Why Is Every Drink Served with Sugar Nowadays? How TBD° Started

by Lasse Wehlmann on Sep 23 2025
Why Is Every Drink Served with Sugar Nowadays? How TBD° Started
Table of Contents

    For me, I think what really started this whole Tea-Brand Thing was noticing how drinks are made these days.

    You go into a store, or a café, and almost everything is sugar. 

    Or if it’s not sugar, then it’s some kind of additive. And the point isn’t really the ingredient anymore, it’s how much dopamine can I squeeze out of your brain with one sip.

    And I don’t like that.

    I don’t like eating or drinking things where the flavor is stretched thin, or where the taste is just sugar covering up what isn’t there. It doesn’t feel honest.

    (Don’t get me wrong. I love my Japanese cheesecake.)

    However, what I want is the opposite.

    To take something that’s already great, already complete, and just serve it for what it is. That’s why I call it “pure greatness.” Because I think that’s the point.

    When I drink tea, I want to taste the leaf. I want the complexity and texture. I want the same experience I’ve had with specialty coffee for years.

    As someone who is obsessed with coffee, roasts his own coffee, worked as a barista — I can say, tea is an incredible alternative that works for 70% of people.

    The other 30% just haven’t found the right tea yet.

    And I know what you want to say now: “I’m not a tea person.”

    So did I think. Until my first trip to Taiwan last year.

    The experience was mind blowing. I’m convinced that everything I had as tea before that trip was basically hot water and dried grass.

    • I wanted to drink something thick, punchy, and with milk? Cooked aged Puerh, ground in my coffee grinder, 60 g of water to 2 g of Puerh, 100 ml whole fat milk. What a pleasure.
    • I needed something refreshing? Alishan Oolong, Golden Lily, raw young Puerh. 
    • Something with fruits? Sun Moon Lake Wild Black Tea paired with dark fruits (blueberries, plums, etc.) and apple or nashi.  

    I got obsessed.

    Coming Back to Tokyo  

    And when I came back, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

    Why wasn’t this kind of tea more available in Tokyo?

    Here’s a city with one of the best coffee cultures in the world.
    Third-wave cafés, beautiful designs, pour-over bars everywhere.

    But tea? Tea was either in a plastic bottle in a vending machine, usually sweetened, or locked away in formal omakase-style ceremonies.

    There was nothing in between.

    Yes, you have supermarkets filled with loose green tea. And I love my ¥900 loose-leaf green tea. But compared to Taiwanese and Chinese teas? It doesn’t even come close.

    Where was the tea place you could just walk into? Order something like Alishan Oolong the way you’d order a latte. Sit down. Drink it. 

    No ceremony required. No sugar. Just good tea.

    That was the beginning of TBD°.  
    Not even a brand yet. Just a question.

    • Why isn’t tea modernized like coffee?  
    • Why don’t we have coffee-like tea stores?
    • Why do we have to choose between coffee, sugary rubbish, soda, or some Rooibos in a plastic bag for ¥700?  

    Getting Nerdy About the Bag  

    If I wanted to bring tea into daily life here, it had to be accessible.

    That meant 2 options:  

    1. Teabags  
    2. Tea travel sets  

    But most teabags are wrong. Too much leaf stuffed into one bag so it can’t expand properly. Or too little, so it tastes like nothing. And almost all of them hide plastic inside. Pour hot water and you’re brewing microplastics along with your tea.

    That didn’t feel right at all.

    So I obsessed.

    We landed on 2.5 g per bag. That’s enough to brew about 500–800 ml depending on the tea. And we made it two bags per pouch. Five grams total.

    Why two? 

    • Because five grams in one bag is bloated. It doesn’t brew well.  
    • Because two bags give you flexibility.
    • Brew one in the morning, one in the afternoon.  
    • Brew both together and share with a friend.  
    • Take them on a hike and drink all day.  

    It sounds small, but it changes everything.

    And the material matters too. We found wood-paper teabags.
    No plastic. Strong enough to hold up in hot water. Clean. Honest. A breakthrough.

    Let’s Talk Value  

    Here’s the part I love most.

    A drip coffee bag in Japan costs ¥300–700. You brew it once, get about 150 ml, and that’s it.

    With our pouch, you pay around the same. But you get 5 grams of tea. That tea can brew 700 ml – 1.6 liters, sometimes even more with aged white teas.

    That’s ten times the liquid.

    But it’s not just about quantity. With tea, the taste evolves.  

    • First steep is floral and bright.  
    • Second is softer.  
    • Third is deeper, sometimes sweeter.  

    It’s a journey.

