PALOMA TEA COMPANY

Malmö, Sweden

I had just quit my previous full-time gig as an immigration consultant, with the will to work as a professional photographer full-time. I was just starting out, which meant that I had no customers except for a lot of time to kill and the will to do something with it. Instead of e-mailing at home or waiting for something to happen. I took daily promenades middays. I walked around Stockholm, looking for inspo, moreover exploring the city of Stockholm. I went in and out of different shops. Since I was not in a hurry I stayed at some longer than others. One of those stores was Paloma Tea Company in Gamla stan (Stockholm). The store had just opened, pre-pandemic. I stumbled upon Isabelle (The founder of Paloma Tea Company) within the store. We started with small talk, about daily things. However, our conversation grew. Soon we were discussing the history of tea, the varied methods of processing tea leaves, comparing teas from different countries, etc. I was unaware of the fact that Isabelle, was one of Sweden’s most known tea experts/sommeliers. This meant that my questions only led us deeper down the rabbit hole becoming more and more philosophical, to say the least. We spent hours exploring the subject of tea.

After a long while, she asked me “btw Why are you out and about? In the middle of the day. With all this time?”

I told her about my ambition to work as a photographer. Whereas Isabelles asks: “ Why not start to help me?”

That was the start of my long collaboration (still going strong) with Paloma Tea Company.

Words: Philip Käll

Photos: Philip Käll