🦘January Recap

We served 175 cups of free tea in January!

Our January Recap includes:

🇦🇺 Free Tea in Australia

🔮 The Future of The Tea Stand

🍵 Tasmanian Tea Culture

But first, some upcoming events in February:

🫖 Tea Talk (link)
This month's Tea Talk – a small group conversation over tea – is on the topic of love. We'll sit in a circle, sip tea, and talk about what love means to us, our love languages, and self-love. RSVP required!
🗓️ Feb 12 // 7-9pm // Bushwick

📀 Steeped in Sound (more info)
Volume 13 of our Sunday afternoon event series featuring live DJ sets, guided meditation, local ceramics, and free tea! Announcement and RSVP link coming soon via Instagram. Co-hosted with local musician LEEWAY.
🗓️ Feb 16 or 17 (TBD) // 2-6pm // Location TBD

All upcoming events can be found on the Calendar.

🇦🇺 Serving free tea in Adelaide, Australia

"Free tea? Like a cuppa?"

I was asked this question while serving free tea in Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi in Adelaide, Australia a few days ago.

Let me back up a bit...

I'm here in Australia for a 3-week family vacation to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. We came here to visit a dear family friend, attend the Australian Open tennis tournament, and get our family together for the first time in a couple years. As of writing this, I'm in Adelaide, the home-city of our family friend (Helen) and the capital of South Australia.

Before I left the US, I decided I'd host a Popup at some point during the trip. Adelaide was the best opportunity, as we'd be staying in Helen's home and thus I could borrow a table, a chair, a blanket, etc. All I had to pack was the keffiyeh and some punch cards!

Having only ever hosted a Popup outside of NYC once before (in Little Rock, Arkansas), I was curious how it would compare – how would people react? Would Australians be more trusting of a stranger serving free tea in the park? I was also excited to talk with more locals, something it's difficult to do when traveling with a group (ah, how I miss solo travel).

So, on a hot (95°F) and sunny Monday morning – coincidentally a public holiday in Australia marking the arrival of the British and the resulting genocide of the indigenous people – I set up The Tea Stand under a giant eucalyptus tree and waited to see who and what would come my way.

Nearly every park visitor was a cyclist or runner, none of whom were compelled to pause for a cup of tea (understandably so, especially given the heat), but many waved and smiled. So I spent the first hour watching and listening to dozens of yellow-crested cockatoos, they're funny looking birds.

Despite no one stopping for a cup, a few people made some passing remarks which are completely ordinary here in Australia, but entertaining to foreigners like me. Please read with an Aussie accent:

"You wouldn't happen to have a beer in there would ya?"

"You've got a good job there."

"Morning mate how are ya."

"Lovely spot sir!"

"G'day."

Almost two hours in without serving a single stranger, I accepted the possibility that nobody would visit. I'd just continue watching the cockatoos and writing down whatever words were offered my way.

Then it happened! A man around my age casually approached, asked what kind of tea I had, and ordered a cup of cold earl grey tea. He moved here from Busan, South Korea almost a decade ago for the cleaner air and easier access to nature. He took a sip and asked for two more cups for his friends, also from South Korea, who were sitting in the shade nearby – the only people in the park who weren't on the move.

A little later on, a family of three came over to see what I was up to. I explained that I do this full-time back in the US as an effort to create spaces for strangers to connect and wanted to see how it'd compare in a different country.

"And? What do you think of the people here?" the father asked.

"Well, I've only served one person so far, so I'm not really sure. But it seems like people are generally warmer and easier to talk to compared to the states," I replied. "What do you think?"

"We've only been here two weeks. We just arrived from Scotland and don't know anyone here."

I serve cups of tea to the mother and the child (a shy 8-year old boy with an awesome dinosaur shirt) and we keep chatting – turns out they moved here without a home or a job lined up, but in the past two weeks have managed to secure both. I congratulate them, they ask more questions about The Tea Stand, and we all enjoy our tea (except maybe the boy – he seems unsure about the lemon myrtle tea). We wish each other the best of luck and they continue on their way.

Past noon, the park grows quieter (less people, less cockatoos, less wind) and the visitors remain few and far between. I have brief conversations with a couple from Tasmania (where we visited just before Adelaide, more on that below), two Adelaidians who are pleasantly surprised by the lemon myrtle tea ("It's actually fuckin good"), and a calm, kind man who joins me on the blanket to my side, the only one to do so the entire Popup.

At 2pm, my dad and family friend arrive and help me carry the folding table, cooler, and other equipment to their car. (The Tea Stand is normally a car-free operation, but exceptions must be made for international Popups!)

In the end, I only served 10 cups of tea throughout the 4-hour Popup, but I'm just happy to have served any at all given the intense heat and general uncertainty of how people here would react to The Tea Stand.

The experience felt more familiar than I expected. The main differences were being surrounded by towering eucalyptus trees and squabbling cockatoos, the Aussie accents and lingo, the amount of people exercising in extreme heat and sun, and the feeling of being a visitor rather than a local. But none of the interactions felt particularly novel or unique.

