ArTea was born from a gift, a Japanese teapot, and its founders Domi and Gabriel date the journey to 2013. It works as an online shop that ships across Chile, with a space in Las Condes at Del Inca 4446, Oficina 1006, where orders are picked up free of charge. It opens Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 15:00 and Friday from 11:30 to 17:00, and stays closed Monday and Wednesday. It is a few steps from Metro Escuela Militar, and the building has parking if you give notice.
The list runs to some forty teas and infusions, most of them in boxes of 20 to 60 g, with 100 g boxes and 500 g or 1 kg bags for the staples. Black tea appears as a Ceylon, an Earl Grey and a Gong Fu in 40 g, a second-flush Darjeeling in the same size and a spiced chai in 50 g; green as a jasmine and a gunpowder in 50 g and a Mao Jian in 90 g; white as a Pai Mu Dan, Snow Buds and Silver Needles in 20 g. There is a Milky Oolong in 40 g, a shou pu-erh in 50 g and a yellow Huang Ya in 30 g. The infusions come as doy packs: mint in 30 g, hibiscus in 60 g, lemon balm in 15 g, an organic rooibos in 50 g and two yerba mates in 80 g.
Around the leaf there are tea boxes for gifting, accessories, a blooming tea section and three 21-day Tea Challenge boxes, each built around three teas and a planner. The shop also supplies cafés and businesses through its own channel. Because the office keeps three short shifts a week, the practical way to use ArTea is to order online first and choose free pickup, or let it ship: everything on the list travels anywhere in Chile.