Our Story
Chaioneers Our Story
We – Alexandra from Zurich and Brendon from Melbourne, Australia – met in India. Our journey began at the train station in Mumbai, where we boarded the same train. Fascinated by the country, its rich culture and the long chai tradition we took a leap of faith and started creating our own blends.
Back in Zurich, we started the chai production in the kitchen of our apartment. Taking one step at a time. After a while the demand reached a point where we had to increase the volume and therefore move into our chai studio at the foot of the Uetliberg. But not only our business has grown steadily, but also our family has expanded from two to four.
Now Premsoul has been around for over 10 years and we are still enthusiastic and passionate about it. It fills us with happiness and joy that we were able to turn an idea into a business which aligns with our values.
Premsoul stands for organic Indian spice tea. Grown in harmony with nature and fairly traded.
Thank you for being part of our story.
Alexandra and Brendon Mikronis
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Summer 2011
We sat under a big tree in a small park called Bäckeranlage in Zurich and talked about Indian gods, spices and the beautiful connections we made along the way. We dreamed about the rich, colorful streets of India and the smell of fresh brewed chai and a vision began to take shape.
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Autumn 2011
In fall 2011 we participated at two markets in Zurich named Rosenhof and Rimini Monday Market and sold our first chai creations. Followed by the Slowfood Festival, which was the first breakthrough for us. Chai lovers lined up in front of our stand and we sold one chai after the other. The joy and the positive feedback enabled us to move forward and create further blends.
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2013
The demand increased, and so did the amount of chai we produced. Soon our apartment was too small and we moved the production to a nearby bakery. What was fine for a short amount of time soon became too cumbersome and cramped. And so, two years after the foundation, we moved to our chai studio at the foot of the Uetliberg.
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2015
Not only our chai business has grown steadily, but also our family. With son Jaro, who was born in 2011, and baby Elif in our bellies, we traveled to India. There we visited the small farmers of the Fair Trade Alliance Kerala, got to know their work and helped on their farms. We were impressed by their friendliness and the ease with which they perform the hard, physical work.
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2018
By now we had more than 7 years of production experience and knew how to optimize our process sustainably. One of the best investments so far: Our Chai-Bike. A bike specifically tailored to our needs, with which we grain our organic spices.
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2020
This year Premsoul celebrated its 10th anniversary. We are grateful for all the encounters, partnerships, blissful moments and hurdles we were able to master as well as for our customers. Their loyalty shows us that organic spices, fair conditions and sustainable production can go a long way. We are looking forward to everything that is yet to come.