ABOUT US
The Founder
Spilled Tea was founded by Yasuko Quinn. Yasuko grew up as the daughter of a dietitian in Osaka, Japan in a family that cared about eating very minimally processed foods. Yasuko to this day believes and lives the “You are what you eat.” lifestyle her mother espoused. Drinking tea is part of her daily routine and culture. When Yasuko moved to the United States at the age of 17, she realized that it was very hard for her to find organic tea from vendors who are transparent about their product. Since then she has always wanted to make accessible Japanese teas that are organically grown and truly transparent. Most of the Japanese tea on the market today are blended tea. She found that the only way to truly know what she drank was to visit the actual estates where the tea was grown. Through her travels throughout Japan she would bring home cases of teas that were made in specific fields by particular farmers who followed only the purest of practices. Through Spilled Tea she is bringing this knowledge to you.
Organic
Spilled Tea is dedicated to sourcing organic tea from single origin estates because we believe that this is the best way to ensure exactly what you are drinking. Organic tea is better for our health, farmers, and the environment. I believe we should drink tea that are free of:
Pesticides
Herbicides
Contaminants
Indentured Labor
Single Origin
Most of the Japanese tea on the market is made by blending tea leaves. The blending of tea leaves can control flavor and make them more consistent. However, I believe that it is the best way to taste unique, pure and true characteristics of tea is to drink cultivars that are from a single origin. Single origin tea means tea is from single estate and single cultivar. The fragrance of single origin tea is also better. No two estates are the same. No two harvests are the same. Every cup is an unique experience.
The Farmers
We have a strong relationship directly with tea farmers and feature them on every item. Our teas are all directly shipped from the farmers. Our site is like a farmers market. We want to share who makes the tea, how they make tea, what kind of environment the tea is grown and what kind of fertilizers they use. Often farmers can tell us the exact field and date of harvest. In knowing the field and farmer we can have confidence that we are bringing you the best product. We visit the farms. Throughout the year we are in touch with tea estates to both learn more about their harvest and how this year’s weather is impacting the flavor.