From Carouge to the Moroccan desert: to leave everything for a new life

“These magnificent thirty years around tea, they absolutely had to end in style. When the decision was made to pass the hand of the store to Marie, which has been by my side for twenty-four years, I only expressed one wish: to be able to say goodbye on a party day on March 22.

Thank all these people, all these customers, these friends, who, for three decades, have made This arcade Much more than a commercial space. Because, around this counter, these shelves overflowing with fragrant boxes and multicolored cups, many things happened, there were many words. We laughed, we cried. I lived half my life there. However, nothing predestined me For sale tea in a small carouge storeme, the little Breton born on a farm.

A tomboy side

A only daughter, I have always had a strong character, probably to prove to my father, who would have liked to have a boy, that he did not lose anything at the change. Even if I didn’t miss anything, life was hard, punctuated by work. Rather of the active and dark type, I often dragged with boys. I worked well at school, which I loved. I was even a year in advance. I dreamed of studies and travel, already …

But at 15 and a half, my parents decided otherwise. And I had to leave the college benches to learn a job. In front of the few opportunities that presented themselves in my small village, I became apprentice Bouchère-Chacutière in the local shop. It was hard, I remember these little mornings where you had to dive my hands in buckets of icy salt. But I learned a lot and I immediately felt that I was good at trade. The work did not scare me, I was organized and I mainly appreciated relations with customers.

first contact with Morocco

My apprenticeship finished, I went to Dinan to work in a supermarket, the beginning of freedom. I lived in the city, I was independent. And then the jobs went on… I worked in merchandising in Lyon, I took care of the training of staff, I was moving throughout the Rhône-Alpes region. I really liked this life. One day, I met Genevans who offered to work in an editing box in the region, which sold encyclopedias in Morocco. So here I was a year there, in a country that I immediately liked.

Back in Switzerland in 1988, I settled there so that I never set out again. In addition to my jobs, and always so motivated by learning and discovering, I have trained in languages, management, accounting, tourism. I didn’t let go. I wanted to find this self -esteem lost when I had to stop school. And then arrived the providential meeting. The one that has changed everything. I met Marion Baird, who was interior decorator in Geneva. Very quickly, I became his assistant. I led her everywhere, she took me to the clients, London, Paris, etc. And there, I learned again, and very quickly, she understood that I had a gift for the decorationI knew how to grant the colors, mix the materials. I was very shy, but I did not hesitate when it was a question of giving my opinion. At the same time, I started working with Marion’s daughter, who had … a tea shop in Carouge! I had never drank a cup of black tea in my life. And I found myself holding this shop where the Darjeeling drinkers of all Geneva came to provide themselves in quality sheets.

Passion for green tea

At the start of the one for whom I worked, part following his lover, I found myself alone. And, there again, far from discouraging me, I managed this in my own way. I documented myself on tea in books, I decorated the store and the windows with the most beautiful materials. In 1994, thanks to a friend who lent me the funds, I was able to take over the shop. The start of an adventure of thirty years.

I had my first taste thunderbolt for a green tea, a superb long jing, a revelation. I believe that what made me love this universe is that tea is always an invitation to travel. Little by little, I became a bit of an expert in this area, which was not as popular as today. I started the tastings of great wines, the food and teas agreements, I collaborated with the Changins wine school. Around me, I brought together a team of enthusiasts, including my dear Marie, who started working with me when she was only 19 years old.

Love in Ouarzazate

In 2007, and after thirteen years entirely devoted to the store, I decided to go on vacation in Morocco. I arrive in the Ouarzazate region, in the Drâa valley, and I fall in love with the place. I tell myself that, whatever happens, I will have a house here. A little later, I meet Abdellah, who was born in the surrounding mountains. I am 40 years old, I sell tea in Switzerland and I have a bust of Buddha in my apartment. He is six years younger than me, comes from a family of eight children and is Muslim.

Everything separates us, but we do not leave ourselves and we are getting married in 2008 at the town hall of Eaux-Vives. During these years, we set out together to revive an old adobe house in the village where he was born.

While working both in Carouge, we manage the work and its vagaries at a distance. In my head, I know exactly what I want, from the pace of the building to the color of the fabrics through the slightest object. After twelve years of work, Our Casbah has opened Its doors in October 2019 in Euphoria, to close them in early 2020 in the most horrible uncertainties because of the COVVID.

Tea in Berber country

Since the reopening in October 2022, I knew that I had to turn the page of the tea shop to live this third phase of my life in Morocco. It is the quiet spirit that I transmitted the keys to Mary. My daily life now is an ocher earth house in the heart of this magnificent valley. It is this vibrant light. It is this silence. And if I always serve tea, it’s in a menthol and very sweet version. But always to welcome. ”

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