Hey communiTEA,
I just landed in Chicago late last night. I'm here for our first tradeshow outside of California taking place all of next week! The past few months have been a bit of a haze for my team, as we've had to prepare for so many little details for this show among other demands, but we're SO excited about the opportunity to share Tea Drops with a new audience, and hopefully make our teas more readily available across the country! I finally had a moment to really reflect yesterday as I was awaiting my plane at the gate. It dawned on me that I make tea for a living! I am so humbled by that, because it's an opportunity that would have just been a faint dream a couple years ago. I am so grateful that you give me and my team a chance to do what we do each day! It has been such an adventure!
I was just speaking to a customer over the phone on Friday morning who was placing an order and who had met me at a show last year. She expresed how much she loved our teas, and then surprisingly asked, “Are you still happy you pursued Tea Drops?” It took me aback for a second since I was in customer service mode, but the answer was clear in an instant. Hell yes I was! It has been one of the best things I’ve done. Everyday, I'm chipping away at our mission of making tea more accessible and helping to foster a real community through tea. Sure, I may not actively remember that moment to moment, but I never go too long without recalling what it is we do, and why we do it.
I suppose I see this week as the next horizon for Tea Drops, and I just want to say, "thank you" to our entire community-- from our team, to our customers, to our supporters! The Tea Drops team is an incredible group of people who are fiercely dedicated to creating an incredible tea experience. They work tirelessly with bright attitudes, constantly going out to host events to bring our community even closer. Our customers provide a constant source of support -- I love reading through all of the encouraging notes you leave with each order. So many of you reveal that you purchase our teas with the simple goal of giving them away and sharing them, so others can discover Tea Drops. I'm amazed by that!
In these last months, I've learned so much about tea, our customers, this industry, and most surprisingly, myself. Thank you for sharing this journey with us, and thank you for your support -- it has made all of the difference.
Tea Drop on,
Sashee Chandran
