I've been asked a number of times to show a little bit of how I do what I do. Apparently it's novel to spend your day playing with tea leaves. So for those of you who've been asking, "what exactly do you do?" here's a little peek behind the curtain.
Many days aren't full of cuppings and taste testing new blends with four different kinds of sweetner. (I believe in rigorous taste testing.) Mornings start off with a cup of tea and a quick read of what's going on in the tea world - keeping up on the employment issues in India, who's tasting what (there are so many tea blogs out there), and a peek at new stuff coming out.
I handle everything on the tea side from start to finish - which means I unpack every box, stick on every label and fill every tin. As you can imagine, this can be a long process when there's a couple hundred tins to prep. (I crank up the sing-a-long tunes and rock out while labeling your teas. Happiness indeed!)
Once all the tea tins are labeled, they're ready for their tea. Each tin gets filled with tea and then packed up either for market or to head off to a lucky customer.
On days when tea needs blended, things become a whirlwind of activity - teas and herbs in their containers waiting to be blended, the top secret recipe list comes out and the bins await their precious cargo. Teas and herbs are measured out and mixed one batch at a time, literally, by my two hands.
Market days are the busiest. Tea must be made for iced tea samples, stock has to be checked and filled if we're out of something from last week. Mugs must be carefully wrapped and soap has to be prepped for the sometimes dangerous journey to market (this have this tendency of slipping around in the car). Market days are wonderful fun because it's a chance to talk to and focus on the customer, catch up with returning tea drinkers, and find out what's going on in the local food scene. It's always bustling, and I'm always exhausted after it's over.
I love the mornings I get to taste test new blends, try out new teas, and work on custom blends for customers. There's something very exciting about creating something new and special just for you.
And all of this mixed in with massage clients, writing haikus on tea cups and all the work of keeping a small business running.
I hope that helps to answer the "what do you do?" question. "A little bit of everything" is the answer. You can be sure you're get the best quality teas and tea inspired products from start to finish - I'm there making sure it happens. My goal each day is to help bring you a taste of happiness.
That's my biggest reward - the happy smiles on faces when someone tastes their tea. The
mmmm's and
wow's are what make this the best job in the world for me.
Labels: "what do you do?", day at work, felicitea, labeling, peek, soap, tea, tea life, tins
