The nonprofit I am fundraising for this year, Montgomery Hospice, doesn’t have a way to set up a page to take donations directly. So, the only workable solution I could figure out was to create a campaign that benefited the organization through GoFundMe. (You can see my hospice fundraiser here. You can learn why this issue is so dear to me here.) GoFundMe, I realized, doesn’t allow campaigns where you get anything in return for contributing. So, I can’t offer tickets for contributing to the fundraiser.

I decided that I didn’t want to fundraise for two different charities simultaneously. So, I’m making Story of a Teacup 2026 free and available to my newsletter subscribers or Instagram followers. And, I am running the fundraiser separately. There’s no relationship between the two!

About Story of a Teacup 2026

Story of a Teacup is a cozy online tea party where tea lovers come together to sip tea, share stories, and admire teaware. Let’s celebrate in communiTEA.

At the event, you’re invited to steep tea together virtually. (Virtual tea party!) This year is different in another way besides being free to followers and subscribers. In honor of the five-year-anniversary of Story of a Teacup, participants are invited to show up to the online event wearing a favorite outfit. It could be a gown, a suit, your favorite loungewear–whatever calls to you! Let’s make it fun and celebratory.

When you join Story of a Teacup 2026, bring a favorite tea to steep and have handy a favorite piece of teaware. After we steep our tea and settle in–and maybe hear a short reading or two–I’ll invite attendees to share what tea or teaware they brought and why. Folks can share the story behind their tea or teaware. (This is totally optional. You aren’t required to share. You don’t even need to have your camera on if you’d prefer not to.)

We’ll have a few members of the Instagram tea communiTEA there to share to get us started. But, compared to recent years, Story of a Teacup will be more focused on inviting attendees to share instead of hearing pre-arranged stories. This is always a fun and meaningful event! Afterwards, I feel so grateful and elated. And, I’m not the only one!

We’d love *you* to join us this year!

Event Details and Tickets

• What: Story of a Teacup 2026 online event
• When: Saturday, November 7, 2026
• Time: 1:00-2:15pm ET (That’s 10:00-11:15am PT.)
• How to Get Your Ticket: If you are a newsletter subscriber, simply respond to one of the emails/newsletters that I send about the event. If you are an Instagram follower, DM me @teainfusiast that you’d like to RSVP and receive the link for Story of a Teacup.

The post Story of a Teacup 2026 appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is the beneficiary of Story of a Teacup 2025. All proceeds go directly to this amazing nonprofit. WCK uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies around the world. They are first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. 

About Story of a Teacup 2025

Story of a Teacup is a cozy online gathering for tea lovers to come together to sip tea, hear stories, and admire teaware.

At the event, you’re invited to steep tea together virtually. (Virtual tea party!) Cup in hand, we’ll listen as designated members of our CommuniTEA share a personal story behind a favorite piece of their teaware. You’ll hear the memories and special meaning behind each piece and see photos, too!

There’s also time for Q&A and opportunities to share.

Every year after this event, folks tell me how much fun they had and how meaningful and touching they found the event. We’d love you to join us this year!

Event Details

• When: Sunday, November 16th [NOW PASSED]
• Time: 2-3:15pm ET  (Online event)

• This event features stories from members of the CommuniTEA:
  • Eve Rommel, tea hospitality for Green Island Sangha
  • Kim Santo, founder of Stress ReLeaf workshops at Boston University. @lil_teapot_78
  • Marco Namowicz, tea educator, consultant and photographer; created of STEAP’D.
  • Shawn J. Moore, Meditation teacher, sound healing, restorative yoga and more via The Mindful Rebel
  • Traci Levy (me!), tea educator, meditation teacher, and tea writer also known as Tea Infusiast
• Learn more about the Story of a Teacup 2025 storytellers soon!
• All proceeds from this event go to World Central Kitchen

Donate & Get Your Ticket(s)

Contribute $20 or more at my World Central Kitchen fundraiser page to get your ticket(s).

If you contribute in multiples of $20 and would like to gift some of the tickets, let me know. Details on the Story of a Teacup 2025 fundraiser page!

The post Story of a Teacup 2025 appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

This year’s beneficiary is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

As they say on their website: 

At the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention our mission is to save lives and support those affected by suicide. Our team of staff and volunteers across the country is working on accomplishing this mission through direct education, state and federal advocacy, loss and healing support for anyone affected by suicide, and being the #1 private funder of suicide prevention research in the world.

About the Event

Story of a Teacup is a cozy online gathering for tea lovers to come together to sip tea, hear stories, and admire teaware.

