My Unexpected Journey
How a Plant Took Over My Life
At 21, I was just trying to get by—skateboarding to work, playing in a band, and packing tea bags at a local coffee roastery. It was just a job—until it wasn’t. My unexpected journey began when I discovered something that stopped me in my tracks: every tea comes from the same plant—Camellia sinensis.
Mind. Blown.
How could one plant transform into so many flavors, textures, and aromas just by adapting to its environment? How did centuries of human skill refine its processing into something so extraordinary? I became obsessed with learning everything I could about tea.
Plot Twist
The Tea Chose Me
Just when I thought I had tea figured out, life threw me a curveball. My boss, Lynn, decided to retire and offered me the shop. I wasn’t planning on running a tea business, but tea had already sunk its hooks into me. It was like the tea was telling me, “This is your next adventure.”
Adventure has always been in my blood, much like the spirit of the Rabbit—curious, quick to act, and always ready for the next leap. And, true to my nature, I thought, “Why not? F*&k it, let’s do this!”
So, I took the leap.
From Tea Bags to Tea Boss
My Tea Odyssey
My tea adventures began the moment I bought and took over the company in 2012.
I couch-surfed and slept in tea factories across China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Japan—waking up to the aroma of oolong in a Taiwanese tea factory and riding motorcycles through misty tea fields in Japan and Malaysia, boots covered in mud and a permanent smile plastered to my face. I learned from masters who’ve dedicated their lives to perfecting their craft, their hands creased from lifetimes of stories.
Each year, I returned for sourcing trips to these regions and ventured to new areas across China, Taiwan and Japan.
Tea has such a unique ability to unify people that the tea farmers I’ve worked with for years have become family. We’ve watched eachother grow up, and now our kids as well.
These are the sustainable, small-scale growers who pour generations of knowledge and love into every leaf, and why my passion for tea drives what I believe in for Blue Willow Tea.
Malaysia, 2014
Scooting around tea Estates
Yunnan, 2017
Gazing up at ancient tea trees
Kagoshima, 2015
Comparing leaves at the research lab
Taiwan, 2016
Twerking with panda friends
Fujian, 2018
Meeting a fellow ox
Malaysia, 2014
Scooting around tea Estates
Yunnan, 2017
Gazing up at ancient tea trees
Kagoshima, 2015
Comparing leaves at the research lab
Taiwan, 2016
Twerking with panda friends
Fujian, 2018
Meeting a fellow ox
The Tea Whisperer
One Leaf: A Thousand Stories
It's been a wild, beautiful ride. I’ve explored ancient tea gardens, practiced matcha with a 94-year-old grand sensei, and followed tea’s pathways like a treasure map—each discovery revealing something special. Tea has guided me, whispering its secrets through the leaves.
From my first steep to now, it’s been a love story—what I call leaf love. Every path, aroma, and intuitive nudge—whether taste this or find this tea—has led me to heartfelt connections with tea masters, farmers, and communities that have become like family. And it’s true: every tea tells a story. If you listen closely, you can hear it.
I’ve learned to listen—to the rustling leaves in the fields, the wisdom in a master’s hands, and the quiet stories steeped into each cup. With each new harvest, a rich tea tale is always waiting to be discovered.
