Via del Tè monobrand store opens in Florence
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2004
La Via del Tè launches Filtrofoglia, a full-leaf tea in a transparent, biodegradable bag
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2007
The brand exports its first products abroad
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2012
The oldest grandchildren enter the company, the Firenze collection launches
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2016
The first store outside of Florence opens in Turin
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2018
A new store in Milan is inaugurated in the Brera district
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2021
La Via del Tè celebrates its 60th anniversary
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2022
La Via del Tè introduced a tea grown and harvested in Italy on the Premosello plantation in Val d'Ossola. Assolo and Notturno, two Single Estate teas and the Aria and Sinfonia, two tea blends
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2024
La Via del Tè opens its third boutique in Milan, in via della Spiga
