Interview: Jeff and Heidi Chen, Tea Ave

Photo Courtesy of Tea Ave

If you are a fan of oolong teas chances are you've seen Tea Ave mentioned on blogs, instagram, and steepster. They are a new  company getting noticed for the quality of their teas in beautifully designed packaging. After tasting a few samples I knew we needed to learn more about the company. Check out my interview with founders Jeff and Heidi Chen below. 

Spotlight: Raj Vable of Young Mountain Tea Company

Photo courtesy of Young Mountain Tea Company

Last week I mentioned it was nice to see so many new tea companies popping up that concentrate on high quality, single estate teas. I'd like to also add that it's nice to see so many new tea companies popping up that not only offer high quality teas, but are out to make a difference.

Today I'm featuring Young Mountain Tea Company. The Company's philosophy is 'The best teas grow out of the best practices'. The company's founder Raj Vable has a unique vision. He is creating tea in Kumaon, in the Indian Himalayans by creating jobs and using sustainable farming techniques to increase the income of the farmers. As for the tea itself, he decided to focus on white peony (bai mu dan) tea. It's rare to find this type of tea processed in India, which makes his choice all the more interesting. Raj started the company to create teas that taste delicious, support the farmers, and benefit the planet.

Young Mountain started a kickstarter campaign to raise money for their efforts, and they have reached their original goal. They have now started a stretch goal in order to expand the project from the original plot of land to start working with three different villages.

When Raj sent me information about the kickstarter, I had many questions about the project. The questions grew into a full interview. I sent him my questions and he gave informative answers I'm happy to share with everyone. Here is out detailed, fascinating interview.

Spotlight: Rajiv Lochan, Doke Tea Garden

Rajiv Lochan and family

If you are a tea fanatic, chances are you've heard about Rajiv Lochan. Working in the world of tea since 1974, Rajiv is a legend in the tea industry. He used all of his tea knowledge to launch Lochan Tea Ltd in 1991, where the focus is sourcing teas that will heighten the consumer's experience of drinking tea. In 1998 after feeling the potential of a lush area of Bihar by the Doke river, he created the Doke Tea Garden.

Many people believed this site in Bihar wasn't appropriate for a tea garden, and said the land wouldn't produce quality tea. Rajiv and his family have worked hard to prove the naysayers wrong many times over. Rajiv and his family tirelessly ensure a quality product at Doke. The hand-processed teas at are at the top of many tea drinkers' favorites lists.

Rajiv is often traveling around the world, spreading is passion and knowledge for tea. Lucky for us, he took some time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions. Even through a few words over email, his dedication and knowledge is quite clear. Here is out interview:

I’ve read so much about Doke, and how you are a unique estate. Please tell us a little bit about the farm, and its values.

www.doketea.com will tell more and its uniqueness comes from its location in Bihar which is a non-traditional tea growing area in India.

How did you get involved with tea, and when did you start Doke?

By a quirk of fate I landed in tea immediately after my formal schooling in 1974 and in 1998 I started Doke when the local government invited us for investment there.

You are extremely passionate about tea. How do you bring this passion to the consumer?

thanks for finding us so and we bring this passion to our consumers by the completeness of our involvement with everything related to consumer himself and tea.

What teas does Doke produce, and how did you decide to process these particular types of tea?

We mainly process black, green & white teas - lots of experimentations and our association with China helped us decide what to do with our green leaf.

Your business model is ecologically friendly. Tell us how you are respecting the environment and the individuals working on the land.

It was a luck that the outlet of a hydro-electrical plant got discharged into a dry riverbed which flow thru our tea garden which entirely changed the micro-climate there.

Tell us a little bit about the teas you offer through Lochan teas- how do you choose what to sell?

We mainly offer all the Indian teas and Darjeeling is our passion - we choose by the needs of the customers - being basically sourcing agents.

I see that Doke hosts students to have a hands-on experience at the farm. Tell us a bit about this program and what the experience is like.

Since 2004 we got involved with this and basically French student internees are enrolled into this which is completely free and we enjoy doing this. 

I read that you are an ‘ambassador of tea’ to China. What do you learn in your trips to China, and how do you apply this knowledge to your company?

