Let's Talk about Shipping!

Shipping, it’s a topic that is prevalent in all our lives as we do more and more online shopping. It’s also a topic that I don’t think many shoppers understand unless they’ve shipped items themselves. Throw in the fact that you can pay for a prime membership and get everything shipped “for free” and there is a huge misunderstanding about how shipping works.

I’ve been running Tea Thoughts since 2016/2017 and while I don’t claim to know everything, I have learned a lot about shipping in the process. Before opening my shop, I also had a lot of experience shipping because I frequently sent packages to friends and my partner when he was deployed.

I wanted to break down a few things about how the cost of shipping works and also some information about shipping in general that may help you understand why the shipping prices you see are different from different shops.

What affects shipping cost?

1. Weight: Most shipping services whether it’s USPS or UPS/FEDEX/DHL is based on weight. This means, the lighter something is, the less it costs to ship and the price increases as the weight increases. Some items in my shop that are heavier than you might imagine are notebooks for example. The current notebooks and notebooks I’ve had in the past are often 1lb without any shipping material.

2. Distance: The other factor is distance from ship point. In the US for example the map is split into different regions or zones. I am located in Maryland so If I’m shipping the same weight item to people all over the country, the cost will be less for someone who lives in Connecticut or North Carolina vs someone who lives in Texas, Colorado, California etc. You can check the chart below for more details

3. Size of Business: This one is a little more complicated but I think it’s important to understand. If a shop uses a shipping service or a marketplace like Etsy they will likely have some small discount on shipping through those companies. I use shopify for example and depending on the plan I pay for I can get more of discount for shipping. In addition to this, some companies are able to negotiate a lower price if they have a large enough volume of shipments. Usually I notice that these deals are made with fedex and ups.

Here is a breakdown of zones from USPS

Why USPS over Fedex or UPS?
I only use USPS for a few reasons. USPS is by no means perfect but for a tiny business like mine, it makes the most sense. In all my shipping, USPS has been the cheapest option. It is only beaten by UPS a couple times for an item that is heavier and being shipped far away. Even still, it isn’t much cheaper. USPS is also the only service that picks up my packages from my apartment for free. When I’ve shipped with UPS or Fedex, I’ve have to pay for a pickup and it isn’t always the same day. Having packages picked up instead of having to lug a bunch of boxes to a post office on my own is really helpful and convenient. For the size of my business and being a one person show, USPS has been the best option for me.

What about Free Shipping?
To my knowledge, there is no company who doesn’t pay shipping fees. If a company is offering you free shipping they are either eating the cost or more likely, the shipping is hidden in some other way. For example, if a company sells clothing and offers free shipping on their orders, the cost of shipping is likely built into the price of the clothes so you are paying for it that way.

Why don’t I do this? To me, this is a much simpler solution if I offered one product or products that were all similar weight. For me, I would have to estimate shipping and add a different amount to each item. I also think that while “free shipping” sounds nice, it isn’t exactly fair. For example, If I added one flat fee to my items to cover an estimate of shipping, people who live closer to me would be paying more since their shipping would cost less. I decided that it is simpler and fairer to just have shipping determined by USPS standards of weight and location.

I do offer free shipping over $75 in my shop for US orders. For example, at an order value of $75 or more, I usually will pay $10-$17 in shipping which is essentially a loss on that order. I do this mainly because it’s a standard to offer this but it isn’t exactly beneficial to me. As USPS prices have increased each year so has this minimum and it may continue to rise as costs rise.

Order Volume Discount
I mentioned this earlier as a way that some larger companies can get order volume discounts. Usually I see this with companies like Fedex or UPS. I’ve looked into these and I do not ship anywhere near the amount needed for this. I recently saw an ad on Instagram to talk to a USPS specialist about volume discounts and am waiting to hear back. The problem is that I do not ship that much. Aside from shop updates, I get an order here and there. I am always hoping to increase that but the past few months have been especially slow too. Perhaps if I continue to grow and keep running Tea Thoughts I will be able to get more discounted shipping!

