One confusion in the West is that we often use the word “Tea” for any herb, plant, or spice  that is infused in hot water. In actuality, Tea is one plant, made from the leaves of the camelia sinensis tree (and several other variants in the camelia family). Tea is a plant with a rich  history and culture dating back tens of thousands of years, born in the area around where  Yunnan province in China meets Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. 

Caffeine occurs naturally in all varieties of tea (we also offer herbal blends which are called  “Tisanes” that are all caffeine-free). Tea is much more than caffeine however. It contains a  wide variety of other compounds, many of which are calming as opposed to stimulating.  Whereas coffee is a beverage that can cause a jittery and buzzing energy, high quality Tea  is a very different energetic and physical substance. Energetically, tea calms the heart and  opens the heart. In addition to the countless health benefits to drinking tea that have been  well documented, we hope that you can experience the many benefits that tea, particularly  in ceremony, can provide for your mind and spirit. 

Apart from the herbal blends that we offer, our menu contains at least one Tea of all the major genres: green tea, white tea, red tea, oolong tea, black/dark tea (including sheng pu’er  and shou pu’er) – we do not currently have a yellow tea on the menu. 

Whenever possible, we source and serve living tea, tea the way nature intended. Living tea is organic but it’s more than JUST organic.

1. SEED PROPAGATED

A lot goes into the creation of each seed -- insects cross-pollinate to yield a unique tea tree for each seed. Most tea on the market is instead propagated cuttings or clones so that seeds, and thus trees, are uniform. Seed propagated trees can live for centuries or even millennia.

2. ROOM TO GROW

Plantation teas are grown in orderly rows very close together. As it is constantly pruned, the roots also shrink. The cultivation of living tea, on the other hand, allows trees space to grow tall and organize themselves in a living garden rather than an orderly plantation. The tea trees can then cluster themselves or space apart depending on the nutrient density of the soil.

3. ECOLOGICAL

Rather than limiting the impact of all other organisms on the crop, cultivating living tea means embracing the biodiversity surrounding Tea.For example, several of our teas like Radiance, Calm Fragrance, and Symphony are living wild teas that are bug-bitten by the bush crickets and leaf-hoppers. This process is not prevented by spraying chemicals, but rather allowed and embraced. The bites affect the leaves by causing them to (1) begin the process of oxidation while still on the tree; (2) release defensive chemicals which change the nature of the leaf; (3) release airborne compounds that change the fragrance and flavor of the leaves. This creates delicious, complex, and nutritious tea the way nature intended.

4. ORGANIC (PESTICIDE FREE)

Pesticide-laden tea not only harms our bodies and the plant, but harms the planet, directly and measurably. The purpose of tea is to connect us with Nature, not to harm it.

5. A CONVERSATION BETWEEN PEOPLE & NATURE

Tea is not seen as "stuff" that is bought and sold to profit off of and consume. Every step of the process of cultivation and processing of tea ought to be approached from a place of reverence for the planet and to see it not as a relationship of domination, but of cooperation.