As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about how we can share love through tea. In past years, I’ve shared posts on Valentine’s teas and tisanes and tea-infused chocolates. (I’ll link to those posts at the bottom of this one.) I’ve also featured Tea Love Stories–sharing, for example, how tea has brought couples and friends together.

Blue and gold patterned envelope with a white piece of paper coming out that says "share love through tea." A small clay teapot sits next to the envelope.

This year, I have been deeply moved by the compassionate actions and support for social justice I’ve seen small tea companies perform–acts of love and deep care for wider humanity. So, I’m thinking about love in a more communal sense and showcasing the work of a few tea companies.

Here are some companies I’ve watched share love through tea.

Anna Ye Tea

Anna Ye Tea is based in Queens, New York. This company sells tea and teaware. It also offers classes and events. I’ve fallen in a love with a number of their single origin Vietnamese teas over the years. I’ve written, for example, about their Wild Silver Tips (pictured in the nearby photo) and Lũng Phìn Small Leaf Green.

The company has been supporting charitable work and sharing love through tea for years. For example, in 2020, the owner started “Virtual Tea Classes for a Good Cause.” These early classes raised money for undocumented workers and the Chinatown community of elders.

Anna Ye Tea is back at offering a virtual class to raise money for a good cause. This time, proceeds from their Vietnamese Tea class on February 22, 2025 will be “donated to NYIFUP, the nation’s first and largest program providing legal representation to detained immigrants, and NYIC, a statewide coalition advancing immigrant rights.”

Being Tea

Being Tea offers tea education and trainings. The company is deeply committed to creating inclusive and supportive spaces for members, in their teacher trainings, and at their online offerings. They also have a wonderful tea tasting box club. I am a proud graduate of Being Tea’s Tea Teacher Training, by the way!

Sooz Hammond, the solo tea professional and entrepreneur behind Being Tea and in the photo generously provided by them above, does so much to offer inclusive and accessible online spaces. They offer sliding scale pricing for many events, model inclusive and accessible practices, and infuse trauma-informed teaching how they train future tea educators. Sooz also raises money for scholarships to help more folks with Being Tea membership, access the Tasting Box Club, or join the Teacher Training.

Another initiative that Sooz uses to share love through tea is their “community care box,” also supported through scholarships. Members can nominate themselves or others going through a hard time for a box. Then, Sooz lovingly puts together and sends that person “a personalized selection of 4 teas…and a hand-written card, plus other goodies like stickers, mindfulness practice cards, seasonal coaster, etc.” Making compassion a centerpiece of Being Tea, Sooz also includes a curated list of mental health resources at the bottom of their emails to members.

Cha House

Located in Birmingham, Alabama, Cha House is a “community hub centered around a tea house.” Their mission is “to connect the disconnected.”

Cha House encourages all kinds of collaborative events. Their website notes they have “weekly events with a variety of local teachers & facilitators.” They also share: “we want to provide space for you to express yourself and share your passion with the community.” Here’s another example: they offer “pay what you can events and teas at every price point.”

Cierra Lober of Cha House sharing her love of tea while pouring tea into a glass pitcher. Cierra has long, wavy hair and is wearing a black dress with a white pattern

I’ve been lucky enough to be in online spaces to hear the founder, Cierra Lober, talk about her community outreach and how hard she works to cultivate Cha House as an inclusive, welcoming space. I really hope to visit one day!

(Photo provided by Cha House.)

Volition Tea

Volition Tea is based in Chicago, Illinois. Volition has lovely teas! I featured one of their white teas aged in a gin barrel, for example, in my Surprise Teas of 2024 post. They mainly sell tea, but also offer some tea ware and other merch. Volition Tea explicitly says that their company’s “ethos is grounded in humanity.” That’s a mission to share love through tea, for certain! What’s more, they back that up with action.

They designed and sell a t-shirt, for instance, which says “Humanity Behind Your Tea” on the back. The message is to encourage tea drinkers to think about the folks involved in producing and bringing the tea that we drink from the farm to us–from the growers, pickers, and processors, all the way to the folks who sell it retail. Additionally, Volition donates 10% of the proceeds of the shirt sales to Brave Space Alliance, “the first Black-led trans-led LGBTQ+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago.” (Photo from Volition Tea’s website.)

Volition Tea also recently offered a giveaway that exemplifies their commitment to spreading love and justice through tea. To enter the giveaway, people had to call their U.S. Senators and encourage them to vote against additional funding for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in light of the inhumane actions and human rights violations that ICE has been perpetrating against immigrants and peaceful protestors. (Full disclosure: I was one of the lucky winners of this giveaway!)

Love through Tea

Being part of a generous communiTEA like this has inspired me! For four years now, I’ve organized and led a yearly online fundraising event, Story of a Teacup. Each year since 2022, I pick a nonprofit to support. So far, this series has raised money for Erie Neighborhood House, Caring Across Generations, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and World Central Kitchen.

A white teacup, saucer, and plate with gold scrolling and pastel flowers next to an old photo of a young girl with a map of Germany in the background. There is a banner across the photo that says "Story of a Teacup"

Tea–so embedded in many cultures as a gesture of hospitality and a cup of comfort–is perfectly paired with opening our hearts to others and taking action to care for their dignity and well being.

Let’s all work to share love through tea!

If you know of other tea companies doing work to support social justice work and create inclusive communities, I invite you to share in the comments.

Other Tea and Valentine’s Posts

I’ve written a number of tea and Valentine’s posts that share love for tea in other ways. They might interest a tea lover like you.