International Shipping
While I mostly ship to the US, I do have some customers in Canada and the EU. Everything I’ve mentioned above applies to international shipping as well. However, even though shipping costs have risen within the US, they have become even worse internationally. Every country’s shipping methods are different and I don’t think the US has the best international shipping methods. This is why many small businesses in the US only ship domestically. There are some places I have had to stop shipping (like the UK) because they’ve put in place processes that are too difficult for a one person shop like me. It’s difficult enough to keep up with US changes in things like shipping, sales tax etc as one person.

How does shipping work in my shop?
When I create a product listing, I weigh the product and note that on the product listing. When you go to check out, the website takes the weight of the product and your shipping address and calculates the price based on that. I am not setting shipping prices, they are based off the parameters I’ve outlined above. First class mail which was usually items under 1lb is now called “Ground Advantage.” The difference is that items that are over 1lb can be sent with Ground Advantage and they will usually cost a little less than Priority Mail but will take slightly longer to get to you. Shipping estimates are also listed for domestic orders. The shipping time listed means dates in transit, not days since you’ve ordered it. So if the estimate says 3-5 days, that 3-5 days starts once you get an email saying I’ve shipped your order. Something that is very important to note - once I ship the package, I have no control over it. I have the same access to information via tracking number that the customer has. Once I ship an order, it is in the hands of USPS and they are the best people to contact with an issue either on their main customer service line or your local post office.

Other things to know
Once an order comes through, I log into my shipping app (shipstation) and go through each package and weigh it with all the packaging. Sometimes I pay more than what you’ve paid for shipping especially on international orders because shipstation and shopify which I use aren’t always 100% in sync. I also thought you should know that for heavier items, I often mark them as weighing less to help you all with shipping costs. Over the years I have considered slowing the amount of products I put in the shop, especially heavy items to lessen the shipping burden on everyone!

To Conclude
I hope this information has been helpful and to show a little more behind the scenes of shipping. I’m always happy to chat and answer questions so if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email - hello@teathoughts.com

The 2022 Countdown To Fall Box

The Countdown to Fall Box launches on Tuesday August, 30th! I wanted to write a little bit about the box and a few small changes I made to the box this go around!

Here are the general details about the box:

This time around, I made a few changes that I wanted to share about. Some of the changes just happened to work with the items in the box and some are things I want to try.

Labels: Normally, I stamp out a shape and write each individual number on the labels. I do enjoy doing this but I often have trouble finding paper that looks good with the wrapping. I use a Rollo printer for my shipping labels and have started printing more packaging labels with it as well. While it doesn’t print in color, it’s a thermal printer so I never have to replace the ink and the labels are relatively inexpensive! This round, I changed the box design black and white and printed them on rectangular labels with the numbers on each label. I think they look good!

The Box: The box this time around has a few changes as well. I opt for the kraft box because I noticed when I used the white box, it got way more visibly dirty. When I switched to kraft, I also started just using line art with one color because it’s difficult to have vibrant colors on kraft. I decided to just see what the colors would look like and since the colors are earthier colors, I think it looks great and has some lovely fall vibes!

The other change for the box this time around is the size! Since I won’t have any teaware again this time (look out for the advent box!) I was able to use a smaller box. This means that the box with all the items weighs less and shipping should be a little less too :)

The Fortune Teller: This is the big one that I’m a bit scared about. I love making the fortune tellers but also sometimes feel that this paper could be saved and I often have trouble writing all that I want to in the small spaces. Something I’ve wanted to try for a long time is to provide a QR code that you can scan and go read more about each day and also have a welcome message and other information. While I too enjoy having paper I can feel, I think I will be able to give you more information about each item and my thoughts behind them. Additionally, I can put links to the places I purchased the tea where it applies so you can go directly there!

I’m very excited about this box and have been started preparing it! Let me know what you think of the changes and if you’re excited to get one!

