🌻 July Recap

In July, we served 452 cups of free tea!

Our July Recap includes:

🧧 Membership launch reflection

🕊️ Peace & Silence

🚲 A busy Saturday in 650 words

But first, some upcoming events in August:

⛩️ Popup: Present Sounds
We'll be back at Light + Sound Design for their weekly deep listening event "Present Sounds" with some free tea. Ticket required.
🗓️ August 8 // 7-11pm // Greenpoint

⛩️ Popup: Free Outdoor Yoga
The Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA) is hosting a free outdoor yoga class in Stuyvesant Square Park, 9-10am. We'll have free tea available before and after the class!
🗓️ August 15 // 8:30am - 12pm // East Village

No 🫖 Tea Talk in August :( next one will be in September!
All upcoming events can be found on the Calendar.

🧧Launching a Membership program is scary and beautiful

WE DID IT!!! On July 1st, we officially launched our 🧧Membership program.

(In case you missed it, the 🧧Membership program is how we plan to financially sustain The Tea Stand. We offer perks – zines, discounts, stickers, etc. – to individuals who make monthly donations. Learn more here!)

The support has been amazing.

Over 30 people have signed up with an average donation amount of $7. Members range from family and friends, to strangers (now friends) I met in a park months ago. Some folks are contributing $1/month and still receive the perks of a "Sipper," others are going beyond the $9/month required to become a "Steeper." It's all incredible and so, so appreciated.

ALSO! As of two weeks ago, we are officially 501c3-certified, meaning all donations made via the 🧧Membership program are tax-deductible!

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While I'm full of gratitude and optimism now, the first week following the launch was pretty terrible.

My inner critic took the reins and wouldn't stop cycling through some negative narratives – The Tea Stand isn't worthy of support, asking for money is antithetical to our mission, only close friends will ever sign up, etc. I became obsessed over the numbers, constantly refreshing my inbox to see if anybody had signed up.

I thought I was well-prepared to avoid these behaviors and narratives – I had read Craig Mod's advice about launching a Membership program and told myself I'd avoid checking my inbox more than twice a day. I understood the trap in theory, but this didn't stop me from falling into it.

The solution was three-fold:

1) Remove email from my phone. No more checking sign up numbers throughout the day. (Thanks to Naqiya, my partner, for this one!)

2) Host a ⛩️ Popup. Always a powerful reminder of what The Tea Stand is all about – community, conversation, and connection. Being outside >>>

3) Patience! Not every sign up happened on day one. Slowly, my negativity and obsessiveness was replaced with gratitude and joy.

Following that stressful and anxious week, things have been getting better and better. I hand-delivered several copies of bōcha, our first-ever zine, and shipped out several more (packaging is actually pretty fun!) to members. The reception has been great!

It's impossible to reflect on the launch without reflecting on the entire journey of The Tea Stand thus far. Every cup of tea, every conversation, every collaboration has led us here – a supportive, loving community of folks who care about their neighborhoods, grassroots initiatives, and the people around them.

The 🧧Membership program represents a major milestone for The Tea Stand. Now more than ever, we are committed to serving our community, creating connections, and offering free tea for all!

If you're interested in signing up, you can do so here!

Thank you so much for your support 🧡

🕊️ Practicing, cultivating, and being peace

In the 🍓 June Recap, I wrote about sensory overload during New York City summers and the importance of finding refuge from the chaos.

In July, finding peace was even more difficult. The launch of the 🧧Membership program caused a great deal of anxiety and the unyielding humidity left me in a constant state of exhaustion.

In response to this, The Tea Stand hosted three events to cultivate peace: a new event called "Silent Sanctuary," a 🫖 Tea Talk, and a ⛩️ Popup featuring guided meditations.

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Our first ever "Silent Sanctuary" event was a highlight of the month.

Ten people came together in a charming Ridgewood apartment and focused on something (a book, a journal, a piece of art) in total silence. And of course, there was a self-serve free tea all night long!

When the silence began at 7:30pm (marked by banging together two thermoses), peace was the first word that entered my mind. It was just me, my book, and my journal for the next two hours. The mental chatter I'm accustomed to faded away; I felt completely undistracted and relaxed.

During the silence, people finished books, filled journal pages, and worked on projects they'd long been putting off.

We ended the silence at 9:30pm (though the roof was available for chatting all night long) and people slowly re-entered our verbal world, sharing their experiences and all the comments they had held onto throughout the evening.

In short, Silent Sanctuary is like a beautifully decorated library which is open late and has free tea. We plan to host another one soon (hopefully September)!

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Exactly a week before Silent Sanctuary, we hosted a 🫖 Tea Talk was on the topic of peace. Four of us sat on the floor, drank herbal tea, and talked about what peace means to us and where we find it.

Before beginning the conversation, Kena, who I met in Herbert von King Park during a ⛩️ Popup several months ago, led a 10-minute meditation. It was the perfect way to ground ourselves. I hereby proclaim that all future 🫖 Tea Talks will start with a meditation from this point forward!

