🪷 August Newsletter
Today's headlines:
🧧 Member drive reflections
🪷 One year of Silent Sanctuary
🍃 Leafhopper feature
But first, our August calendar:
Volunteer opportunities & events in August:
🫖 RSVP to Tea Talk (topic: solarpunk)
🗓️ August 6 – Bushwick – 7pm
🪷 RSVP to Silent Sanctuary (ALL DAY)
🗓️ August 8 – Ridgewood – 7pm
🥬 Volunteer for Distro (Riders4Rights)
🗓️ August 9 – Bedstuy – 10:30am
🛖 RSVP to tea.haus
🗓️ August 13 – East Williamsburg – 6pm
🥬 Volunteer for Distro (BK Jail Support)
🗓️ August 15 – Downtown BK – 6pm
🧚🏽 RSVP to Synergy Healing Series
🗓️ August 16 – Bedstuy – 7pm
🧧 Our first member drive!
July is over and everything feels lighter. On one hand, cooler & drier air (at last). On the other, our member drive is over.
This was our first time doing a member drive since we first launched the membership program last July. I already wrote all about how that first year went (here), so let's skip to the question on all of our minds...
How'd it go?
The member drive went really, really well!
From the start, our goal was to reach $1,000 in total monthly donations by the end of the month. On July 1st, we were just below the $700 mark, meaning we were over $300 short from our goal. Reaching $1,000 felt quite ambitious, but not out of the realm of possibility.
Throughout the month, over a dozen people – collaborators, frequent Tea Stand visitors, and international tea drinkers (thanks Robin!) – signed up to support The Tea Stand via monthly donations.
When midnight struck on July 31st, we had 88 members contributing a total of $880 per month. How auspicious!
So, while we fell a bit short of our goal, we also received more new signups this month than any other month since launching the membership program. And it feels safe to assume that there is wayyy more awareness and understanding of what the membership program is, how it works, and why it's so important to the sustainability of The Tea Stand.
(We also surpassed 300 newsletter readers – if you're new here, welcome!!)
As our membership program continues to grow, we find ourselves encountering new scenarios. With these in mind, here are some reminders / announcements:
- Gifting memberships. If you'd like to gift someone a membership, simply sign up with your own info and then reply to your welcome email with the gift recipient's shipping address.
- Pay-what-you-wish. The option to donate a custom amount is only available to new signups due to some custom code limitations. If you're an existing member and would like to modify your monthly donation amount, just reply to this email and I'll make the change. (This is super helpful as our margins are lower than you may think!)
- International members. For Steepers & Big Steepers outside the US, we can't offer the same perks at the same prices due to shipping costs. Alternatives include increasing donation amounts OR receiving less frequent shipments. No modifications necessary for International Sippers!
We've added all of this info at the bottom of our sign up page for future reference. We also re-designed the Member Perks webpage, hope ya like it.
If you have any questions about the membership program, just shoot us an email at theteastandnyc@gmail.com! We are here to serve :)
Thank you to everyone who has signed up, shared the member drive with their friends & communities, and continues to support this project financially and otherwise. Reaching $1,000 in monthly donations is a huge milestone that is now very much within reach!
We look forward to the day when The Tea Stand is fully funded and we can share more than "just" free tea :)
🪷 Silent Sanctuary: shared silence & free tea
Picture this: you're sitting in a library.
It's 8pm on a Tuesday, but the library is still open for a couple more hours. To your left, there's a stranger immersed in their book. You don't know them, but they look familiar, maybe you've seen them around the neighborhood? To your right, there's a self-serve station with free tea. Free tea?? ... I thought drinks weren't allowed in the library. You take a confused sip and sink deeper into the cozy couch. Why is this couch so comfy? Wait a second... this isn't a library... I'm in someone's apartment...
This, minus the terror of unexpectedly finding yourself in a stranger's home, was the vision for "Silent Sanctuary," an event we hosted for the first time back in the summer of 2024.
As with many Tea Stand events, the motivation behind Silent Sanctuary was straightforward. I was tired of going to events which were advertised as quiet spaces and ended up being chat-fests, and I figured I could host the kind of event I was looking for. I simply wanted to read my book in the company of others without social pressure or distracting conversations – and I knew I wasn't alone!
The concept of the event quickly took shape: it would be from 7-10pm on a weekday, there'd be 30 minutes at the beginning and end of the event for folks to connect (optional!), there'd be an outdoor space where chatting was welcome, and of course, there'd be unlimited free tea.
The only missing ingredient was a venue. In stepped Adin, my dear friend & advisor to The Tea Stand who solves every problem we encounter, including this one. Adin offered to host the event in his apartment in Ridgewood.
(Let me tell ya... there's something so intimate about hosting events in people's homes. So much trust is exchanged! I think back to when a stranger in Egypt invited me into his home after he helped me buy a train ticket. He and his wife cooked me dinner, served me tea, and treated me like family. For them, it was a casual gesture of hospitality. For me, it re-shaped my understanding of how we can (and should) treat strangers.)
Video of Adin's apartment.
The first Silent Sanctuary event was last summer, and we've hosted about one every month since. Each time, about ten people enter Adin's apartment to read, journal, draw, and sip tea in the company of others.
So, to celebrate one year of Silent Sanctuary, we're hosting a special ALL DAY edition this Friday, August 8th. Instead of 7-10pm, this event will take place all day long from 10am-10pm. People are welcome to drop in and out as they please, and there's a rooftop open for chatting & eating for the whole event.
One final note: Adin is planning on letting his lease end this fall, leaving Silent Sanctuary without a home.
If you're interested in hosting a Silent Sanctuary in your apartment or know of a venue which could be a good fit, please reach out!
🌱 Meet me in the park for a free cup of tea
... is the title of the most recent Leafhopper newsletter, written about The Tea Stand!
Leafhopper is a substack all about tea: where it comes from, how to brew it, and why it matters. Max Falkowitz – the man behind Leafhopper – is a food & drink writer from Queens. He's also written for The New York Times & Bon Appetit and works with speciality tea importers In Pursuit of Tea.
A few weeks back, I spoke to Max about The Tea Stand and how tea went from an irrelevant beverage to the most important plant in my life.
I'm really happy with how the story came out – Max did a great job capturing the values of The Tea Stand and sharing my personal journey while still focusing on our work. Plus, in the spirit of The Tea Stand, he made the story free for all 🧡
Here's one of my favorite excerpts:
“Free” is a short word with a long list of qualifiers in the United States. When I first heard about some guy serving free tea to strangers, I figured it was an art installation or stealth marketing for a startup. “We need to look out for each other,” Miles replied, “to trust rather than fear each other. That's the catch, that's the agenda. It’s getting you to talk to your neighbors and recognize that strangers aren't scary, they're your fellow humans.”
You can read the full piece here! And if you're keen on learning more about the global tea industry, the Leafhopper newsletter is for you.
That's all for now! Thanks to...
Luciel, Bethania, and Adin for donating tea.
Grayson, Lynn, Arlou, Jade, Maria Paula, Moustafa, Nicki, Rianne, Robin, Charmaine, Nickon, Casey, Lauren, and Tony for becoming Sippers & Steepers.
You, for reading!
Hope to see you at one of our events in August (calendar).
Keep Steeping,
Miles 🍵
Member discussion