DavidsTEA

A gateway tea company. For those in the USA things like soda and sugary drinks unfortunately come to mind first most of the time. In order to break the habit and this cycle we need to introduce drinks that are sweet but good for you. Though I personally do not like sugar in my tea I started off with gateway tea companies like this one which cater to your more casual tea drinkers. I could not reach anyone at the company to get them to fill out the questions. Two cousins, David and Herschel, started the company but now it is a huge company run by Herschel Segal (executive chairman), Frank Zitella (COO/CFO), and Sarah Segal (CEO/CBO). Eventually, I would love to hear from David and the rest about their adventures with the company and anything personal they could add to this post.

Website: https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/home/

Location(s) Headquarters: Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada

Company Focus:

  • “Through hundreds of beautiful blends, innovative teaware designed in-house and inclusive how-to tea education, we continue to make tea fun and accessible to all.”

Most popular company tea(s)?

Does the company name have a meaning?

  • The answer is pretty straightforward considering the name of one of the founders was David. But it does make me wonder why they decided on just David and not David and Herschel.

Do you participate in any charities?

  • They do support many and you can read more here.

What is your and/or your co-workers’ favorite tea?  

  • Will wait for them to answer.

What are your thoughts on transparency in the tea industry?

  • “Our emphasis on conscious choices sets us apart and keeps us growing—from plastic-free & biodegradable sachets to recyclable packaging, we’re not stopping there. Because tea is a natural product and intrinsically compostable, it inspires us to do more! This year, we’re committed to transitioning our company to a fully recyclable and compostable offering. These choices are centred around what we call positivitea—where we keep what’s right for both our local communities and our global partners top of mind, always.
  • As always, we make sure our tea is ETHICAL & SUSTAINABLE
  • Can tea be fair? Yes! Our decision-making is fuelled by our goal to positively impact the tea industry throughout our supply chain. From tea workers to farmers and their families, we want everyone involved to benefit from safe, fair and equal working conditions. We consciously choose partners to ensure our ingredients check all the flavour boxes and our commitment to ethical sourcing. While certification isn’t automatic for each garden—it’s a long process with many rigorous steps—the gardens we source from use eco-friendly farming and fair labour practices. Through collaborations with the Ethical Tea Partnership and Fair Trade CertifiedTM, we’re able to protect and care for our tea community and the environments in which our tea is produced.”

What role does tea play in our lives?

  • “Tea brings people together from all walks of life—different backgrounds, tastes and experiences, we welcome and appreciate everyone. From where we operate to where we source, we promise to continue prioritizing diversity & inclusion, access to opportunity & equal representation, and mental & physical health. We use the connections we make for positive change in our communities and around the world.”

TeaTiff Picks: Wild Grown Rooibos. Do not underestimate the deliciousness of rooibos. Not only is it wonderful on its own but it also makes a fantastic latte.

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If you already love them, tell us what you love below!

Grand Yunnan Tea

Five minutes to the west, by car (30 mins on foot), of the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the best shops in all of the Las Vegas area. The moment you walk inside a sense of calm enfolds you. If you have ever been to China it will feel like you walked straight from Vegas into China. And the tea is amazing.

Website: https://www.grandyunnantea.com/ (Our website isn’t up to date because we don’t have anyone to take care of it properly.)

Location(s) Headquarters:  4211A W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102, USA

Company Focus: 

  • Bringing the world of high-quality teas (Pu’er, Red, & White) from the Yunnan Province of China to the West.  Teaching people how to make tea to get the most out of the teas we sell.

Most popular company tea(s)? 

  • No one specific tea because we focus on the customer and their needs/desires.  We help the customer find the right tea for them based on their diet, their health, their goals.  We say, “let your body tell you what you need”.

Does the company name have a meaning? 

  • The best translation/meaning for Liang Cha Ya Yuan is Grand Yunnan Tea.  Liang meaning along the lines of grand (superb, majestic, splendid, etc.)  Our supplier’s brand is Dashiqiao, Big Stone Bridge, it is a nickname he got while growing up in his village in Lincang China.