    Coffee drip bags? One hit. One note.  
    Tea stretches through the whole day.

    That, to me, is **real value.**

    Tea in Daily Life  

    I spend a lot of time walking through Tokyo. Sometimes working in cafés, sometimes hiking in the mountains. And I always wanted to bring tea with me.

    Loose-leaf brewing is beautiful, but not practical on the go. Travel tea sets exist — and I love them — but sometimes you don’t want to carry the whole kit. You just want something simple, clean.

    That’s why the pouches matter. They fit in your bag. You can brew them at the office. On a train. At a campsite. Wherever you are.

    It’s not about replacing the ritual. It’s about giving you another way.

    The Shibuya Pop-Up  

    The moment everything really clicked was at our first pop-up in Shibuya.

    We partnered with a Taiwanese tea store and offered two cold brews: Ruby 18 and Golden Lily. That’s it. Nothing added. Just tea.

    And watching people taste it was incredible.

    At first, they were polite. “Oh, tea sample.” They sipped casually. And then their faces changed. Eyes wide. Smiles breaking. Some even laughed.

    And almost every time, the same question: “Did you add sugar?”

    Of course not. No sugar. There was no need.

    That was the moment I knew: people are ready for this. They just haven’t been given the chance yet.

    Tea Beside Coffee  

    Coffee is everywhere in Tokyo. It’s alive, it’s creative, it’s inspiring.

    But tea? Tea is either vending machine bottles or ceremonies behind closed doors.

    There’s no middle ground.

    I want TBD° to be that middle ground. A café-like tea place. Walk in, order an oolong, sit down. No ceremony required. No sugar. No additives. Just leaves and water, treated with care.

    Not to replace coffee.  
    But to stand proudly beside it.

    TBD° = Tea Be Defined.

    Looking Ahead  

    The bags, the sourcing, the pop-ups. Everything we are doing now is towards one thing: our first store in 2026.

    I see it clearly:  

    • A calm space in Tokyo, minimal, warm, modern (think Blue Bottle Coffee, but for tea). 
    • A rotating menu of Taiwanese and Chinese teas.
    • Brewed with precision. Served simply.**

    No reservation needed. No pressure. Just a place to discover what tea really is.

    Why TBD° Exists  

    At the end of the day, it comes back to that first question:

    Why are modern drinks so full of sugar and noise?
    Why can’t we just trust the ingredient?

    Tea showed me what’s possible. And now I want to show it to others.

    Because sometimes the most radical thing you can do is the simplest:
    Take what’s already great, and serve it as it is.

    That’s what TBD° is about.

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    Why Is Every Drink Served with Sugar Nowadays? How TBD° Started