Ha ha, not really, but we enjoy being bridge between these two major tea producing countries..the keen observation done in China to the leaf is applied by us during manufacture. 

What has inspired you lately?

America - right from Canadian top to the Chile’s lower bottom - has a vast potential with its 1 billion people for healthy tea drinking - and it is a revolution. 

What are your own personal tea rituals?

Ripe Pu’er is my personal favourite and drinking it in its traditional Chinese way is my tea ritual. 

A huge thank you to Rajiv for answering a few questions for us. Keep an eye out, because this is the time of year for the first flush teas to start popping up! You can learn more about Doke by visiting their website. Tealet has visited the region and has some great information here.

Spotlight:Tea of the People

Do you know Tea of the People? They are a socially conscious tea company offering healthy tea blends created with as many antioxidant rich ingredients as possible. They focus on real ingredients, not just added flavorings. They are hoping to make a difference by donating a portion of profits to entrepreneurs and non-profits that are helping make the world a better place. I was intrigued and wanted to find out more. Founder and Chief Activist Officer Joshua Caplan kindly agreed to answer some questions so we can all learn more about Tea of the People. Here is our interview!

Spotlight: Plum Deluxe

Last week I did a review and background of Plum Deluxe, a site specializing in creating meaningful moments which includes drinking tea for all occasions. I was intrigued by the company and the founder and creator Andy Hayes agreed to do an interview for us to learn more about the company and their in-house created tea blends.

Spotlight: Dona Chai

I love masala chai and often make it at home. It's rare to find a pre-made or cafe created chai that doesn't disappoint, so I always have low expectations. I recently had the opportunity to try Dona Chai, a new bottled chai concentrate starting to pop up in NYC area markets and cafes. The invigorating aroma straight from the bottle smells like a homemade masala chai. After mixing with milk, the flavors are still fresh, zingy, and well balanced. This is definitely the best chai concentrate I've had, and I was eager to learn more.The founders Amy and Peter Rothstein were more than happy to answer a few questions for me, so read on to learn more about their product.


Why did you start Dona Chai?

Several months after moving to New York City, I realized that there wasn’t a local company making a chai concentrate. Especially, in coffee shops, where everything is locally driven, I saw a need for this product. I wanted to offer a local and better option for chai lattes.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

Unfortunately, my ingredients do not grow locally. I choose the next best thing: a local supplier. The owner of Dual Special Store - an Indian grocery in East Village - provides me with all of my ingredients from his Brooklyn warehouse.

Actually, fun news! I’m working on donating my compost to the Brooklyn Grange.

How did you decide on the flavors to add to your recipe?

I started with a list of around ten spices. I played around with brewing techniques and flavor combinations before landing on my recipe. I ultimately decided that I wanted to create a chai that was refined in flavor - not too complicated, and instead, perfectly balanced. What I came up with was my version of a masala chai: black tea, cold pressed ginger, cinnamon, green cardamom, vanilla bean, cloves, and black pepper.

Why did you decide on a concentrate, and not a powdered product or loose tea blend?

When baristas make chai with loose leaf blends, the tea only steeps for a few minutes before getting to the customer. Instead, Dona Chai is brewed for nearly an hour. This yields a tea that is powerful in flavor.

As far as powdered mixes, I’m not even sure how you make them! I think it’s some kind of dehydrated product that can dissolve in water. Reminds me of the chocolate milk I drank as a kid! Or Tang,

Coffee shops and markets throughout NYC. Check out my site, donachai.com, or follow Dona Chai on instagram, twitter, or facebook. All of our locations are listed on our website.

Why is the company called Dona Chai?

When I chose this name, I didn’t think that I’d have to explain the history! Most people ask if my name’s Donna.

So, I wanted to call my company something abstract, but with meaning. Dona is taken from the name Donna. My mom had a childhood doll who she named Donna.

Do you have any personal tea rituals? Are there any family tea rituals that you had growing up?

My mom makes a pot of English breakfast tea every morning. But, growing up, I remember hating tea, for the bitterness. Now, I like tea. My favorite is a sweet herbal tea during winter.

Where can we find your product?