Small Business Spotlight: Tea Curious Water

I’m excited to share this next spotlight with you ! Rie, from Tea Curious is another wonderful tea person that I’ve connected with over instagram that has greatly impacted my tea journey. Nowadays, I think most of the discussion happens on discord but I remember watching many live videos on instagram of Rie asking the important tea questions that I didn’t always ask. These live videos always made me curious to experiment and enjoy tea the way I thought it tasted best. Rie and Steven have taken their Tea Curiosity to water and after years of experimenting are elevating our water experience! Water is so important to all aspects of life and tea is one of those things. Their innovative tea recipes can change your tea time and inspire your own curiosity. As I’ve always expressed, experimentation when drinking tea is so fun and also important !

Learn more about Rie & Steven and what they’re doing with Tea Curious Water!

Can you introduce yourself and Tea Curious Water?

Hey, we're Rie and Steven! We're professional tea nerds at Tea Curious, and we help people study tea through our online community and tea courses, workshops, and tours. And now we get to develop tools like Tea Curious Water, which has been a blast.

I actually met Steven while hosting a workshop here in Las Vegas, so we know first hand how much joy and connection can come from tea. And we work really hard to share that.

Anyway, Tea Curious Water is a tool for tea brewers who want more control and confidence when they make tea. It's basically a mineral concentrate -- you put a few drops in your kettle with purified water, and voila! You've made your own ideal brewing water.

This is important since certain waters can degrade the flavor compounds in tea. Just ask anyone who's ever had to brew tea with hard water, or see the difference for yourself:

You can imagine the difference in flavor, haha. There are two recipes:

• Original, which brings out more of the bright and zesty notes found naturally in tea (it's also amazing with old tree tea), and

• Autumn, which makes things nice and smooth, with a round sweetness, awesome for darker teas.

What first got you interested in experimenting with your tea water?

Oh yeah, when I was first getting into tea... You know how you sometimes order a whole bunch of tea samples because the tasting notes sound awesome? And then when you finally get to brew the teas at home, you can't really pick out the flavors they were talking about in the tea?

That happened to me when I mass-ordered a bunch of teas to try, haha, and when that happens, you don't know if there's a problem with you, or the tea, or the vendor. It was really frustrating, thinking I was doing something wrong even if I'd put in so much effort to brew the tea right.

Eventually I heard through the grapevine that water was important for tea, so I picked up a few bottled waters and did some side-by-sides with my teas. And my mind has been blown ever since, haha.

What did the process look like for honing your tea formula?

You know, at first we were really trying to find the Holy Grail, the perfect water for tea that we could share with everyone. But then we learned that just like everything else in tea, there is no one right answer -- it depends on your individual taste, and on the individual tea.

So we started by studying our favorite bottled waters, brands you hear about all the time in tea: Fiji, Poland Spring, Volvic, and so on. Then we'd formulate our own water with the same minerals found in those waters, making sure our DIY water performed just as well as the brands, with the same natural taste.

Then we'd test our water with as many teas as possible to see how it reacted with each tea type, from HK stored sheng to Jun Chiyabari autumn flush to gyokuro. Finally, from there we made tiny adjustments -- 0.01 grams more of a mineral here to take away sourness, or 0.02 grams there to reduce bitterness -- and we'd coerce family and friends into tasting the differences with us, haha.

Altogether it's been 12 years of experimenting with water on and off, and about a year that Steven and I spent almost entirely on water. Lots of late night experiments, lots of research papers, and lottttts of dishes. ;)

What inspired you to create Tea Curious Water?

We want people to be able to experience their teas with as much flavor as possible. Maybe even the flavors that the teamakers intended. Because if a teamaker in Kyoto uses soft water to evaluate their tea, there's a lot getting lost in translation if we taste their tea brewed in the extremely hard water we have here in Vegas. And that's a shame if, at the last moment, after all the tea farmers, tea pickers, teamakers, and tea vendors have put in everything to make a tea great... the ball gets dropped because the water isn't quite right. That's why you'll find a lot of tea shops and serious tea practitioners rely on bottled water to keep their teas consistent. We made Tea Curious Water so we could stop relying on wasteful bottled water while still getting excellent results from our teas. No flavor left behind!

Are there any water issues that you want to share about or organizations that you find are doing good work to help with water issues?

