Interview: Alex Ahearn

Alex Ahearn (Photo courtesy of Alex Ahearn)

I'm so excited to bring back tea industry interviews! Today I have an interview with an amazing tea friend Alex Ahearn, who has been studying tea from an early age. His knowledge and passion for tea is infectious, as is his convivial personality.

Alex recently published his beautiful book Flowers + Tea, an amazing combination of poetry, flower photography, and tea evaluations. It's an eloquent expression of his love for tea, and I highly recommend it. He has also published two baking books that incorporate tea as well as gluten free ingredients, Please Bake It and  Please Bake It (Again). Learn all about Alex and read his tips and ideas on tea drinking, below.

How COVID-19 Is Affecting Tea Vendors

It's a difficult time for everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I've wondered how tea vendors have been faring in this unprecedented environment. I recently published a post about how Chinese Tea Vendors were doing during the pandemic, and I decided to check in with a few tea industry friends, to see how COVID-19 has affected their tea businesses.

I spoke with a few tea vendors and online sellers. I wanted to get a sample of individuals working with brick and mortar tea stores, and also those selling tea online. I had the pleasure of speaking with:

Elena Liao, co-owner of Té Company
Kevin Gascoyne co-owner of Camellia Sinensis.
David Campbell owner of Tillerman Tea
Martin Connelly owner of Little Red Cup Tea Company
Theresa Wong, owner of T-Shop
Ana Dane of In Pursuit of Tea

They gave many observations and insights on how COVID-19 is affecting their tea businesses. Read about the concerns, issues, changes in sales, and surprises they've come across, below.

Interview: Nazanin Yousefnejad of Tea Thoughts

Nazanin Yousefnejad, Photo Courtesy of Tea Thoughts

Tea people are the nicest people I've come across, and today's interviewee is no exception. You may have seen Nanzanin of Tea Thoughts on Instagram posting her beautiful tea photos, or perhaps you've visited her adorable online store (I love her pins!!) or ordered her Steep It Real box. I'm so pleased to present our interview!

I had the pleasure of receiving January's Steep It Real box, and I've been enjoying it all month long. I love that the tea themed products are all useful, fun, and high quality. She even includes hand-made items. There was only one tea included in the box, but it's a full-size package and very high quality. I much prefer this over boxes that give you many sample sizes of lower quality teas and blends, many you don't really want.

Learn all about Nazanin and her passion for tea, her wonderful creative side, and her personal tea rituals in the interview below.

Interview: Zhao and Ronald of Tea.L

Zhao and Ron (photo courtesy of Tea.L)

As I've gotten older, I've become picky about my skincare. I'm always looking for natural products that don't have any harsh ingredients. Recently the folks from Tea.L reached out to see if I'd like to try their tea-based skincare products. A company that sells natural products made with tea? And we're talking, real, loose leaf tea with minimal processing? I was all-in.

I've been using the eye cream, face lotion, and body lotion for a few weeks, and I've really enjoyed them. I love the texture and scent (they really smell like tea!), and my skin feels super-soft. Over these last few weeks questions about the products have popped into my head, so I thought it would be fun to do an interview with founders Zhao and Ron. Below you'll find out all about why they made tea-based skincare products, the importance of using real tea, and the beauty of tea and self care.

Interview: Tatjana and Tom of Teapro UK

Tatjana and Tom, photo courtesy of Teapro UK

Instagram is by far my favorite way to connect with tea people, I love looking at all the creative tea photos! One account that always entertains and amuses is Teapro UK. Founders Tatjana and Tom are incredibly whimsical and artistic. They do a great job of illustrating the joys of tea. Teapro UK is a virtual tea shop where you can browse tea and teaware, or order tea subscription boxes. Our interview below gives you a peek into the life of two tea-entrepreneurs, and how they keep the creative juices flowing.

Interview: The Renegade Tea Estate

Georgian white teas, photo courtesy of Renegade Tea Estate

I love learning about the many passionate tea growers and producers around the world, and today I'm excited to present an interview with a fairly new tea company, Renegade Tea Estate. Western Georgia (the country, not the state) used to be a large tea producing region before the industry collapsed in the 1990s. But the passionate young tea growers of Renegade Tea Estate are trying to rehabilitate Georgian tea. Read all about this new tea venture, the challenges they faced in rehabilitating a tea farm while learning how to grow and process tea in our interview below.

Interview: Shalini Agarwal of Glenburn Tea Estate

Photo Courtesy of Shalini Agarwal

This week I am pleased to present my interview with Shalini Agarwal, who leads the wholesale operations for the Glenburn Tea Estate as the president of Glenburn Tea Direct. Learn about what it's like to grow up surrounded by tea, the challenges of selling Indian tea in the US, and find out about the seminars she's participating in for next week's upcoming World Tea Expo, below.

Interview with Ashley Lim of Mansa Tea

Ashley Lim, photo courtesy of Mansa Tea

I recently had the chance to meet Ashley Lim, Founder of Mansa Tea after sampling a few of her pu'er teas. Her story was quite intriguing and she kindly agreed to an interview. Learn all about how growing up in a family of tea enthusiasts has shaped her love of tea, and continues to influence her company, below.

Interview: Jason McDonald, Co-Founder of The Great Mississippi Tea Company

Photo courtesy of Jason McDonald

I'm so pleased to present my interview with Jason McDonald, Founder of The Great Mississippi Tea Company. I've come to know Jason through attending his seminars at World Tea Expo, and he's a brilliant tea farmer and all-around super nice guy. He runs The Great Mississippi Tea Company with his partner, Co-founder Timmy Gipson. They have created a successful tea garden with incredibly innovative practices. Learn all about what they are doing in our interview below.

Interview: Brandon Friedman of Rakkasan Tea Company

Brandon Friedman (photo courtesy of Rakkasan Tea Company)

I'm pleased to present an interview with Brandon Friedman, co-founder of Rakkasan Tea Company, a vendor trying to make a difference in the industry. Rakkasan works with small farmers in post-conflict tea-growing areas such as Vietnam, Laos, and Rwanda to help the economy of the area and bring their teas to US customers. Learn more about their mission, why this goal is so important to the founders, the challenges they face as a new tea company, and more, below.

Interview: Kevin Gascoyne

Kevin Gascoyne (photo courtesy of Kevin Gascoyne)

When I started diving deeper into learning about tea, Kevin Gascoyne's name popped up regularly. I pored over the book he co-wrote, Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties which basically became my 'tea bible', and read numerous articles he's written over the years. I knew the tea house Camellia Sinensis he co-owns was one I needed to add to my list of places to visit. I've had the pleasure of meeting Kevin briefly at various tea events, and at this year's NY Coffee & Tea festival I realized I needed to ask him to schedule an interview. I was nervous speaking with someone who has done so much, and knew so much. But talk with Kevin and you'll instantly realize he's the guy you want to hang out with; drinking endless cups of tea and chatting about all manner of things. We recently had an hour-long phone conversation where Kevin's passion for tea came through in everything we talked about. We discussed his new collaboration on the Tea Studio project, his favorite tea memory, his opinion on tea education, and so much more. Highlights from our interview are posted below.