At the event, you’re invited to steep tea together virtually. Cup in hand, we’ll listen as designated members of our CommuniTEA share a personal story behind a favorite piece of their teaware. You’ll hear the memories and special meaning behind each piece and see photos, too!

There’s also time for Q&A and, if you like, the option to share a bit of your own teaware story, too. You are welcome to join with your camera on or off.

Event Details

• When: Sunday, November 17, 2024
• Time: 2-3:30pm ET  (Online event)
• Featuring stories from members of the CommuniTEA, also on Instagram:
  • Annie, @at.the.teatable 
  • Katelyn, @brewteafullybrewed 
  • Kelly, @ros_strange
  • Michell, @herbthetravelingteaturtle
  • Traci (me!), @teainfusiast
• All proceeds from this event benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 

Ticket Prices:

Contribute $15, $25, or $35 at my donation page at the website of this year’s designated nonprofit organization, AFSP.

• $25 = recommended donation
• $15 = for folks experiencing tight finances
• $35 = for folks who can offset the reduced-rate price

Go to my donation Page for Tickets / inFO

Email Me After You Donate

The “donate” button is at the top of my AFSP page.

After you donate, kindly email me. (Sooner is better so you don’t forget!) I will see your donation on my page. By receiving your email, I will reserve your spot and be able to email you the information to join the Story of a Teacup event.

Email: teainfusiast@okso.org

FAQs

What if I would like to donate but cannot attend? I warmly welcome all donations, even if you cannot attend the event. The event will be recorded and available to participants for at least two weeks after it is shared.

Will the topic of suicide come up at the event? Besides noting the organization this event is supporting and the amount of money we raised for it, suicide will not be discussed at this event.

The post Story of a Teacup 2024 Charitable Fundraiser appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

My Tea Pet’s Backstory

Bonsai is my tiny turtle tea pet. She’s slightly smaller than a quarter. If you aren’t familiar with tea pets, they are used by some people who drink tea in a style where they pour out the first rinse of certain teas. My previous post on tea pets could be helpful to understand more.

Michell Hovey made Bonsai (and other clay tea turtles). She is a tea lover brimming with kindness and affection for small things. Many of us first learned about the sweet clay tea pets she made through the Instagram tea community by following Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle. (Find out more about Michell and Herb in this earlier post.) You can also follow Herb on Instagram.

Bonsai Shares Lessons

Bonsai is smaller than Herb and his siblings (except one other microturtle). Michell absolutely delighted me in the summer of 2022 by sending me Bonsai, her “birth certificate,” a sweet card, and some tea. According to her birth certificate, Bonsai came out of the kiln on July 23, 2022. Hence, she’s two years old the day I’m publishing this post. (You might have noticed that the white shell Bonsai arrived with–in the top photo in this post–is now a lovely brown from all the tea poured over it, as shown in the last photo in this post. The photo with the sunflower shows Bonsai’s shell on her first birthday.)

Bonsai has taught me many things. In honor of her second birthday, she said I could share a few of these lessons.

Lessons from my tea pet:

• Little things can bring so much joy. Make sure to pause to appreciate them.
• CommuniTEA is powerful, far reaching, and meaningful.
• What you do colors your shell–I mean, your life. So, take care what you immerse yourself in.
• Tea time can be a cozy and restorative sanctuary if infused with presence. Be there with your tea when you sip it.

One more important lesson: don’t forget sharing is caring. Share tea with a friend when you can.

The post Lessons from My Tea Pet appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Read on for details and how to reserve your ticket!

All ticket sales from the November 2023 Story of a Teacup will be donated to Caring Across Generations–a nonprofit that promotes policies and stories “to provide better care for our loved ones, better support for our families, and better jobs for caregivers.”

A heartfelt thanks to all the storytellers for generously donating their time and storytelling skills to support this charitable fundraiser.

Story of a Teacup Event Details

• Host: Traci from Tea Infusiast
• Live, Online Event: Sunday, November 5, 2023
• Time: 2-3:15pm EST
• An event recording will also be made available to ticketholders for a month.
• Storytellers: Connie (Tea in Spoons), Julia (@MKJulia), Sooz (Being Tea), Traci (Tea Infusiast)
• Tickets Prices are Sliding Scale:
  • $10 (for tea friends experiencing tight finances)
  • $20 (suggested donation)
  • $30 (for tea friends in a position to help support the reduced-rate tickets)
• We are donating all ticket sales to: Caring Across Generations
• CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR TICKET FOR STORY OF A TEACUP. [This event has passed.]

