“When I see that foreigners have no idea of Chinese tea,” says Jose Morente Perez, “that makes me sad. Imagine living in Bordeaux or La Rioja and not getting to know the local wine culture!”

The Spanish engineer will be sharing his passion for tea at an event at Sunny Dental in Shine Hills, Shunyi, on Monday May 21.

“Last year I decided to create Teamates,” he tells us, “because something as awesome as tea has to be well known! Especially for foreigners living in China, tea is not only a drink. It has helped me a lot to know Chinese culture, to travel, to meet people, to learn the language. So I have the hope that other people can be hooked like me.”

However his interest in tea originally started in his home country.

“I lived in Granada for 6 years. Granada is full of teahouses, more Arabic and French style. Then in 2014 I moved to Fuzhou in Fujian province. Fuzhou is the world capital of tea. I moved there without knowing that! But my roommate had a big influence on me, because he was a tea freak.

“In Fuzhou you can breathe tea culture. Fujian is full of tea plantations, so it was perfect for me. That’s when I really found out that tea was my passion.”

The event on Monday will not be a formal tea ceremony, but a tasting, where participants can sample different teas and learn about the importance of tea in Chinese culture. Morente says that learning about tea has other benefits too.

“I speak very fluent Chinese, thanks to tea!” he says. “That’s helped me to meet very knowledgable people who are willing to share their thoughts and knowledge with me, a laowai who knows about tea and also loves Chinese culture.”

Shunyi Teamates is at Sunny Dental, Shine Hills, Shunyi, at 4pm on Monday May 21. Tickets cost RMB 50; scan the QR code below.