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“A mellow, almost creamy texture — the kind you often find in great wines… but here, without the alcohol.”
— Michel Martin, Certified Wine Advisor, 36 years of experience, retired SAQ Radisson
Thea Placida • Yunnan Bold
Thea Placida • Yunnan Bold
What does it taste like?
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Yunnan Bold
Grounded & honeyed.Made from Menghai Sheng Tai 2008, a tea cultivated at 800 m in ecological harmony with the Yunnan forest. Once offered as imperial tribute, this aged Pu’er is rich in cultural legacy. Its polyculture environment and slow transformation over time create a bold, layered profile rooted in ancestral craftsmanship.
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What is Thea Placida?
A still non-alcoholic tea expression, crafted from whole-leaf teas and ingredients chosen for their terroir, complexity, and aromatic potential.
Built on a long-fermented tea base and a touch of wine vinegar, each blend is layered with slow infusions, oak, and botanicals to create structure, tension, and depth... without ever masking the leaf.
Inspired by the world of wine, but anchored in the heritage of tea, Thea Placida is brewed with care and purpose. A quiet tribute to the plant, and everything it can become.
What is the perfect pairing?
Served in a wine glass, Thea Placida accompanies the table with nuance, not overpowering, but supporting. Each bottle offers a distinct personality shaped by tea, acidity, and texture.
Yunnan Bold
• Lentil burger with caramelized onions • Roasted root vegetables and miso glaze • Mushroom tart or lentil terrine • Aged cheeses • Carrot cake with warm spices
How is it made?
Each Thea Placida is crafted from a slow infusion of whole-leaf teas and thoughtfully chosen ingredients, nothing more, nothing less.
We begin with long-fermented tea bases and a touch of wine vinegar to establish acidity, structure, and length. To this foundation, we add premium teas from terroirs like Du Yun Mao Jian (Guizhou) and Menghai Pu’Er (Yunnan), carefully infused to preserve the aromatic complexity of the leaf.
Oak and botanicals are layered with precision to shape texture and depth, like in natural winemaking.
No carbonation. No flavourings. No preservatives.
Just leaves, time, and care... for a drink that honours tea at its fullest expression.
How to best enjoy it?
• Serve fresh: 11–14 °C
• Best poured in a wine glass
• Enjoy on its own, as a pairing, or as a thoughtful gift
• Reseal with its twist cap and store in the fridge after opening
• Consume within 2 weeks for optimal freshness
Bottle size: 750 ml
Storage: Cool, dry place away from direct sunlight
Shelf life: See bottle (9 months from bottling date)
Why less than 0.5% alcohol?
Thea Placida contains less than 0.5% alc./vol. — legally non-alcoholic in Canada.
But we go further: our Thea Placida average around 0.1%, the result of a gentle fermentation step that builds structure, tension, and depth.
For comparison:
• Banana (very ripe): up to 0.6%
• Orange juice: 0.2–0.5%
• Soy sauce: up to 2%
• Raisin bread: ~0.3%
We’re not required to disclose it, we choose to.
For clarity. For transparency.
F.A.Q.
✴ Does it taste like tea?
Yes — but not the way most people imagine it.
Forget over-steeped black tea or artificial tea flavours.
Our Sparkling Teas and Thea Placida are crafted from whole-leaf teas, selected for their terroir and aromatic complexity.
Each product offers a unique expression of the leaf: fresh and fruit-forward, deep and roasted, floral or earthy. The taste is layered, precise, and often surprising.
✴ Is it kombucha?
No — this is something else entirely.
Lao’s drinks are crafted from real tea, using controlled fermentation to bring structure, texture, and depth — not bacteria or vinegar.
What sets us apart is how we treat the leaf.
Each Sparkling Tea and Thea Placida begins with a fermented tea base aged over several months to naturally build acidity and mouthfeel. To this foundation, we blend precisely infused teas, selected for their terroir and complexity. Some creations include a touch of wine vinegar, oak, or botanicals, used not as a shortcut, but as tools to shape flavor — the way winemakers do.
The result? A shelf-stable drink that’s refined, layered, and expressive.
No live cultures. No added flavours. Nothing masked.
Why fermentation?
Because it enhances the bioavailability of compounds in tea, softens tannins, adds length and structure, and helps unlock aromatic depth — without overpowering the leaf.
For context:
Kombucha is typically brewed with a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), producing a living, tangy drink that’s often made with generic teas and added juices. We love that it introduced many to fermented beverages — but our approach is different.
It’s not kombucha.
It’s tea, reimagined.
✴ Is there caffeine?
Yes — but less than a cup of tea.
Because we use real green, wulong, or pu'er teas, there is naturally some caffeine in each bottle.
Approximate content per glass (188 ml): 10–25 mg, depending on the tea used.
By comparison, a cup of black coffee has around 95 mg.
✴ Can I drink this while pregnant or breastfeeding?
We recommend checking with your healthcare provider, as every situation is different.
Our drinks are pasteurized, but they do contain trace amounts of alcohol (around 0.2%) from natural fermentation, as well as light caffeine from tea.
While many people choose to enjoy them in moderation during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the best decision is always the one made with your health professional.
✴ How long does it last once opened?
For Sparkling Tea, we recommend:
• Resealing with an expandable wine stopper
• Keeping it in the fridge
• Enjoying within 3–4 days for best effervescence
• Safe to drink up to 2 weeks after opening
Thea Placida, being still, can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed within 2 weeks.
✴ Where is it made?
Every bottle is crafted and bottled in Québec, by our small team that believes tea deserves the same care and celebration as wine.
We don’t outsource. We don’t cut corners.
We’re here, steeping leaves and fine-tuning blends — one batch at a time — in our own facility, with purpose and precision.
✴ Is it vegan and gluten-free?
Yes. All Lao products are 100% plant-based and gluten-free.
We do not use honey, gelatin, or any animal-derived ingredients.