Absolutely, since as you work with water in tea, you'll inevitably grow your relationship with water in a bigger way too. We should care about the water we use for tea, and we should care about these pressing water issues by listening to people on the front lines and taking action as directed by them.

For example, there's Emma Robbins from Navajo Water Project and The Chapter House, who talks about Indigenous water rights and the treaties broken by the US government, so that today 1 in 3 Navajo homes is without running water.

And the People of Red Mountain Paiute & Shoshone who are protesting a lithium mine in Northern Nevada that would use 7 billion liters of water a year in one of the driest regions in the nation. We also appreciate organizations like Waves4Water, and try to make sure to read not just the materials put out by the international admins, but what the people on the ground are saying, the local leaders like Jenica Dizon who work in their local communities and for whom the work is solidarity rather than charity.

Water affects every community in different ways though, so I hope people can engage with the water issues that are closest to them and in the way that suits them best. For us, we make monthly contributions through Tea Curious Water to various organizations (inspired by Tea Thoughts!) and that just works for us -- integrating what we love with what we should take responsibility for.

What do you see in the future for Tea Curious Water?

I'd love to see the day where friends from different places could bust out the same tea -- let's say the latest oolong from Mountain Stream Teas -- and then brew that same with the same water, so they could have a really similar tasting experience.

We've been testing this already in small groups and it's been magical to see the tasting notes converge between people thousands of miles away. You get the sense that we're really tasting the same tea, and we can learn together almost like we're in person. It's a really intimate feeling. At the end of the day that's what Tea Curious Water is for -- simply set the stage, then let tea be.

Small Business Spotlight: Volition Tea

I’m spotlighting another Chicago business! Introducing Volition Tea! I recently purchased the raw jade, white jade and white peony. The two jade teas are in pillow format which are so lovely. I’ve always had a soft spot for compressed tea. There is something about the ease of it being pre-measured. I can just plop it into my brewing vessel and sip, sip, sip for hours! I love them both but as I write this I am re-tasting the raw Jade.

The dry pillow leaf aroma fills my nostrils with the memories of lavashak - a persian fruit leather type snack. While Lavashak comes in many flavors this aroma reminded me of the lavashak that was made with stone fruit like apricots or plums. Once the water hits the leaves the aroma stays fruity but also almost instantly adds a layer of cocoa which is such an interesting an lovely marriage of scents. The lid of my easy gaiwan changed fruits to a more pear type aroma. Light and refreshing. I usually brew my first steep a little light to taste it but even so the fruity notes with a hint of cocoa really come through well. As I drink these flavors deepen. Truly a spectacular tea!

Volition Tea Co also has several more teas and teaware to brew with as well!

You can check out all their offerings on their site!

Learn more about Annie and Volition Tea!

1) Can you give us a little introduction about you/Volition Tea Co? ​

This is Annie, a proud first-generation Chinese American and founder of Volition Tea Co. I am a huge fan of the food & beverage industry, particularly here in Chicago. I used to have a customized Google Map of all the incredible restaurants and speakeasies in Chicago for my friends and families to try. Volition Tea is a tea company focusing on sharing single-origin, sustainably grown loose leaf teas from China, and celebrating tea farmers who grew and made them. We also let our farmers dedicate pricing so they can ensure their fiscal wellbeing.

2) When did you start drinking tea? ​

I grew up in Xinjiang, the northwest corner of China. The earliest memory of tea drinking I have is with my family sitting in a yurt sipping black brick tea with yak butter. The brick tea is often boiled in a large teapot over bonfire, then yak butter is added in so it tastes like salted milk tea. I can't find yak butter here in Chicago, but my mom and I would still make this tea with butter sometimes and it immediately takes me back home.

3) What inspired you to start Volition Tea Co?

In my prior life I was a tax manager at one of the big four accounting firms. Though I was working on very challenging issues, I found myself craving for deeper connections with others. As hate crimes against my community continue on the rise, I developed a burning desire to do my part to reconnect the world. I chose tea because although it's a household staple, farmers who created teas were hidden behind the curtains from tea brands' marketing. Very much like the fate of Chinese food, much of the western society believes that tea should be and need to be cheap. That expectation forces tea farmers into a vicious circle of heavy fertilizer and pesticide usage to guarantee high yield, in exchange for ever narrowing profit margin that's not fiscally sustainable. Volition Tea is here to break the chain, celebrating our farmers and their perseverance for regenerative farming. Through storytelling, We've been able to form so many deep connections with farmers and tea drinkers around the world. It's been truly a dream come true.