The post Story of a Teacup: November 2023 appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Marriages and friendships have been made and celebrated through a shared love of tea.

Tea, Love, and Marriage

The potter who created @HerbTheTravelingTeaTurtle of Instagram fame, Michell Hovey, first interacted with her future husband through a friend’s Instagram live.* Michell said their tea love story began when Derek said he would be coming to Seattle for the Northwest Tea Festival and was looking for recommendations. Michell messaged him some suggestions and they “chatted a bit each day before his trip.” At the festival, they shared tea and saw each other during his visit. Derek was living in a different state at the time. On day two of his five-day stay, they realized they were falling in love. A year-and-a-half later, he and Michell married each other! Awwwww.

Speaking of tea and marriage, friends and family members were aware of my love for tea when my husband and I became engaged. So, tea is also part of my love story. Friends threw us a lovely tea engagement party at their house. And, my family organized an afternoon tea for my bridal shower. At the shower, Black Currant was one of the teas served. I loved it! To this day, it is one of the few fruit-flavored teas that I enjoy. Every time I see it on a menu or take a sip, I remember that special time in my love story and the kindness of our friends and family.

Roam Love and Frens-ship

Speaking of beloved teas, Crimson Lotus Tea forms a thread that stitches together Michell, me, and several tea pet friendships!

Michell told me that she and Derek first shared tea from Crimson Lotus Tea. I had heard of this tea company, but never had any of their tea until Michell generously sent me some of their Roam, a loosely pressed Dian Hong. She included it in a package along with Bonsai, an adorable tiny clay tea pet turtle she made. Bonsai and I were fast friends at first sight! It really was love at first sight. As for the tea, I enjoyed Roam so much that I began to purchase it from Crimson Lotus. This tea isn’t showy. It’s cozy and comforting, like your favorite cardigan on a chilly day.

Another person is woven into this Roam tea love story–namely, the “hooman,” as he would say, who runs the Instagram tea account @GeraldAndFrens. This Instagram account shares the shenanigans of his three tea pets, Gerald (a dog), Ringo (a pig), and Hops (a turtle). When Michell sent Hops (another tea pet turtle she made!) to him, she included some Roam tea. Like Bonsai, it was Hops’ first tea. All the tea pets and their hooman reported loving “the cozy aspect of the tea and [how it] really helped create a sense of home and belonging.”

Sharing Tea Love in Community

In addition to the love spread for Roam tea, @HerbtheTravelingTeaTurtle and his siblings are forging new tea and friendship love stories. They have created a community of friendship through mutual love of Herb and following his travels around the U.S. (and abroad). Likewise, tea lovers lucky enough to become a human companion to one of Herb’s tea pet siblings tend to follow, get to know, and support each other, too. It’s a lovely tea story!

I was honored, for example, to help Michell organize an online event in late January. About a dozen tea lovers joined to drink tea and share our stories and love for Herb and tea pets. Those who gathered were among former hosts of Herb and/or have one of his tea pet siblings. We’re all part of Herb’s bale now! (And some of us, including me, had to look up the word “bale!”) It was lovely to honor Michell for all the tea and turtle love she has brought into this world and share our mutual love for our tea pets and their stories.

Bonding over Tea

I’ve made so many connections, absolutely lovely friends, through the online tea community! One of the lovely tea friends whom I have also had the pleasure of meeting in person is Taniya from @YogaTeaPoetry. I first saw Taniya reading her original and powerful poetry at a Being Tea Women’s Day event several years ago. Then, we started following each other and interacting a bit on Instagram. We also attended a lot of the same weekly Being Tea sessions and other events. Without planning, we both signed up for Being Tea Teacher Training at the same time! We spent seven months of roughly biweekly and very interactive classes together, plus attending each other’s graduation class. And, we spoke a lot in between! Since then, she’s joined me as a special guest or co-host on at least two virtual tea events.

This past autumn, luckily for me, Taniya traveled to New York City–just a short train ride away from where I live. And, we met at tea house. It was so nice to finally get to drink tea with Taniya in real life! (We’ve done so virtually many times.)

I’ll leave Taniya with the last words here about tea and love. She dreamily shares: “If heaven exists, it’s in a cup of tea. There is so much to learn and love with tea.”

Do you have a tea love story–romantic, friendly, tea-pet related, etc.? We’d love you to share your story with us in the comments.

*You can read more about Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle at my post, “What a Tea Pet Can Add to Your Practice.“

Interested in teas and tisanes particularly suited for Valentine’s Day vibes, check out my post, “Valentine’s Tea and Tisanes.”

The post Tea Love Stories appeared first on Tea Infusiast.