Inception

February 3, 2022

 Way back in early 2020, when masks were just for dentists and surgeons and we still blew out the candles on a birthday cake, I was brainstorming ideas for the final assignment to complete my minor in entrepreneurship at UW. During my gap quarter pre-college, I had traveled all around Europe, where I had, as one might say, a spice awakening. While abroad and trying all of these unique teas, herbs, and spices, I began ordering them, one by one, to be delivered to my house in Seattle. My mother was not thrilled. But upon returning, I began experimenting: creating my own teas, curries, masalas, marinades, and spice-blends out of these rich ingredients. So when I sat down to start that final entrepreneurship assignment, which was to create your own company, I thought of my own “create-your-own” passion. I wanted to bring that creative exploration to others (without requiring them to embark on a three-month international solo journey). I could practically taste my idea: a create-your-own tea kit.

From my own experience, I knew there were three pillars on which I wanted to build this company: sustainability, honesty, and accessibility. What is the responsibility of a young adult about to graduate college in today’s society? Well, helping to ensure that we will even have a future to participate in. Growing up in the Seattle area, I was not a foreigner to the concept of sustainability, but the idea of sustainability with tea, something so organic, natural, and precious, has been amiss in how many of us consume it. It’s not the consumer’s fault, of course, it’s the commodification of tea—companies that want to make tea-drinking as convenient as possible while stripping away your creative freedom and handing you a box of single-use tea bags made of paper and plastic. Where’s the sustainability in that? We wanted our kits to be an investment in sustainability, starting with a one-time purchase of the kit itself: USA-made metal tea tins, solid wooden spoons, and reusable cotton tea bags. Any refill you buy of an ingredient comes in packets made from sustainable wood cellulose (compostable in both home and industrial environments) and even the stickers on the products are made with compostable paper and adhesive.

This brings us to the next pillar: honesty. I majored in psychology at UW which made me all too aware of the dark applications of the field: consumer psychology. Tea companies often cater to vague, catchy, one-dimensional goals (think Sleepy Time Tea, Energizing Tea, Flat Tummy Tea, Detox Tea). These companies can smack whatever attention-grabbing name they want to their product with little to no scientific evidence backing their claims. We don’t do that. We instead sell you whole, high-quality, intentional ingredients we believe in. Sure, we could make more money if we catered to American insecurities (Anti-AnxieTea, BeauTea, Make More Money Tea) but we don’t think tea should be a one-size fits all. You are the controller of your own destiny: blend whatever tea you want, for whatever reason. Experiment with making your own herbal blends to see what calms you at the end of the day or what black/green tea recipes you can create to give you some pep in your step, because what works for you might not work for your neighbor, grandma, or mail carrier (and vice versa).

And lastly, accessibility. Remember when I said I didn’t want people to have to wander through Europe for three months with just the clothes on their back to attain their spice awakening? Well we want to get rid of the barriers and pretentiousness surrounding tea altogether. We give you the building blocks to create your own custom recipes through high-quality and novel tea flavors. Our booklets will provide you with just enough information to let you jumpstart your creative process, but not so much that we’re pretending the process is harder than it is (it’s only as hard as you want to make it.) These booklets are full of information in accessible language, including some delicious example recipes that provide you with ideas on what flavors work well together. The lids pop on and off, sealing tightly without tape, rubber bands, or crinkling involved. The kits can be used by those young and old and with a range of abilities.

So here we are, two years later, and I’m proud to be catering to my fellow Seattleites and beyond with my create-your-own company for create-your-own tea, founded on sustainability, honesty, and accessibility. And a love of tea, of course ;)