4) What does your personal tea ritual look like? ​

My mornings are always hectic, getting my son and myself ready, and then sending him to school. I usually come home around 9am, that's when I get to start my morning tea ritual. If I've got places to go, I usually steep tea western style. If I am fortunate enough to have some time to myself, then I pick a tea and do it gongfu style, sharing it with my mom and my partner. All of VT teas can offer multiple steeping, so I would drink that tea throughout the day.

5) Do you have a current favorite tea that you offer? ​

My current favorite tea has been the Lu'an Melon Peel. I'm convinced it's my ultimate living-in-the-present challenge. Its flavors are so nuanced and subtle. Drinking this tea forces me to quiet down and focus. If I can be really present, then it always surprises me with a discovery of a new flavor/aroma note. Living in this fast-moving world, I am especially appreciative of this tea that gets me to slow down.

6) How did you curate the selection of teas that you currently offer on the site? ​

The original plan is to procure 2 different teas for each of the six types of tea to give tea drinkers a full range of single-origin tea experience. I worked with my exporter to meet and vet farmers who are in the sustainable farming community, which is fairly small to begin with. We cupped approximately 50 different teas and finally decided on these 7, because the teas are incredibly delicious, they have passed the pesticide residue test, and the relationship we have built with their respective tea farmer is genuine and candid.

7) What are your hopes for the future of Volition Tea Co?

​I have a bold vision that Volition Tea will form a community where tea drinkers around the world demand for high-quality, farmer-focused teas and are ready to support this cause, so that the tea farmers have the market confidence and fiscal security to continue striving for sustainable farming.

Small Business Spotlight: Priya’s Teas

Introducing Priya’s Teas! What’s your sign? Well, you can find a tea that matches your sign at Priya’s Teas! I’m born in January so I’m a Capricorn and as luck would have it, I love the Capricorn blend! It’s black tea with rose and cardamom! Check out the questions below where you can learn a little more about Priya’s Teas!

1) Introduce yourself/ Priya’s Teas

Here at Priya’s Teas, we’re all about balance. For us, this means embracing our duality, both astral and terrestrial – inviting the earth into our homes through the ritual steeping of leaf teas, while opening ourselves up to the wisdom that the stars offer us.

Priya’s teas draw on the power of plants and spices. She uses the age-old practice of astrology to uncover which herbs enhance your personality, and which spices help balance you out. When you prepare a tea crafted for your zodiac sign, you create a ritual and deepen your relationship with yourself.

2) When did you start drinking tea?

Hmmm maybe when I was 7 or 8! I remember sipping some from my mom’s or dad’s cup. Later when I was in college I would drink teas regularly.

3) What inspired you to start Priya’s Teas?

Tea and Astrology have been part of Indian culture for a long time and through our zodiac teas I have tried to tie these beautiful experiences together!

The teas draw on the power of plants and spices( based on Ayurveda meaning knowledge of life). Growing up in a multi-generational family in India,I learned about the different styles of tea-making from my mom and grandmother. They would hand-craft different tea blends of the sweet, savory, and nutty spices for each occasion.

When I came to US my friends loved the teas I made. It was over one of these chai conversations that we decided to start Priya’s Teas and during the pandemic lock down,I used all my energies to find the right blends for each zodiac sign!

4) What does your personal tea ritual look like?

Rituals ground us and stabilize us, making it easier for us to feel intentional. My morning starts with the ritual of chai. This process involves being mindful and present during preparation of tea ,drinking the tea and being aware of the effects of tea on your body and mind! This is the reason why I carefully chose the spices for each blend keeping in mind that these tea blends will nurture you from the inside out!

5) Do you have a current favorite tea?

It’s hard to choose but I think I am enjoying our cinnamon blend (gemini) these days as it is perfect for this fall season, cozy and warm!

