Zhi Tea's two founders, Candice Oneida and Jeffrey Lorien were inspired to start their tea business in December of 2006 while sipping bad tea while strolling through Central Park on a balmy early winter's day. Tired of crappy tea in bleached tea bags, incomprehensible layout and branding in the grocery stores, widely variable quality in the health food stores, and a murky and non-service oriented online marketplace, they decided then and there strolling right next to Strawberry Fields, to start their own tea company.

Both Candice and Jeffrey had a long and great set of romances with tea; Candice having gotten her fist rush drinking Irish Breakfast blends with copious amounts of milk and sugar at Grannie's house in Sydney at the age of seven, and Jeffrey discovering tea a bit later in his early twenties when he found that coffee (cigarettes and beer) were upsetting his stomach and overall constitution. He turned to scouring for jasmine pearls and the elusive oolongsat the co-ops of Seattle in the mid 80's.

By the time C and J decided it was time to embark on their serious tea journey together, the wheels were already well in motion. They had trusted friends who were long standing stalwarts in the tea industry; Jeffrey's background as a startup guy at amazon.com in distribution and warehouse management and Candice's background in design and brand development didn't hurt either. And they were obsessed with tea.

Their combined love for all things of natural beauty, longstanding traditions of excellence, and their own creative needs led them to dive into the world of tea. Focusing solely on sustainable tea practices (organics only!) and Fair Trade teas in general, they set out to acquire the best of the best and to create from scratch their own signature blends using organic herbs, spices, and flowers, and of course glorious tea leaves.

Candice is behind most if not all the tea blends. Her vision and knack for combining elements is truly alchemical. Jeffrey runs most of the operations still and in fact is often answering the phones at Customer Service. They have since built a strong team of young and youthful folk who all have one thing in common; a passion for excellence and the tea drinker's overall experience. Okay, that is two things, but you get the point.

Zhi Tea wants you to have remarkable and repeatable tea experiences. Experiences that are a vehicle for you to connect with yourself or with a friend or even, gasp, a spiritual connection. Yes, tea is that powerful! So let go - pause, reflect, and connect - and sip away into the magic of tea.