We talked about the relationship between peace and violence ("an animal still has to eat in a peaceful forest"), the concepts of inner peace and outer peace, and where we go in New York City when we're seeking peace (cemeteries, libraries, and museums).

🫖 Tea Talk's often have the effect of creating a healthy sense of accountability. During the conversation, I was reminded of how much I value equanimity, how peaceful mornings can be with the right intention, and how important it is to practice peace and share that energy. I brought all of this with me through the rest of July.

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To round out the trifecta of peaceful events, we hosted a ⛩️ Popup with Taylor Maude Love, a local space holder, abolitionist, and full spectrum doula. Taylor leads the meditations at our bimonthly tea + DJ event 📀 Steeped in Sound, co-hosted with local artist LEEWAY.

In lieu of DJs, the sounds of children playing, birds singing, and fireworks exploding filled the humid air in Herbert von King Park on a Tuesday evening. I set up The Tea Stand, Taylor laid out blankets and cushions, and we offered free tea and meditations all park passersby.

After a few lucky individuals received 1on1 guided meditations early on, a small group began to form on the blankets. The breeze picked up, the light turned golden, and a brisk mist began to fall from the sky. Light enough to be pleasant, hard enough to be exhilarating.

Following the refreshing rainfall, Taylor led the largest group yet through a somatic meditation with grace and compassion. Just as folks closed their eyes, a butterfly flew over and sat on the tea table, joining us for a moment of pure peace.

🚲 A busy Saturday in (exactly) 650 words

In addition to launching our 🧧Membership program in July, we served tea at a *record-setting* 12 events, 8 of which we hosted. This made for one of our busiest (and sweatiest) months to date!

One Saturday in particular – August 13th – is a good representation of what a busy day of serving free tea looks like. Below is a 650 word recap of the day.

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Wake up at 8:30am. Brush teeth, morning stroll, oatmeal.

At 10am, I huff and puff while bringing all the tea and equipment downstairs and outside. I unlock my bike, clip on the pannier bags, and bungie cord the lawn signs and table on top. I hop on and start riding.

I arrive at Fulton Plaza in BedStuy and set up The Tea Stand for today's 🎁 Distro. Emma, today's Tea Friend (volunteer), arrives at 10:45am. I give her a quick training – taking orders, pouring tea, firing up the JetBoil camping stove – and we begin serving.

Over the next hour, we serve 30 cups of free tea to community members waiting for the food distribution to begin. I take orders, Emma makes them, and I deliver them. All the elders opt for hot tea, all the youth opt for cold tea.

Around noon, the food distribution begins and we collect the empty cups of tea to compost back home. We break down, load up the bike, and say goodbye.

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Next, I bike to Highland Park, which requires riding on the quasi-highway Bushwick Ave and climbing a brutal hill. I smile through the humidity, the direct sun, and the 30+ pounds of equipment on the bike. I stop at a bodega to buy a bagel.

I arrive at Highland Park at 1pm. I'm not here to serve tea, I'm here to support my close friend and roommate during the launch event for Populace, a small business he started to make disc golf more accessible for all. He also led the effort to bring the first permanent disc golf course to NYC!

I eat my bodega bagel, buy a brand new Populace disc, and play a 9-hole round of disc golf with it. I finish one stroke below par!

It's 2:45pm and my next event starts at 4pm – time to hop back on the bike!

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On the way home, I stop at Mama Yoshi Mini Mart for an egg sandwich.

Once home, I lug all my equipment back upstairs and re-fill the empty thermoses with the cold brew in the fridge. I take some deep breaths.

I reload my bike and ride up Irving Ave to Kaleidoscope, the venue for today's event. I walk in and say hi to Jake (aka NTHNL), whose album we are here to celebrate. He has a warm smile and a plastic bag on his head.

The space is massive and gorgeous – 4 separate rooms with high ceilings, textured walls, and artistic decor. One room is for vendors, one is for performances, one is for the studio's shop, and one is... empty, save for some floor cushions. I choose the empty room and set up The Tea Stand on the floor. It's 4pm, perfect timing.

Over the next four hours, I serve nearly 50 cups of free tea to event attendees, the vendors, the performers, and myself. I listen to experimental jazz, catch a glimpse of some abstract dance, and sit in stillness during NTHNL's live flute performance.

I take breaks to meditate on the Calm City mobile meditation bus (which is parked outside the venue), buy a hand-embroidered crop top by local artist Cal Fish, eat my egg sandwich, and chat with friend and collaborator Val, who happens to be the photographer for the event.

At 8pm, I pack up, load my bike for the final time, and ride home. Once more, I carry everything up to my second floor apartment. I unpack, clean, organize, record, write, and reflect on the past 10 hours of nonstop action.

At 9pm, I put on my headphones, listen to NTHNL's new album, and walk over to Sal's for some solitude and a slice of Grandma pizza.

Thank you for reading!

And thanks to all those who donated tea in July: Devika, Emily, Amanda, Tim, and Cassandra. Get in touch if you have tea to donate!

Keep Steeping,
Miles 🍵