    Why Is Every Drink Served with Sugar Nowadays? How TBD° Started

    by Lasse Wehlmann on Sep 23 2025
    For me, I think what really started this whole Tea-Brand Thing was noticing how drinks are made these days. You go into a store, or a café, and almost everything is sugar. Or if it’s not sugar, then it’s some kind of additive. And the point isn’t really the ingredient anymore, it’s how much dopamine can I squeeze out of your brain with one sip. And I don’t like that. I don’t like eating or drinking things where the flavor is stretched thin, or where the taste is just sugar covering up what isn’t there. It doesn’t feel honest. (Don’t get me wrong. I love my Japanese cheesecake.) However, what I want is the opposite. To take something that’s already great, already complete, and just serve it for what it is. That’s why I call it “pure greatness.” Because I think that’s the point. When I drink tea, I want to taste the leaf. I want the complexity and texture. I want the same experience I’ve had with specialty coffee for years. As someone who is obsessed with coffee, roasts his own coffee, worked as a barista — I can say, tea is an incredible alternative that works for 70% of people. The other 30% just haven’t found the right tea yet. And I know what you want to say now: “I’m not a tea person.” So did I think. Until my first trip to Taiwan last year. The experience was mind blowing. I’m convinced that everything I had as tea before that trip was basically hot water and dried grass. I wanted to drink something thick, punchy, and with milk? Cooked aged Puerh, ground in my coffee grinder, 60 g of water to 2 g of Puerh, 100 ml whole fat milk. What a pleasure. I needed something refreshing? Alishan Oolong, Golden Lily, raw young Puerh.  Something with fruits? Sun Moon Lake Wild Black Tea paired with dark fruits (blueberries, plums, etc.) and apple or nashi.   I got obsessed. Coming Back to Tokyo   And when I came back, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why wasn’t this kind of tea more available in Tokyo? Here’s a city with one of the best coffee cultures in the world.Third-wave cafés, beautiful designs, pour-over bars everywhere. But tea? Tea was either in a plastic bottle in a vending machine, usually sweetened, or locked away in formal omakase-style ceremonies. There was nothing in between. Yes, you have supermarkets filled with loose green tea. And I love my ¥900 loose-leaf green tea. But compared to Taiwanese and Chinese teas? It doesn’t even come close. Where was the tea place you could just walk into? Order something like Alishan Oolong the way you’d order a latte. Sit down. Drink it. No ceremony required. No sugar. Just good tea. That was the beginning of TBD°.  Not even a brand yet. Just a question. Why isn’t tea modernized like coffee?   Why don’t we have coffee-like tea stores? Why do we have to choose between coffee, sugary rubbish, soda, or some Rooibos in a plastic bag for ¥700?   Getting Nerdy About the Bag   If I wanted to bring tea into daily life here, it had to be accessible. That meant 2 options:   Teabags   Tea travel sets   But most teabags are wrong. Too much leaf stuffed into one bag so it can’t expand properly. Or too little, so it tastes like nothing. And almost all of them hide plastic inside. Pour hot water and you’re brewing microplastics along with your tea. That didn’t feel right at all. So I obsessed. We landed on 2.5 g per bag. That’s enough to brew about 500–800 ml depending on the tea. And we made it two bags per pouch. Five grams total. Why two?  Because five grams in one bag is bloated. It doesn’t brew well.   Because two bags give you flexibility. Brew one in the morning, one in the afternoon.   Brew both together and share with a friend.   Take them on a hike and drink all day.   It sounds small, but it changes everything. And the material matters too. We found wood-paper teabags.No plastic. Strong enough to hold up in hot water. Clean. Honest. A breakthrough. Let’s Talk Value   Here’s the part I love most. A drip coffee bag in Japan costs ¥300–700. You brew it once, get about 150 ml, and that’s it. With our pouch, you pay around the same. But you get 5 grams of tea. That tea can brew 700 ml – 1.6 liters, sometimes even more with aged white teas. That’s ten times the liquid. But it’s not just about quantity. With tea, the taste evolves.   First steep is floral and bright.   Second is softer.   Third is deeper, sometimes sweeter.   It’s a journey. Coffee drip bags? One hit. One note.  Tea stretches through the whole day. That, to me, is **real value.** Tea in Daily Life   I spend a lot of time walking through Tokyo. Sometimes working in cafés, sometimes hiking in the mountains. And I always wanted to bring tea with me. Loose-leaf brewing is beautiful, but not practical on the go. Travel tea sets exist — and I love them — but sometimes you don’t want to carry the whole kit. You just want something simple, clean. That’s why the pouches matter. They fit in your bag. You can brew them at the office. On a train. At a campsite. Wherever you are. It’s not about replacing the ritual. It’s about giving you another way. The Shibuya Pop-Up   The moment everything really clicked was at our first pop-up in Shibuya. We partnered with a Taiwanese tea store and offered two cold brews: Ruby 18 and Golden Lily. That’s it. Nothing added. Just tea. And watching people taste it was incredible. At first, they were polite. “Oh, tea sample.” They sipped casually. And then their faces changed. Eyes wide. Smiles breaking. Some even laughed. And almost every time, the same question: “Did you add sugar?” Of course not. No sugar. There was no need. That was the moment I knew: people are ready for this. They just haven’t been given the chance yet. Tea Beside Coffee   Coffee is everywhere in Tokyo. It’s alive, it’s creative, it’s inspiring. But tea? Tea is either vending machine bottles or ceremonies behind closed doors. There’s no middle ground. I want TBD° to be that middle ground. A café-like tea place. Walk in, order an oolong, sit down. No ceremony required. No sugar. No additives. Just leaves and water, treated with care. Not to replace coffee.  But to stand proudly beside it. TBD° = Tea Be Defined. Looking Ahead   The bags, the sourcing, the pop-ups. Everything we are doing now is towards one thing: our first store in 2026. I see it clearly:   A calm space in Tokyo, minimal, warm, modern (think Blue Bottle Coffee, but for tea).  A rotating menu of Taiwanese and Chinese teas. Brewed with precision. Served simply.** No reservation needed. No pressure. Just a place to discover what tea really is. Why TBD° Exists   At the end of the day, it comes back to that first question: Why are modern drinks so full of sugar and noise?Why can’t we just trust the ingredient? Tea showed me what’s possible. And now I want to show it to others. Because sometimes the most radical thing you can do is the simplest:Take what’s already great, and serve it as it is. That’s what TBD° is about.