Palais des Thés
Palais des Thés is a French specialty-tea company founded in Paris in 1986, combining direct sourcing, tea education, retail shops, and a range of more than 200 teas and related accessories.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Palais des Thés is a French tea company established in Paris in 1986 by Julien Spiess. Its founding ambition was to make tea more accessible to Western consumers while presenting tea as both a cultural tradition and a gastronomic product. Rather than positioning tea solely as a packaged grocery item, the company developed a specialist retail model centered on discovery, explanation, tasting, and the presentation of tea-making equipment. The company’s assortment includes more than 200 teas sourced from different producing regions, together with gift products and accessories such as teapots, cups, and strainers. Its sourcing model emphasizes direct relationships with tea producers and the commercialization of teas selected for their origin, style, and sensory qualities. This approach supports a premium specialist identity while also allowing the brand to address customers who are learning about tea and those already interested in detailed tasting and preparation. The first Palais des Thés shop opened on rue de l’Abbé-Grégoire in Paris’s 6th arrondissement. Stores generally combine three functions: a tea wall where customers can choose from a broad selection of loose teas, a gift area, and a section dedicated to preparation accessories. This format makes the shop both a retail outlet and an educational environment, with product choice supported by staff guidance and the physical experience of smelling, viewing, and comparing teas. Palais des Thés began international expansion in 1991 with a shop in Tokyo. It subsequently established locations in Brussels, Oslo, Dublin, Tel Aviv, and Copenhagen, and later opened a Moscow location. The company has been described as operating approximately 100 specialty shops across France and a number of international markets, although individual locations have changed over time. The Tokyo and Dublin stores mentioned in reference material have since closed. In the United States, Palais des Thés was launched in 2011 by Aurélie Pasquet and Cyrille Bessière. The American activity later included L’Appartement, a SoHo, New York location opened in March 2016. Designed for tea enthusiasts, the venue offered tea classes and tastings involving more than 150 teas, extending the brand’s educational and experiential approach beyond conventional retail. Palais des Thés therefore occupies a position between specialty retail, premium food and beverage, and tea culture. Its business scope includes loose-leaf tea, curated collections, gifts, preparation equipment, educational activities, and physical and online commerce. The brand’s identity is built around origin, direct sourcing, sensory discovery, and the idea that tea can be understood through both cultural knowledge and gastronomic appreciation. Public reference material does not establish a separate listed parent company, ticker, or owner, so those corporate details remain unspecified here.
History
Palais des Thés was founded in Paris in 1986 by Julien Spiess. The company emerged from an ambition to change how tea was understood and purchased in Western markets. Its purpose was not simply to sell packaged beverages, but to introduce consumers to tea’s origins, preparation methods, cultural traditions, and gastronomic qualities. This orientation shaped both the company’s assortment and its retail environment. The first shop opened on rue de l’Abbé-Grégoire in Paris’s 6th arrondissement. Palais des Thés developed a specialist-store format organized around three complementary areas. The principal tea wall presented a large selection of teas, many available in bulk; a gift section addressed seasonal and occasion-based purchases; and an accessories area offered equipment including teapots, cups, and strainers. The layout supported browsing and consultation, allowing customers to compare teas and receive guidance rather than selecting only from standardized supermarket packaging. The company’s sourcing and commercial model centered on direct tea procurement and the sale of a broad range of products. Reference material describes a portfolio exceeding 200 teas, alongside tea gifts and accessories. This assortment enabled Palais des Thés to operate at the intersection of premium food retail, specialist beverage commerce, and tea education. Its publications and guides also contributed to its educational profile, including French- and English-language material associated with tea tasting and tea appreciation. International expansion began in 1991, when Palais des Thés opened its first store outside France in Tokyo. Further openings followed in Brussels in 2001 and 2007, Oslo in 2006 and 2007, Dublin in 2008, and Tel Aviv in 2010. The reference material also records Copenhagen and Moscow openings in 2023. Not every international initiative remained active: the Tokyo and Dublin stores are identified as having closed several years after opening. The company has nevertheless been described as having around 100 specialty shops across France and several international markets, demonstrating a substantial retail footprint for a specialist tea business. The United States became another area of development in 2011, when Aurélie Pasquet and Cyrille Bessière launched the brand there. In March 2016, they opened L’Appartement in New York’s SoHo district. This space extended the company’s original retail concept into a more explicitly experiential setting, with tea classes and tastings featuring more than 150 teas. It represented the brand’s broader view that specialist tea retail can involve instruction, sensory exploration, and community as well as transactions. Across its development, Palais des Thés has retained a consistent identity: a French-origin tea specialist whose differentiation rests on selection, direct sourcing, cultural interpretation, and customer education. Its known activities include physical shops, tea sales, gift products, accessories, publications or guides, and educational tasting experiences. Publicly available reference material does not provide enough information to describe its present ownership structure, financial performance, executive succession, or detailed current store count by country. Those aspects should be verified against current corporate sources.