Coffee shops and markets throughout NYC. Check out my site, donachai.com, or follow Dona Chai on instagram, twitter, or facebook. All of our locations are listed on our website.

A huge thank you to Amy and Peter for the interview! For part 2 of this spotlight, stay tuned for a formal review of their chai (spoiler: it's very tasty) later this week.

Spotlight: TeaVivre

Three year old TeaVivre has already made a name for high quality Chinese teas. I've tried many of their samples in the past, and I've always found the quality to be great. I recently asked if we could do an interview, and they gladly accepted. After the jump you'll find what we discussed (answers are as provided by TeaVivre):
How did the company get started? Who are the founders?

This company was established by Chris Yang, Angel Chen, and Wenny Ren in 2010.

The team of TeaVivre has been engaged in E-commerce business since 2005 accumulating a lot of experience in customer service and network marketing. In 2010, we began to explore the idea of building a tea brand for online international tea retail marketing. China has the best quality teas but did do not have a good online tea brand for the global market. We invested a year in research, including visits to tea gardens and processing facilities all over China. In July 2011, TeaVivre.com was launched for the English-speaking market, as well as TheCalin for the French market.

Where is the company located?

Staffs of our operation department work in Sichuan Province of China, and our teas are stored in Xia'men, Fujian Province.

What are the company values?

TeaVivre is a group of tea lovers who all share a passion for drinking great tea and appreciate the healthy life style it brings. Our business ethic is one of honesty and trust, where the relationship and satisfaction of both our customers and our suppliers is our guiding principle.

How do you source your teas, and how often do you visit tea plantations?

Our teas are procured directly from the tea producers who have a proven track record in producing top quality teas using organic, traditional methods. This is to guarantee the freshness and quality of the tea we sell.

You can learn a more detailed sourcing process on our website: http://www.teavivre.com/about-teavivre/#part2

Often in the spring, we visit the tea gardens the most frequently, while in other three seasons, it varies. Every year we will go to tea gardens at least one time.

What characteristics do you look for in the tea you are selecting to sell?

We look for teas which are healthy and good taste, can both satisfy your tea buds and reveal the beautiful nature of Chinese tea.

What are your personal favorite teas to drink?

Personally I prefer raw pu-erh the most. Raw pu-erh has the richest, the most changeful flavor. I can taste bitterness, sweetness, high fragrance, astringency, freshness, and mellowness from one single tea.

Do you have any personal tea rituals?

I often have my tea in the office of TeaVivre. The tea is brewed in the normal gongfu way, so nothing special as tea rituals.

When did you start drinking tea?

3 years ago.

I'm sure you get customers from all around the world, but where do the majority of your customers live? What are some of the most interesting places you've shipped orders to?

Many of our orders are shipped to USA. So we can say the majority of our customers live in the country of America.

The most interesting places could be New Caledonia, an island near the land of Australia. I’ve never heard the place before until I met this order.

What are your most popular teas?

I can tell four teas which have been popular for a long time:

Premium Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea
Golden Monkey Black Tea
Organic Nonpareil Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen)
Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea
Our flower teas are also frequently seen in the top sellers list.

For someone that is just starting to learn about tea, what advice would you give?

If you just start learning tea, it’s better to begin with one kind of tea. With what you learnt from this tea, you can learn more quickly and efficiently with the other ones. For starters, green tea is much easier to learn.

The other advice for starters is to have a peaceful heart when making tea, thus you can taste, can smell, can see the true
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Thank you to Stella from TeaVivre for answering my questions! Stay tuned for some new reviews of their summertime tea suggestions. TeaVivre created fun festivities for their 3rd anniversary. Be sure to check their website for more details.

Spotlight: PMD Tea

Have you heard of PMD Tea? If you live in the UK you have probably seen their teas at restaurants and shops.The family run company is trying to break into the lackluster US restaurant and hotel tea market. I cannot wait to start seeing their teas locally.