6) What is your sign and what inspired each blend for the matching sign?

My sun sign is Leo and I chose the saffron blend for those born to this sign. The exquisite and the most expensive spice is known for its enticing flavor and rich color.

Leos shine bright everywhere they go, for they are the life of a party! They are bold, fiercely optimistic, and enigmatic leaders. Fire is their element and Sun is their ruling planet. Leos deserve a tea blend to match their royalty! I chose the most expensive of all spices, Saffron, for me and for every Leo tea-lover out there! Like our personality, Saffron is fragrant and rich in color. Above all, it has a luxurious feel – perfectly suitable for royals!

This was my first blend and when I shared the story and idea with my friends/family about this tea, they loved it. They also were curious to know what blend would suit their personality and so I got inspired to come up with different blends!

7) What are your hopes for the future of Priya’s Teas ?

There are challenges and advantages of starting a small business.

The advantage small businesses have is their ability to provide niche and differentiating product to customer. The challenges we face in a small business are many but during pandemic, the biggest challenge is to prepare for the unpredictable future.

We have taken our first steps and I would love to see our business grow and connect with more and more customers with time. It needs a lot of patience, perseverance and nurturing and I am ready to take this opportunity to share my story with people through our teas!

Spotlight: The Oolong Owl & Owl Spun

Something I’m trying to do more of is purchase from some fun places and then ask the artist/business owner questions so you can get to know more shops and see what they have to offer!

I’ve been following the Oolong Owl on social media and reading their blog posts for a while now. Char has wonderful insights on tea and she also creates the cutest crochet tea owls over at Owl Spun! I finally decided to get one made and it’s the cutest. I have been so swamped that I have not yet named her but I will certainly take suggestions :D Comment your suggestions on this post!

Isn’t she the cutest? I had to get a beautiful green color because it’s my favorite and the scarf is just so cute. I have her on my bureau where all my shop supplies are so she’s supervising me when I pack orders!

Learn a little more about Char and check out Owl Spun and the Oolong Owl below:

Owlspun
instagram owlspun
Tea Dyed Owl

The Oolong Owl

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself! Maybe a couple fun facts?

I'm Char, the writer at Oolong Owl and crafter of Owl Spun. The Tea Owl shop is the nest of my hand crochet Tea Owls, whereas Owl Spun is my knitting/ crochet patterns and handspun yarn. My crafting used to be under a different name until very recently, as I've fully embraced the owl, LOL. Besides tea and crafts, I enjoy cruising, cooking, and powerlifting. I have a permanently grumpy Holland lop rabbit named Benson, and a handsome but silly Satin Angora named Lucien.

2) When did you start drinking tea or when did your passion for tea start?

My family always drank tea - my mum always stove boiled oolongs and my dad loves his earl grey and chai. Growing up, we would go for Dim Sum regularly and get served puer in impossibly hot water glasses. The hardcore tea passion started around 2011 and I just started buying a lot of tea to keep me grounded and caffeinated at work.

3) What inspired you to start your tea owl shop?

Around 2008 I started designing my own crochet patterns. Back then, there weren't many cool crochet amigurumi options as everything was in Japanese. I picked up most of my skills learning off Japanese books, then I started designing my own and selling patterns to crochet your own or I make the finished item. Tea Owls is my favorite creation and quickly became the Oolong Owl mascot. I have a new crochet doll coming out this summer that is going to be featured in the Seattle yarn shop crawl!

4) Do you have a favorite owl that you've made before?

I have so many favorite owls! There are a few Tea Owls that I feel a special connection with as it was some of my first yarns I spun on my spinning wheel. I love my Thrawn Owl, which is based on my favorite Star Wars character. Though I will give the best owl award to Black Tea Owl - I dyed the yarn with rose congu black tea. He smelled lovely for a few months and I cannot resist having him join me for black tea drinking sessions.

5) Do you have a favorite owl?

It is a tie between the Spotted Owl (a local PNW owl) and Northern White Face Scops Owl (aka, Transformer Owl). The former is where the owl obsession started - I got a cool plushie of a Spotted Owl and fell in love with owls. The Transformer Owl is just so cool, check them out on Youtube!

