I am frequently asked: “Where do you get your tea?” and “What makes your tea special?” [updated for 2024]
QUALI-tea:
Traveling Tea sources from more than a dozen different suppliers to curate a variety of quality loose leaf teas from the primary tea producing regions of the world: China, India, Japan, Vietnam, and Nepal. Some of our suppliers are established retail sources (Art of Tea, Tea Source, Zhi Tea), others are strictly wholesalers. Our selection is primarily organic, and fair trade whenever that option is available, because organic and fair trade practices are important to me. Additionally, I continually search out new sources for the best quality teas based upon your requests.
In 2015 I began working with an intermediary (or broker), Tealet, to Direct Source high quality, hand-crafted teas from smaller families and estates that use practices in alignment with our mission to “Keep the World Safe for Tea Addicts”.
We value organic practices and worker ethics, and are currently able to offer speci
alty teas from India, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan thanks to this relationship with Team Tealet. We also reformulated our popular Iced Tea Blend late in 2016 so that we could use more of the teas that help small landholders in northern India & Assam; so when you enjoy & share our Heritage Iced Tea Blend know you are fostering security in an area that very much needs it.
The team at Tealet is able to do what I would do if I had the resources and connections to do so. They travel to the farms and estates, forge the relationships, and vet the teas….making sure the farmers are really doing what they say in regards to worker care and environmental concerns.
SAFE-tea:
We do not buy teas that have synthetic flavors [Due to changes in food labeling laws, teas sourced from Europe that have “natural flavor” must now be labeled as “Artificial flavors”]. The majority of our “flavored” teas are free from gluten and soy lecithin. If we are not certain, it will be stated on our menu and website, but please also inquire so that we can be aware when suggesting teas for you. In 2020 we added an additional packaging table so any teas that may possibly contain gluten are kept totally separate from the rest. We have a section on our Shopping Site specifically for Gluten-Safe teas.
Many of our cu
stom blends use no flavorings at all (safe for those concerned about gluten and how flavorings are derived) unless a flavored tea is used as a foundation. Kateri is most proud of Pumpkin Ginger Spice, (only available October-early December) utilizing only organically grown local pumpkin and traditional organic spices – NO flavorings – to create a scrumptious pumpkin treat. [In 2023 this blend will also be offered using allspice instead of cinnamon, as we are discovering a number of customers have a cinnamon allergy – as well as those who react to it when ragweed is in bloom (ask Kateri about “cross-reactivity”). I am now also now on a quest to find/create a chai that does not contain cinnamon – hopefully in 2024]
VARIE-tea & Convenience:
Our per ounce prices may seem high in some instances, because we buy in small quantities to retain freshness, and repackage in even smaller quantities (1 and 2 oz packages, but larger sizes are available) – so you can affordably enjoy a variety of quality teas. I have to factor in the carrying cost to keep this variety available on hand to have it when you want it. Prepayment discounts available for special orders of 8oz and 1# quantities when we do not have that much in stock.
Thanks to your continued support we now offer bulk pricing on most teas, when you bring your own container in to be filled. We can also pack your tea into easily home-compostable paper bags upon request.
COMMUNI-tea:
Though tea itself does not grow locally, we support other local businesses with our supply purchases; for example – cup lids from Garrett Paper, heat sleeves from Sleeve-a-Message, honey from local farmers, cleaning supplies from Local Harvest Grocery, River City Nutrition, and The Refill Effect to name a few.
Some regular tea ingredients from local farmers are lavender (Long Row Lavender in Wright City) and pumpkin (Our Garden from Tower Grove Farmers Market); and we make some special seasonal custom blends from time to time.
When you choose Traveling Tea you can rest assured that your money is flowing through your local community in as many ways as we can find possible.
INTEGRI-tea:
Because of my commitment to quality and integrity, I frequently pay more for supplies and ingredients than many other start-up businesses (compostable, organic, recycled & recyclable options since Day 1).
The business has grown slowly over the past 15 years, as I still work a nearly full-time job to pay my own personal bills. Thus, we have limited shop hours. There is not (yet) enough sales volume to pay employees to keep the store open 5-6 days. I would rather be able to have firm, fixed hours that I can meet (in case of employee emergencies) rather than being haphazard.
Most of you have been very supportive of my limitations and shared that it is as important to you as it is to me that I stay in business in the long-term rather than trying to be too much too fast. Thank you!
I GREATLY appreciate your continued support and spreading the word for me. Hopefully, one day soon Traveling Tea will become my nearly full-time job, so that I can be at more events and make more cust
om blends, and whatever YOU want to see in a tea shop.
What my customers are saying:
“I can’t go back to drinking what I was before. Your tea is so flavorful!”
“I only use your tea for my chai.”
“I appreciate the tea-specific steeping instructions.”
“You’ve shown me how to appreciate green tea.”
“The Trial/Travel sizes are perfect!”
“Best tea shop in St Louis.”
“Fantastic selection!”
THANK YOU FOR SHARING GOOD TEA!