Forbidden City, Beijing, China

A very warm welcome to 2023 from all the Yocha Team! And it has been warm - at least it has been for Sweden in January.  Whether that’s welcome or not is another question! So far, the traditional views of snow-covered fields and forests around Uppsala have been conspicuous by their absence. Instead, we’ve had grey skies and rain, lots of rain. Not ideal, too warm for snow and winter activities but too cold and wet to enjoy the outdoors. Maybe February will bring the bright, white winter we’re more used to? Until then, what better way of avoiding the weather than by heading into the cosy atmosphere of Yocha Studio and enjoying some hot Chinese tea whilst browsing around our new range of stock recently arrived from Asia?

January in Uppsala (Pic by Yoed Anis)

And as it is the beginning of the year, we thought it might be a good time to introduce the Yocha Team for 2023 - so here we go…

In March, Yocha Founder and CEO, Fang Danrui (aka Zoe), is looking forward to celebrating a year of hard work, fun and making new friends at Yocha studio (yes, it’s been almost a year already!) In the meantime, when not introducing customers to the fascinating world of Chinese tea, snacks and design items, Zoe has been busy sharing her passion for Asian culture by organising workshops on subjects ranging from traditional Chinese teas to language and painting (more on this later…)

Fang Danrui ( Zoe)

Just before the new year we welcomed Yocha co-founder Mo Zhiying back to Sweden. Mo had been in China helping to source and choose the many unique Asian design pieces on offer in our online shop and, of course, at our Tea House in Uppsala. Covid-19 intervened to extend his stay in Asia but he’s back now and busy at the store meeting customers and seeing all the wonderful things that have gone on while he was away. Mo is also the talented artistic hand behind the design of our Yocha Studio website and social media sites.

Mo

Anna Dedukh is the welcoming face you’ll most likely see if you visit Yocha Studio in the mornings. Whether she’s serving lunches, demonstrating Kung Fu tea or planning new drink and snack ideas, her diverse talents, creative ideas and friendly character have played a large part in the success and growth of Yocha over the past year.     

Anna Dedukh

Teacup丨Stoneware (L)

And finally, where would we be without our Arabic expert and traditional Chinese musician Jiajia? In between studying Swedish and playing the Guzheng, Jiajia manages to find time to help our customers explore the wonderful world of Yocha Studio’s food, drinks and design!

Jiajia

As we mentioned earlier, it has been a busy time for cultural workshops here at Yocha over the past few months. The latest of these was our first workshop on traditional Chinese ink painting. This activity saw a group of eager participants learning about this ancient art – and having a go themselves! Prize winning Ink Paint artist, Elin Zhuang, introduced the various tools and materials used in this unique art form and encouraged everyone to try their hand. They may not be quite up to winning prizes yet but everyone had fun and, as we say in Chinese, 慢慢来 (slowly does it)！  

Ink-Painting Workshop

Storage Bags丨Paintings

Another workshop involving ink, paper and ancient skills will be held later this month, but this time the art in question is Chinese calligraphy. Ever wondered how those beautiful characters are formed using just a brush, traditional black ink and paper? Now is your chance to find out if you have what it takes to produce a calligraphy masterpiece! 

And following the popularity of our Mahjong workshop last month, we’ll be holding further practical workshop to explain how to play this fascinating, traditional Chinese tile game – but be careful, it can become addictive!  So drop us a line at info@yochastudio.se.

Last, but by no means least, Happy New Year again. No, we’re not late or forgetful, it’s just that this is a very special month for Yocha Studio as the most important Chinese festival of the year, the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, falls on Sunday 22nd of January. Of course, here at Yocha Studio, we’ll be celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit in a big way with special events, festival treats and traditional Chinese music, so if you can drop by on the day, please do so – you won’t be disappointed!

But if you can’t celebrate the Chinese New Year with us in person, don't worry - you can always check out our website www.yochastudio.com or social media channels for the latest updates on all our tea ware and original Asian design items. These are all available for purchase online – and with delivery to your door.

兔年快乐! Happy Year of the Rabbit!

The Yocha Team.