Thirteen years ago today I started a little blog called Tea for Me Please. Since then tea has changed my life in more ways than I could ever imagine. In this post, I’ll be taking a look back at how it started, how it’s going, and what is in my future. Make sure to keep reading all the way through for a special giveaway at the end of this post!
How It Started
The most common question I’m asked in interviews is how I got so interested in tea. I grew up drinking milky sweet cups of Red Rose black tea before bed nearly every night. We collected the little Wade figurines that came in each box. When I went away to college, I started exploring what was in the grocery aisle. I soon had a reputation for being the girl with all of the tea on the floor of my dorm. In my search for new flavors to try, I started searching on Google and was shocked to learn that there was tea that did not come in a teabag.
Shortly after I stumbled upon a now-defunct website called TeaViews. They were looking for staff reviewers and the idea of getting to taste lots of different teas was very exciting. I started a Twitter account to find people who were just as interested in tea as I was and started following blogs. I started a free blog on BlogSpot as a way to back up the reviews I was writing for TeaViews. Much to my surprise, other people started reading it!
Over the years tea became a bigger and bigger part of my life. I connected with wonderful people around the world and worked for several tea companies. I learned new skills like photography, web development, graphic design, video editing, and social media marketing. My yearly calendar started to rotate around events like World Tea Expo.
Being a blogger in this niche has been a bit odd. The industry didn’t quite know what to do with us for the longest time. Some regarded us as greedy swindlers who were just looking for free stuff. Thankfully that has changed quite a bit since then. I had the absolute honor of winning two World Tea Awards, Best Social Media Reach (2015) and Best Blog (2018).
How It’s Going
The last few years have left me at a bit of a crossroads. Tea is my life’s work it seems but I did not know where it should take me. My business cards said ‘consultant’ but that didn’t quite feel like a good description for what I did. I asked for advice in a Facebook group for bloggers and a brilliant woman replied saying that I was a tea educator. Bingo! It was truly a lightbulb moment.
Around the same time, Suzette Hammond from Being Tea was launching her Tea Teacher Training. The past year has been a journey of self development and discovery. I truly feel that I have found my calling. Unfortunately, it has been a year of not being able to do very much due to COVID. The resulting difficulties led me to starting a Patreon. I’ve also been working on seeking out paid partnerships (like a real influencer!).
What’s Next?
If someone told me 13 years ago that I would still be at it in 2021, i don’t think I would believe them. I hope to offer tea classes, both online and in person, later this year. But, first I am working on an exciting project. I have just started writing my first book! I can’t share all of the details just yet but if you sign up for my email list, you’ll be among the first to know when I do.
I feel very excited for what the future holds. There is sure to be many more years of tea in my future. Thank you all for coming on this wonderful ride with me! My readers have been and always will be the reason why I do what I do.
To help celebrate this very special blog-iversary, I’m doing a giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a mystery box of tea. Nazanin from Tea Thoughts also generously donated a $25 gift card. Use the form below to enter. The giveaway will end at midnight EST on October 13th, 2021.
Gleam Sweepstakes
Happy Blogiversary! So happy you’ve found such an amazing calling for your life and you’ve found a fun way to share that passion.