Discover Mantraste's Collaboration with Companhia Portugueza do Chá for Lisbon Design Week’s Limited Edition Tea

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This year, Companhia Portugueza do Chá is launching a limited edition Garden Herbal Tea with flavours of mint, lemongrass, roses, jasmin, orange tree flowers, carnations and peonias mixed with love by Sebastian Filgueiras with packaging designed by Mantraste, created for Lisbon Design Week.

Bruno Reis Santos, known professionally as "Mantraste," is a Portuguese illustrator, graphic designer, and author. His rural upbringing as the son of a hairdresser and shepherd in the woods between Nadadouro, Caldas da Rainha, and Nazaré deeply influences his artistic style.

Mantraste draws inspiration from popular mysticism, nature, and his childhood experiences. His distinctive style features seemingly naïve lines, candid color patches, and rough figures that celebrate rural folk culture.

His work appears across various media including exhibitions, author's editions, award-winning book covers, murals, illustrations for publications, record covers, posters, corporate identities, and ceramic collections. He sometimes works and teaches at Stolen Books in Lisbon, which serves as his creative haven.

We sat down with the designer to learn more about the inspiration and creative process behind this unique creation.

Images by @CarlaHeyworth

What was your inspiration for the design of this limited edition tea packaging?

As this was going to be a floral infusion, I wanted to create a garden being watered and show the similarities between a watering can and a teapot. Watering a flower and serving tea in a cup are very similar actions. At the same time, regardless of the size of the flower, when its infusion is consumed, it becomes larger than what we see. That was the key idea – taking a walk through an herbarium.

What was your creative process like for this project?

I let it bloom. I didn't overthink this image, I just went with the flow. I chose the colors and let it develop naturally.

How did the shape of the packaging influence your design approach?

In this case, it was a cylinder with a shorter lid, so it was about understanding the object and trying to play with that shape.

What feeling did you want to evoke in people who see your design?

I wanted them to feel at least a desire to taste it. In illustration, there are two great sins: one is giving a bad cover to a good book, and the second, which is worse in my opinion, is giving a good cover to a bad book. Here, I feel I'm not at risk of having committed the second one!

What do you value most in design?

Sincerity and not wanting to show more than what you really are. Authenticity is essential.

What's your relationship with tea? Do you have any special memories or favorites?

The tea I drink most is '3-year tea' [rooibos], which I drink every night. After that, green tea and chamomile. Chamomile with Maria cookies is probably one of my best memories. I think taste and sight evoke different stimuli – we can evoke images, but flavor is a much stronger realm than the visual.

This limited edition Garden Herbal tea is available exclusively during Lisbon Design Week, and features delicious notes of mint, lemongrass, rose, jasmin, orange blossoms, carnations and peonias. Don't miss the chance to experience this beautiful collaboration between design and flavor!