It’s almost the new year, and lately I’ve been thinking a lot. This whole year, actually. I’ve learned so much about tea, and honestly… It’s not what people think it is.

I’ve been learning about tea for years, but this year something clicked. Something deeper.

I realized that tea brings people together.
I knew this deep down — I just realized it more than ever this year.

All kinds of people, from all different lives, come together because we share one thing in common: tea.

With the matcha boom and tea drinkers popping up everywhere, tea has become more than a drink, it’s become a community. And sure, sometimes that community can be stubborn and stuck in its ways. But even through that, I’ve found amazing friends, amazing tea, and amazing experiences.

This year taught me that tea is more than a cup. It’s a way for people to get together.
A way to connect.
To talk.
To learn.
To love.

I used to dream mostly about opening a tea shop so I could show people different tea cultures. That dream is still there, but now I see something more. I’ve learned how tea brings us together, and now I dream of teaching people that too.

Some of my best friends in the world came into my life because we all love tea. We love it so much that we even intern at a tea farm in Japan. We’ve traveled, we’ve shared photos of tea fields and tea. We live in different countries, different time zones, and we live different lives, but somehow we still make time to meet up and drink tea. Which, let’s be honest, is not easy these days.

Making friends as an adult is hard.
Finding time is even harder.

Tea teaches us to calm down, slow down, be patient, and be present. That’s one of the biggest reasons I love it.

This year I had two jobs. I was a manager, I was doing a million things at once… but tea was my quiet moment. Making it, serving it, sitting with it… It all slowed me down just enough so I could build a deeper relationship with God, with people, and with nature. Tea really is wonderful.

The act of making tea causes you to slow down.

That’s why I love tea.
And that’s what I learned this year.

🍵 So here’s to 2026 —
to tea parties, tea friendships, and cultures being shared through a simple cup of tea. 乾杯 (Kanpai)

Enjoy your tea in the new year -Jordan 🎊