⏳ Timeline
2006: I'm a child. My mom makes me a cup of apple ginger tea to help with a cold. It smells great but tastes like nothing; I proclaim that "I don't like tea."
2017: I'm an intern. My coworker teaches me how to make a cup of tea, pausing multiple times to confirm I'm serious about not knowing how. We laugh a lot and I surprisingly enjoy the peppermint tea.
Summer 2019: I travel alone throughout SWANA (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon) for six weeks. I'm drawn to the ubiquitous teahouses and wonder if such casual community spaces exist in the US.
Fall 2019: I live in Singapore for 4 months. I drink tons of milk tea and purchase my first loose leaf tea – Pu'er and Bi Luo Chun.
2020-2021: Living in Boston during COVID, I develop an at-home tea routine, grow my hair out for the first time, complete The Artist's Way, and become increasingly lonely. Lots of change, lots of ideas.
December 4th 2021: I visit NYC. Freezing cold in Sunset Park, I hope there will be someone in the park serving tea. There isn't. The concept of The Tea Stand is born.
December 4th 2022: After quitting my job and moving to Brooklyn, I set up The Tea Stand for the first time in my local park. It's a very special day and I immediately want to do it again. I now refer to these events – serving tea in public parks – as Popups.
January 2023: I'm invited to serve free tea at a food distribution hosted by Collective Focus, a local mutual aid / resource hub. We now refer to these events – serving tea at food distributions – as Distros.
May 14th 2023: I invite some friends to my apartment for a facilitated conversation about our childhoods while I serve tea. We now refer to these events – small-group conversations over tea – as Tea Talks.
May 21st 2023: In collaboration with artist LEEWAY, I host the first volume of an intimate DJ + tea event in his Greenpoint loft. We name the event series Steeped in Sound.
November 2023: We serve the 1,000th free cup of tea and launch the newsletter.
April 2024: The Tea Stand is officially registered as a nonprofit organization.
July 2024: We launch our membership program!
Feb 2025: We serve our 5,000th free cup of tea :o