- 2023
Copenhagen and Moscow locations reported
[1]Reference material records new shops in Copenhagen and Moscow.
- 2016
L’Appartement opens in New York
[1]The SoHo venue opened with tea classes and tastings involving more than 150 teas.
- 2011
United States launch
[1]Aurélie Pasquet and Cyrille Bessière launched Palais des Thés in the United States.
- 2010
Expansion to Tel Aviv
[1]A Tel Aviv shop broadened the company’s presence in international specialty-tea retail.
- 2008
Dublin store opens
[1]Palais des Thés extended its international retail network to Dublin; the store later closed.
- 2006
Expansion to Oslo
[1]The company opened an Oslo location and added a second Oslo shop in 2007.
- 2001
Expansion to Brussels
[1]Palais des Thés opened a Brussels location, followed by another Brussels opening in 2007.
- 1991
First international store opens in Tokyo
[1]The Tokyo shop marked Palais des Thés’ first retail presence outside France.
- 1986
Company founded in Paris
[1]Julien Spiess founded Palais des Thés and opened the first shop on rue de l’Abbé-Grégoire in Paris.
Products and positioning
A premium specialist tea brand focused on direct sourcing, broad loose-leaf selection, tea education, sensory discovery, and the cultural and gastronomic dimensions of tea.
Tea · 1986
Loose-leaf tea range
The core assortment consists of more than 200 teas sourced from tea-producing regions. Shops commonly present a large selection on a tea wall, with products available in bulk. The range is intended to support comparison by origin, style, preparation, and sensory character, reinforcing the company’s specialist and educational positioning.
Gift products
Tea gifts
Gift products form a distinct part of the Palais des Thés retail format. They complement the tea assortment and provide curated options for occasions in which customers may want to present tea as a premium or culturally meaningful gift.
Tea preparation equipment
Tea accessories
The accessories assortment includes teapots, cups, strainers, and other equipment used to prepare and serve tea. By selling preparation tools alongside loose tea, the company connects product discovery with practical instruction and encourages customers to engage more deeply with brewing rituals.
Education and experiences · 2016
Tea classes and tastings
L’Appartement in New York offered classes and tastings for tea enthusiasts. These experiences extended Palais des Thés’ educational mission into guided learning, allowing participants to taste a large selection and explore tea through instruction rather than retail purchase alone.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016L’Appartement tea education program
United States
The New York SoHo venue combined retail with tea classes and guided tastings, presenting the brand as an educational and experiential specialist rather than only a tea seller.
Outcome. The reference material confirms the venue and its programming but does not provide attendance, sales, or campaign-performance figures.
Brand decisions
2016
Open L’Appartement in New YorkProduct launchBackground
The company’s educational approach created an opportunity for a dedicated venue focused on tasting and instruction.
Action taken
A SoHo location opened with tea classes and tastings featuring more than 150 teas.
Aftermath
L’Appartement extended the brand’s specialist retail concept into an experiential and educational format.
2011
Enter the United StatesStrategyBackground
The brand sought to extend its specialist tea concept into the U.S. market.
Action taken
Aurélie Pasquet and Cyrille Bessière launched Palais des Thés in the United States.
Aftermath
The U.S. activity later included a New York experiential venue, although detailed current operating information is not provided in the reference material.
1991
Begin international retail expansionStrategyBackground
After establishing its first Paris shop, the company pursued markets outside France.
Action taken
It opened its first international shop in Tokyo and later expanded to several European and Middle Eastern markets.
Aftermath
The company developed an international specialty-shop network, although some locations, including Tokyo and Dublin, later closed.
1986
Adopt a specialist, education-led tea modelStrategyBackground
The founder sought to make tea more accessible in the West while explaining its cultural and gastronomic dimensions.
Action taken
Palais des Thés combined direct sourcing, a broad loose-tea assortment, specialist shops, accessories, and customer education.
Aftermath
This model became the basis for the company’s retail format and later tasting and educational activities.
Sources2 sources
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