Do you participate in any charities?

  • Not as a company, Selina is personally involved as a commissioner of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, founded in 1966 in Taiwan.

What is your and/or your co-workers’ favorite tea?  

  • We have no “favorite” tea as we choose what to drink as the mood dictates.  But if we were to choose just one it would be our 2014 Bainian gu shu shu cha (Centuries old tree aged pu’er tea).

What are your thoughts on transparency in the tea industry?  

  • Our tea supplier sources from villages in the mountains of Lincang.  He finds the owners of the trees and makes an agreement with them that they will supply their tea only to him and he will pay them a fair price, this way he knows that no one else has the leaves he has to make tea.  They are all naturally growing trees at least 100 years old, so they do not come from large acreage farms.  There is one tree estimated to be 2500 years old, it yields only about 4 kilograms of tea per year.  As far as we know there are no chemicals (insecticides or fertilizers) used on the trees and they are not manicured to keep them at waist level like the big farms do.

What role does tea play in our lives? 

  • It helps bring balance through calm quiet contemplation.

TeaTiff Picks: Baicha. Ancient White Tea Tree. Never have I had such an experience as I have had with this one. At first, I was perplexed. No farm or farmyard notes. No florals. In fact, I just wasn’t finding anything to write home about. BUT. I knew I had to keep on going. You must always keep going. The practice of gong fu and a true tea session involves patience. And boy did it pay off. Using the same leaves I was around my 3rd or 4th infusion when suddenly peach and mango notes hit me with an aroma of sweet bread. With the 4th, 5th, and 6th infusions, I was finding citrus notes. Lemons, creamy lemons, candied oranges, and sweet lemon candies. And then some creamy notes. Do not walk, run your fingers to the nearest email and order this directly from them. You will thank yourself later.

Material Matcha Uji

This is a company I have wanted to add since the beginning of my blog. The problem is they’ve never answered any of my emails. So, I’ve decided to just add them myself. Etienne and Morgan if you happen upon this and would so kindly indulge me in some of your personal answers to the questions I would be elated.

Since its inception on Kickstarter back in 2017, I have been a fan. Their blends are some of the best I have ever had. Once you try them it is hard to switch to anything else. They are extremely unique in their packaging and products. Whip yourself up a bowl of matcha and read on below.

Website: https://materialmatcha.com/

Location(s) Headquarters: Osaka, Japan

Company Focus:

  • Craft Matcha, using ancient traditional techniques and working with local tea farmers

Most popular company tea(s)?

  • My guess is MMU02. It is in the middle of the main three blends. Would appeal to many palates.

Does the company name have a meaning?

  • “Foodies & entrepreneurs by heart, they made their vision come true and setup an Atelier, in order to be as close as possible to the fields, to strictly assess all steps of tea-making, to convince their farmer friends to always stick to traditional, reasonable methods, to always favor quality over quantity, and to craft the purest material ever. Material Matcha Uji 宇治 was born.”

Do you participate in any charities?  

  • Not that I see on the website.

What is your and/or your co-workers’ favorite tea?  

  • Will wait for their answer.

What are your thoughts on transparency in the tea industry?

  • This is not mentioned in a sentence that would fit here but from reading their story you will find that they do not compromise on quality. Thus they saw what they didn’t want to do like the rest of the industry and wanted to make things better from pluck to sip.

What role does tea play in our lives?

  • Both started off in the business world. Like many others, they decided to leave their jobs and explore the mindfulness that is found in tea.

TeaTiff Picks: MMU03. Material Matcha Uji only has five blends so they are fairly easy to navigate. I picked MMU03, despite liking all of their blends, because I found it complements my palate the most. I do want to put in a quick word also for their culinary blend. After purchasing it on a whim I thought I was going to be disappointed. Generally, they are lackluster in color, flavor, etc. But this one is quite possibly the only one I would drink on its own. If you are looking for something a bit cheaper or just a version for your lattes that doesn’t look gross definitely give this one a go.