6) What does your personal tea ritual look like?

My tea ritual starts with lazy / grandpa style black tea, matcha, or both if I am tired. I then have another round of matcha as a preworkout. Around 2 or 3pm, I sit down and do gongfu style, either for myself or to drink for my blog. My guilty tea pleasure is in the evening when I have iced hibiscus or Harney and Son's decaf Paris. When I leave the house, I take a thermos of shou, aged white, black, or oolong with me.

7) What is your current favorite tea? (if it's possible to choose)

My answer can change multiple times a day, but right now it is Wuyi Origin's Shuixian white.

Small Business Spotlight: Us Two Tea

I am finally back with another small business spotlight that I’ve had done for a while but things just got away from me. It can sometimes be difficult when I’m focusing so much on the shop (yay, growth!) to keep up with the blog but I’m trying!

Today’s spotlight is Us Two Tea, who specializes in taiwanese tea! I connected with Us Two Tea back in the fall of 2020 and I wanted to feature them in my holiday guide but had reached my budget for that specific project. I was excited that this time, when I made a purchase that a portion of the proceeds went towards a donation to a family who had been affected by the increase in hate crimes towards Asian Americans!

Us Two Tea has oolong, black, jasmine and baozhong tea in their shop. Most of their teas are loose leaf in a sachet but they also have a gift set that has 50g of both osmanthus oolong and jasmine tea which is what I purchased. I really enjoyed the box and presentation, truly a perfect gift set. The quality of tea is good and while I enjoyed both, I preferred the osmanthus oolong.

Above, you can see the beautiful packaging which would be great to gift to someone! Below, a close up of the teas. The rolled tea is the osmanthus oolong and you can see the osmanthus mixed in. The tea on the right is the jasmine.

I also wanted to give you an opportunity to get to know the founder of this business too so I asked Maggie some questions. Get to know her !

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself! Maybe a couple of fun facts?

I went to an art school in San Francisco to study graphic design. I was previously working as the lead designer at Meural, a digital canvas that allows people to hang thousands of paintings on their walls. My design and rebranding work there was a major factor in the company’s acquisition by Netgear for $22,000,000. After the acquisition, I started Us Two Tea.

Fun facts: I do tarot reading for fun on the side!

2) When did you start drinking tea or when did your passion for tea start?

I’ve been drinking tea my whole life. Tea is a way of life in China, and we consume it every day. It was a ritual for my grandpa and I to drink tea together every weekend after our family dinner. I remember he would always ask me the same question, “How’s school?”, and I would always answer, “Good!”. That was our conversation. But I looked forward to it every weekend because I knew that was his way of saying “I love you”. People say food can transport you back to your childhood. For me, tea is more than a drink, it is also a loving memory.

3) What inspired you to start Us Two Tea?

Tea is at the heart of Asian culture and it has always been a part of my life. Yet the tea brands we know and love are not Asian. I couldn’t help but wonder why. I have lived in the US for 10 years now and I have realized that we cannot just wonder. It is our generation’s responsibility to claim our culture and create a brand that represents us.

I hope this brand encourages our next generation to be more confident about our culture and stay true and authentic to who they are - to be proud of being Asian American. I hope it inspires them to pursue their dreams and gives them the confidence to do what they love. We can dare to defy expectations and stand out, not just fit in.

4) What does your personal tea ritual look like?

I usually drink Baozhong(my favorite) tea in the afternoon especially when I am feeling tired or restless. It really has a magical power to help me unwind. Lately, I’ve been having mood swings and my body has been feeling more tired than ever. I am not sure if it’s due to the seasonal change in New York or the collective energy of what’s happening in the U.S, but I just want to shut down, especially on the weekend, and have some alone time to read, cook, do a face mask, and watch some Netflix.

5) What is your current favorite tea?

Baozhong & Osmanthus Oolong tea

6) What do you see in the future for Us Two Tea?

We are building the "Blue Bottle" of tea brand. A one-stop-shop for all Asian tea in the future!