Where it all began....

Picture it. Shanghai. 2002. OK, OK! I'm resting my inner Sophia now.

But really. Shanghai China in 2002 is where it all began. I was there with my now husband, then boyfriend. He was working on the train line in town. I was between jobs and loved travel. So when he asked if I wanted to go along, I said "YES!".

I spent 10 days in the city, experiencing things I hadn't before. That was also my first time out of the country, aside from a trip to Niagara Falls. Every morning a group of elders would gather and do tai chi in the common areas. People sat in beautiful parks and played chess. The city was a mix of old and new. Neon lights on Nanjing Liu (a walking street made of marble) yet if you looked above the lights, strings between buildings held laundry and dead chickens waiting to be consumed. The old vs new was everywhere.

One of the first things I noticed in the cab at the airport was the driver drinking a recycled pickle jar full of tea. The leaves just floated along the bottom of the jar and if he caught a big one in the mouth, he'd just spit it back in. I remember thinking, "WOW! I've never seen tea like this before".

A few days into our stay, we ended up touring the Jade Buddhist Temple. While it was beautiful and zen, I found it quite amusing that even in holy spaces you end up getting dumped into a gift shop. Once in there, a line of young women were ready to host you at a tea. We had the sweetest host who told me all about the tea we were consuming. She served it and I remember thinking it was the best cup of tea I'd ever had. I left the temple, looked at my boyfriend and said, "I want to bring this back to Pittsburgh".

At that time, the only kind of tea I knew was Victorian or English style. That style never really fit me. I'm an Irish gal from Millvale. Dainty hats, cups, etiquette, formality, etc was never my strong suit. But the realness of leaves floating in your upcycled pickle jar? That felt like home.

Before we left Shanghai, we had gone to a place in town that sold teas by the barrel. I bought as many tins as I could fit in my suitcase and flew home. I spent the next 5 years trying to gain the courage to start a business. I doodled and designed and dreamed of this little tea shop called Tupelo Honey Teas. I named it that because my nickname is Bee but also because I love Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison. "You can take all the tea in China. Put it in a big brown bag for me." I wanted to sell tea from China in brown bags, and I did for a long time.

While my heart and soul still lies with the style of tea in China, I have learned and grown an appreciation for the Victorian/English style as well as other styles. The idea of tea being a beverage that brings people together is what keeps me in love with it. There is nothing better than a cuppa tea, a cookie and a good conversation.