To New Friends Through Tea

So when I went to the World Tea Expo (blog post pending) in June, I met all kinds of wonderful people who were in various stages of starting their own tea ventures (and a couple who were already in business) and from all areas of the map.  I have kept in touch with several of them and this weekend got to connect with two of them.  I spoke to Jennifer on the phone for about an hour and got to hear about her adventures in Tucson.  She has located a space and is now working on logistics of the build-out and it was great to share our plan to make our dreams a reality.

This morning, I got to meet with Lan and her family.  Turns out she has family here in town and an aunt that lives maybe 5 minutes from me, so she is in town occasionally.  I met her at a company here in town that sells organic (and non-) spices and teas where she had an order to pick up then we had a nice breakfast.  We talked a lot about how we were moving ahead and a little about our respective lives.  It was really nice.

Today just reinforced what I have been discovering through my journey this year.  The tea world is pretty small yet and most of the people I have met have been more than willing to talk and give advice.  I have visited or talked to many of the local shops and have discovered a really nice community of people.  I am very glad for Lan and Jennifer and all the shop owners and Bob (my broker) and even the county workers who have been so helpful. It all should come together very soon!