Why teak and not German oak for a breakfast board?

Basically, you need hardwood for a cutting board or breakfast board. Hardwood comes from deciduous trees such as oak, walnut and mahogany. Since these woods grow more slowly, they are more expensive than softwoods.

Tropical wood such as teak is also considered hardwood. It is more resistant to fungal growth and insects than non-tropical hardwood. It comes from Asia and is one of the most valuable and oldest woods there.

Teak can be safely classified as a "superwood" among the woods of the world. It is antibacterial, hard and light at the same time, long-lasting and also has a very beautiful grain. The natural oils in teak are aromatic and make it resistant to insects and termites. This gives it durability and strength, even in harsh weather conditions. Teak does not absorb water and does not rot or decay when wet. It also does not warp or splinter. These properties make it ideal for use as a breakfast or cutting board.

The characteristic color of teak varies between medium and golden brown tones. Teak has a distinctive structure with fine, dark brown stripes. The wood is partially interspersed with tongue-shaped grains, a coarser grain that occurs when the teak trunk is cut at an angle. If teak is oiled or waxed regularly, it will retain its original color. If teak is left untreated, this has little effect on its lifespan.

Oak wood is characterized by light brown to yellowish-brown heartwood, while the sapwood is yellowish-white. In its untreated state, the wood can even appear slightly reddish. The annual rings are easy to recognize in oak wood and are responsible for its interesting grain. This wood is also very robust and therefore particularly weatherproof and resistant to external influences.

Oak wood is found mainly in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North America. In Europe, oak is the second most economically important tree species after pine.

Even though oak is as robust as teak, teak is preferred for breakfast and cutting boards. This can be explained well using the example of barrels for wine and spirits. Scotch whisky and bourbon are aged in oak barrels. Oak contains tannic acid, which is used in tanneries. This tannic acid is an important quality feature for many red wine fans. But this is not necessarily desirable for breakfast boards.

There remains the important aspect of climate protection. Importing goods from Asia naturally causes more CO2 emissions. We have calculated this in our blog on climate neutrality and also described it in detail. Here is our position on this in brief: it is important to us to create an understanding of the consequences of different types of consumption. Unfortunately, this is still rarely transparent today. The price of an avocado in our supermarket does not yet reflect the subsequent damage in the countries where it is grown. You should therefore choose suppliers who provide transparency about their supply chain and the resulting CO2 emissions.

Our conclusion for the optimal wood for cutting and breakfast boards: hardwood should always be used for a breakfast or cutting board. Teak has slight advantages due to the tannins in oak. Due to the potentially longer delivery route from Asia, the supplier should operate in a climate-neutral manner and make its supply chains transparent.