Magazin za Vreme i Chai (Магазин за време и чай)
Address: 65 Knyaz Boris I Str
Open: Mon-Fri 10.00 to 22.00 Sat-Sun 10.00 to 19.00
I went to Magazin za Vreme i Chai (Магазин за време и чай, A Store for Time and Tea) to meet Anton, one of the people behind the shop, with a few questions in hand, determined to provoke an interesting and unusual conversation. But a non-spontaneous question is the last question Anton would answer. My expectations about the “interview” I was to conduct, the article I was going to write and even the photos I was going to use to illustrate it were shattered in a flash when Anton said with his secretive smile, “I’ll talk to you only about erosion!” Later, I learnt that he was having an exam on the subject at the University of Forestry the next day.
We did talk about erosion. And about photography, relationships, music, ecology, fairytales, teapots and many other things, as well. “A relationship between two people could be compared to a pencil,” Anton said. “When you first meet the person, your relationship is like a brand-new pencil that you should start sharpening. The pencil starts to lessen over the time and you start to be more careful and gentle when you use it.”
It’s hard to render the place’s ambience on paper. When you pass through the orange metal-and-glass door, which looks like many other doors of many other street shops, you enter a different world. A world full of colours, scents and surprises. No matter if Anton, or one of the two women working in the strange mixture between a tea house and a tea shop, is there, s/he will prepare for you (for free) whatever kind of tea you want. You can choose from a rich selection of herbal, black, green, white and floral teas. You can even make up your own mixture. Here are my suggestions: an aromatic and delicious mix made of black tea flavoured with coconut and pieces of prune or an herbal mix made of peppermint, lavender and Mullein.
I should also mention the real (truly real!) brown sugar, which looks like dark mud and is a little bit sour, the home-made sweets and Turkish delight with pistachio.
I was most intrigued by the large suitcase called “Razmyana” (Размяна, Exchange, or Barter). In the Razmyana suitcase you might find books, drawings, jewellery, Aegean sea stones and other useless but unique trinkets. If you’d like to have any of the contents of the suitcase, just pick it up and drop something of yours in in return. I acquired a blue butterfly made from sequins and a marble egg in lieu of a keyring and a miniature bottle of perfume. Five leva buys you an eco-bag with the logo of one of the local environmental NGOs. There are even their designer-made equivalents (20 leva!) – colourful rectangular canvas bags with cute prints on them.
If you decide to visit the place, be prepared to come across the regulars – a crowd of local eco-activists discussing their last ideas and projects for future protest actions or Australian musicians playing blues on their guitars (not joking).
In short, there is no way to get bored with this place. Once, a friend and I were asked to write some fortunes for the shop’s guests, which was a great exercise in creativity.
And here is another tip: look for Anton’s big old-style photo album, which the staff won’t point out to you because you are supposed to find it “by accident”. You could even bring your own photos and leave them there.