Sip some tea & leave a comment

Ordering? Be sure to tell them TeaTiff sent you!

If you already love them, tell us what you love below!

tealyra

Tealyra has an incredible collection of teas and tisanes but I have yet to hear back from them. The answers to the interview questions below were not filled out by a tealyra employee but instead with answers I researched on their website.

Company Name: Tealyra

Website: https://www.tealyra.com/

Location Headquarters: Montreal, Canada

Company Focus:

  • We strive to be a company that will provide you with what you’re looking for, help you learn something new, try something new, and discover something new about the second most consumed beverage in the world.

Most popular company tea(s)?

  • List of best sellers can be found here.

Does the company name have a meaning?

  • Our name Tealyra represents what we believe to be the brightest set of stars in the tea world, our vast collection of the best teas- our very own “tea constellation” as it were. Lyra, a famous constellation, is one of the 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union and is incredibly bright.

Do you participate in any charities?

  • None are listed on the website.

What is your (or any of your other co-workers’) favorite tea?

  • Will wait for this to be answered personally by someone from the team

What are your thoughts on transparency in the tea industry?

  • We take pride in our high standard of quality; offering authentic true teas direct from origin, organic exclusives, a broad variety, and our own unique blends- created by innovation and the promise to deliver excellence in serving you our finest products.

What role does tea play in our lives?

  • We respect the traditional and centuries-old methods and offer beautiful cast iron teapots, whole-aged pu’erh cakes, and the accessories necessary to correctly prepare Japanese matcha.
  • We also respect the fact that not everyone can carve out time during the day to have a tea-drinking experience that demands the focus and time it takes to use a Japanese matcha whisk, or yixing teapot, and we offer practical accessories to make drinking your tea an easy addition to your busy daily life. We offer a wide variety of steeping tools, thermos options, mugs, cups, and teapots.

Social Media: Steepster

TeaTiff Picks: Matcha Starter Kit. After researching many different websites for a customer, I realized that there were very few who provided everything you really need to start your matcha journey. While it is possible to buy all of this piece by piece that ends up being more time-consuming and more expensive. This is great for anyone who is looking to try out the traditional way of experiencing matcha.

Sip some tea & leave a comment

Ordering? Be sure to tell them TeaTiff sent you!

If you already love them, tell us what you love below!

Chicago Teahouse

Chicago Teahouse was originally born through the partnership between Ms. Agnieszka & TeeGschwendner, who decided that franchising in the USA was too difficult for legal reasons. Ms. Agnieszka of Tea & Beyond LLC, was a licensed partner of TeeGschwendner GMbH and originally carried only their tea but now they are sourcing teas from few different suppliers as well as directly from tea gardens. The name change and separation happened in 2022.

Website: https://chicagoteahouse.com/

Headquarter Location:  Chicago, IL, USA

Company Focus:

  • Premium Loose Leaf tea

Most popular company tea(s):

Does the company name have a meaning?

  • Yes. Too many to list (not listed on the website

What is your (or any of your other co-workers) favorite tea? 

What are your thoughts on transparency in the tea industry?

  • From the website: “Chicago Teahouse is an advocate to promote organic and fair trade tea production. Our tea producers actively encourage development of a caring and sustainable industry that generates income and improves the lives of millions of people. Our producers maintain the highest ethical standards with regard to health, education, nutrition and environmental sustainability with Fair Trade certifications. We cultivate personal relationships with our tea growers and share their commitment to improving the lives of the people who produce our tea products. Our commitment to providing you with exceptional tea is matched by our commitment to the planet and the people who grow our tea.”

What role does tea play in our lives?

  • Tea plays a big role, it connects people.​

Social Media:

TeaTiff Picks: Shangri La. The flavors of white tea have fancied my palate as of late. This fuzzy tea brews up nicely on it’s own and iced. Though I do suggest the gong fu style of brewing as it will draw out more of the subtle notes.

Sip some tea & leave a comment

Ordering? Be sure to tell them TeaTiff sent you!

If you already love them, tell us what you love below!

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