The Popup did strengthen my existing impressions: people here are warm and easy to talk with. In the US, conversations with strangers on the street often feel rushed and utilitarian (e.g. asking for directions), whereas people here seem more willing to extend conversations and share thoughts more openly. Everything feels more relaxed, casual, and natural.

I'm no sociologist, but I'd bet that the pleasant weather, the work-life balance (lots of PTO and public holidays), and the government's support for social infrastructure and public services all play a role in creating this culture of ease and chattiness.

I'm sure more Tea Stands here would allow for more insights, but once I finish writing this newsletter, I'm going back to vacation mode until I return on Feb 5 :)

Lastly, some big thank you's to those who made this international Popup possible: my mom for creating the sign (above), my dad for helping carry the equipment in and out, and our family friend Helen for donating the lemon myrtle tea, providing nearly all the equipment (cups, cooler, table, chair, etc.), suggesting the park, and lending me her laptop to write this! Good on ya, Helen.

🔮 The Future of The Tea Stand...

Is shaped by YOU!

Every year, we send out a survey to gather feedback and ideas from our community. Last year, we used responses to inform the design of our membership program, such as which perks to offer.

This year, we're asking questions like: what do you want to see more of in this newsletter? Who should we collaborate with? Do you want to get more involved with The Tea Stand, and if so, how?

Whether you've attended zero or dozens of our events, we want to hear from you! Here's the link to the survey.

You can remain anonymous! Or, you can share your address and we'll mail you a bag of our favorite tea as a thank you (hint: it's the name of our zine).

From day one, The Tea Stand has been a project enabled by our community of caring neighbors and friends. All the tea we serve is donated by local individuals and much of our programming has come about through conversations in the park. I constantly remind myself that this all started with the simplest of ideas – setting up a small table in my local park – and without the positive reaction and support, it never would've evolved into what it is now.

Our commitment to serve those around us will never change, and this (annual) survey is one way we honor this commitment. So, if you have a few minutes, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings regarding the future of The Tea Stand.

Here's the link to the survey. Thanks for your input and support 🧡

🍵 Tasmanian tea farms and tea houses

Following a few days in Melbourne, watching tennis and drinking more coffee than tea, we flew over to Tasmania – the singular island-state of Australia, renowned for its nature and home of the infamous Tasmanian Devil.

While buying some local produce in Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, I found a loose leaf tea blend which contained "Tasmanian-grown black tea." Later on, I did some googling and found there was a small tea farm just 20 minutes from our accommodation!!

The morning of our flight, we drove over to the "Tassie-T" tea farm. Located in a fairly remote residential neighborhood, if it wasn't for the sign out front, it would've looked like any other home.

We were greeted by Jane, one of three family members who operate the farm. She wasn't expecting our visit (it's recommended to make appointments in advance, whoops!) but nevertheless warmly welcomed us into the garden out front.

We chatted, met and pet their doggos and kitties, and were given an option for a guided or self-guided tour of the farm; we opted for the latter given our time crunch.

And so we slowly strolled through the garden and into rows and rows of tea plants! Their family has been growing tea for over 30 years – their tea endeavor initially started as a government funded research project, but when the Department of Agriculture lost interest, Gordon and Jane continued to experiment and now successfully grow, harvest, and process the tea leaves right at home.

After about 30 minutes of admiring their tea plants and other impressive flora, we arrived back out in front of their cottage for a complimentary tea tasting. We sampled their homegrown (and home-processed) white tea, black tea, and a fruity blend with local grapes. The black tea was my favorite :)

Gordon, Jane, and Charlotte – the parents and their daughter who all work together on the farm – hung out with us, told us more about their journey, and explained the complexities of obtaining and operating the tea processing machinery. The whole experience was homey, humble, and inspiring.

I never would've expected to find a tea farm in Tasmania, which made me wonder where else tea farms exist, specifically in the US. Much to my surprise, there's a good deal of them, including one in upstate New York!

Once I'm back in the states, I'm seriously considering buying a cutting and planting it at my parents' home upstate. Let me know if you've ever tried growing tea, or know someone who has!

Our Tasmanian tea explorations weren't over yet: on our last day in Tasmania, we stumbled upon a beautiful, family-owned tea shop in Hobart called A Moment of Tea. They offered simple pots of tea or full gongs setups; we opted for the latter and took our time sipping a ding dong oolong tea.

They also had a wonderful selection of teaware, tea accessories, and high quality loose leaf tea (including tea from Tassie-T!). I learned about the concept of "master cups" – a larger tea cup which serves as one's personal vessel when hosting, encouraging a deep connection between person and clay – and the owner let me try out a few on the spot.

The family-owned tea farm and tea house were such special surprises! And tea experiences aside, our time in Tasmania has stood out as my favorite bit of the trip thus far.

Thank you for reading!

One more reminder to consider filling out our brief survey about The Future of The Tea Stand! Thank you :)

Thanks to all those who donated tea in January: Ziggy, Gu, Tim, Michelle, and Tassie-T.

Keep Steeping,
Miles 🍵