I've had the pleasure of trying a selection of their teas. The Ceylon teas are high quality and fresh. Definitely better than many I've had in the past. I was delighted to try so many different single estate Ceylon teas. You can see the attention to detail in these carefully selected teas. Flavors ranged from bold and malty to gentle and sweet with honey, caramel, and dried fruit notes. The Planters' Breakfast and New Vithanakand were two that really stood out for me. I adore robust black teas with some subtle sweetness and these did not disappoint. I even enjoyed their version of Earl Grey, the Planters' Earl Grey, when it's not a tea I usually prefer. The bergamot was not overpowering. I've recently realized I have a strong preference for black teas, and the flavor profiles in the PMD teas hit just the right notes on my palate.

I recently corresponded with Managing Director Dananjaya Silva who gave very thoughtful answers to my questions. I learned all about the family company, how their source their teas, and their ethical and sustainable values. Our informative in-depth interview is after the jump:

Spotlight: Tea Horse

Tea Horse is a British company that sells teas, teaware and also offers a monthly subscription program. Sign up and each month you will be greeted by a package of carefully selected teas along with filters for steeping and an informational booklet. The company generously sent me three large samples to try, and I loved all three.

Panyong Golden Needle

Panyong Golden Needle

The first sample is the Panyong Golden Needle. With the first sniff of the brew, I knew this was a tea for me. I love Chinese black tea, especially when loaded with golden tips. Sweet caramel, and an earthy deep cocoa aroma brought a smile to my lips. The taste was of cocoa and spice with dried apricots and a touch of honey. Very delicious. This is the type of tea I reach for in the morning to wake me up and keep me going.

Gui Fei Oolong

Gui Fei Oolong

The next tea I tried was the Gui Fei, (Honey) Oolong. The leaves are beautifully rolled and smell of honey, just as described. I did one quick 'wash' of the leaves here, to make sure they fully opened during their steep. The first steep was sweet with a strong honey note and a delicate floral taste. I steeped this a second time to make sure the leaves fully opened, and this steep was much more earthy. It reminded me of Korean barley tea- very nutty, and subtly sweet. I was surprised at how quickly this changed from sweet to earthy.

The Jade Oolong, another beautifully rolled tea, has an intoxicating sweet and floral aroma. It was as if I held a bouquet of fresh flowers to my nose. The tea has a sweet jasmine taste with a hint of fresh grass. This is a beautiful tea to drink any time of day. I'm picturing a huge vase of colorful flowers while I sip. It instantly lifts my mood. It also makes a light and refreshing iced tea.

Jade Oolong

All three teas are of wonderful quality, which intrigues me to try more of their teas. The packaging is environmentally friendly with an attractive minimalist design. I love that the steeping instructions are right on the package. It seems like common sense to include this, but many companies don't. I often have to search around online to find steeping instructions.

Tea Horse gets their name from "Tea Horse Road" which is the ancient trade route from China to Tibet. The history behind the road is very interesting, and you can learn more about it here.

To learn even more about this company, stay tuned in the coming days for an interview with the founder of Tea Horse, Ali Silk!

Spotlight: Happy Earth Tea

I've met so many wonderful tea enthusiasts through blogging. Everyone is friendly, interesting, and of course passionate about tea. With a full time job and two children it is difficult to keep up with correspondence, but I value all the people I've met around the world who love tea as much as I do! One of these individuals is Niraj Lama from Happy Earth Tea. Niraj is a native of Darjeeling, who has found himself living in Rochester NY. Tea has always been part of his life. After a few email exchanges we discovered many similarities in our children, and of course discussed our love for tea.

Spotlight: The Tea Merchant

The Tea Merchant is a new online tea company offering a range of teas and teaware with a focus on organic and fair trade. I recently reviewed their green kukicha, and I have a few more coming soon.

I met founder Joey Landford at the NY Coffee and Tea Festival. I was intrigued by their teas and his new Kickstarter for an innovative tea tumbler. He is friendly and offered to answer a few questions, so we had a cheerful email exchange.

TH: How did you discover tea, and when did you start drinking it?
JL: I started drinking tea back in college but I never could really get into it, as I was too busy going to school full time and working full time to pay for school to take the time to enjoy tea. It was not until I moved to Japan that I started to really appreciate tea more. Drinking tea everyday with every meal became commonplace and I started to explore tea much more when I lived there. 

TH: Why start a tea business? How long ago did you start, and why?
JL: I started The Tea Merchant about 9 months ago. I started it because I could not find work after being laid off. So I decided to take all my savings and create my own job that I would love. The result was The Tea Merchant, and this led to me designing my tumbler. Its been an enjoyable, stressful, fulfilling experience so far.

TH: What is your favorite part of running a tea business?
JL: My favorite part about my job is quality control and experimentation. I get to drink tea all day to make sure its up to par. Trying new blends and enjoying new flavors is always fun. But it is a lot of work especially for a small company like mine where I am the only employee

TH: What makes The Tea Merchant different from other tea stores?
JL: The Tea Merchant is different in that I focus more on Organic and Fair Trade teas. You’ll also find that my teas are more subtle and not overpowering like other companies. Balance is key in teas and my blends all will focus on particular flavors or style while not losing the fact they are still tea. Take my Silk Dragon for example it is a vanilla Oolong with marigolds that even if you take the vanilla out of the blend the oolong can still stand on its own. This means every steep offers a different, tasty experience.

TH: Where do you source your teas?
JL: My teas are sourced from all over, China, Japan, and India primarily. I look for Organic and Fair Trade estates when possible but I won’t sacrifice quality to achieve this. This always makes blending more difficult but it’s a fun challenge and I think the final product is better for it.

TH: Tell me a little bit more about your tea tumbler kickstarter. Why did you decide to create one, and how long did the process take?
JL: Well this tumbler is something I think the tea industry can really benefit from. It makes drinking loose leaf tea easy, and I found this was a major barrier for my very busy friends. Even if you’re not busy it’s still an easy solution for while at work or at home and it can even work with coffee! Being able to fully control steep times without having to remove the infuser is something we all can enjoy. I’m using the Kickstarter to help me get this product into production. Kickstarter will allow me to give awesome rewards and discounted tumblers to the people who like it. It’s a win win, as I get into production faster and people receive the product sooner and cheaper.

A big thanks to Joey for answering all of my questions! If you have any other questions for him, leave them in the comments. A review of the Silk Dragon Oolong Joey mentions above will be coming soon, along with a few others!

Spotlight: Bellocq No. 11 White Peony

A few dear friends recently gave me a gorgeous sampler box of tea from Bellocq. It's as if they read my mind, as I've been meaning to check out their Brooklyn Atelier for months. It's right near one of our favorite pizza places, but a visit has just not timed out properly. Hungry children usually don't have much interest in tea shops. I'll need to take a solo venture there one of these days.

 Everything about the brand is artistic yet simple. The website is absolutely gorgeous. The designers have a great eye. Their teas are also beautifully packaged. Just looking at the silver and yellow canisters makes me want to collect as many as possible. Purchasing teas in the canister is expensive, but  perhaps an occasional indulgence. The sampler box I have is quite sturdy and stands out with its bright yellow color. It's a particularly grey day here in NYC (it feels like I say that a lot) so the box truly brightened up my world. I cannot wait to visit the Atelier, I imagine it to be a full sensory experience.

 

My yellow nails match the box!

My friends chose well, selecting a box of 'pure teas' as I don't usually prefer blends. I like the little added touches in the packaging- they include paper infuser bags for the teas, and also provide a detailed steeping chart for each tea. Nicely done.


Steeping chart inside the lid

 I've been sipping each tea in the sampler, and they are all tasty and of good quality. I decided to focus a post on just the No. 11 White Peony. The dry leaves are an attractive mixture of cut leaves and downy buds. The mixture smells sweet and floral which is usually my experience with this type of tea.

I'm always amazed that no matter how sweet the White Peony leaves smell, the sweetness never transfers to the aroma of the brew. The tea has a dried grass/hay-like smell, and is very earthy. I did slightly over steep my tea, but it still tastes smooth and delicious. Sweet, rich, yet delicate. An earthy taste of the dried grass with a slightly mellow vegetal finish. Refreshing and invigorating. It would make a nice iced tea in the hot weather as well.  

 

After trying these sample teas, I am even more excited to visit the Brooklyn store. One question I have though...how do you pronounce their name? Is it bello-C-Q or something else? If anyone knows, please share!! Thank a huge thank you to my friends that gave me such a lovely gift!