ABOUT
Just a small mom-and-pop's tea company.
&
Tea-hands for hire.
EST. 2019
A. TELLIN CO
This is the third act of a long career.
Here I start to find my own path in tea. One that is not tethered to a distribution model, packing machines, investors and dreams of market dominance. Here the goal is to be small, uncompromising and personal.
And to pass on what I have learned. To help others find their own path or start their journey.
OUR TEAS
Caption: AMIGA ( S/S '24). Gift Box resting on napkin from Vitaly Paley. Tea in old aluminum family pot from god knows where. Flowers from the front acre. Red tray from Lucci's childhood sitting on silver tray from Goodwill find at Oregon Coast.
FROM MY BENCH
SPECIAL TEA
KNOWLEDGE - CREATIVITY - COMMITMENT & CRAFT
Every tea is made by my own two hands. This is important. Just like a chef can write out his recipe, but the dish won't be as good when you make it. How a tea is made matters almost as much as the quality of the ingredients. CALL ME EARL is a great example.
Notes, not flavors. We want tea to taste like tea. No flavorings, natural or otherwise. If you are looking for a mango iced tea, we suggest buying a mango and pair it with a glass of iced tea.
Less is more. 3-4 ingredients that build on one another while allowing each to shine.
Respect and restraint sums it up. I think. At least that is the goal... we'll let you be the judge.
Caption: NEIGHBORINO '25 in cupping pot and bowl (Lanka Porcelain). Creamer with lady bug that we found at antique mall in Aurora.
SIMPLE - NATURAL - AUTHENTIC
This IS your grandma's tea.
&
Your grandma was a bad ass.
OUR COMPANY
We're down a winding road, nestled under the trees, far away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
Caption: View from outside our tea kitchen during wild fires of 2020, days before we were evacuated. We got lucky, many others didn't.
OUR FIRST STEPS
A. Tellin — The Maker
My wife and I started this company to create a lifestyle we wanted for our family. To work close to our children, to have flexibility and to share our lives with them. We wanted time.
We sank what little savings we had into launching our own business. To limit our ongoing expenses we rebuilt a rundown barn on our property. We did nearly all the work ourselves, from milling to consutruction. It took us the better part of a year and went over budget, but it gave us a rent free headquarters.
"It ain't fancy, but she's paid for", is how I describe it. Part shop, part design studio, part tea factory—a space to work.
We launched just a few months before the world shut down. In the early days of COVID we retooled our shop and manufactured face masks which we donated to anyone who requested.
We launched a colaboration with T-PROJECT, selling a bespoke herbal tea with profits helping restaurant workers hit hard by the pandemic. It wasn't much, but it felt good to help in some way.
The wildfires of 2020 nearly took it all, but the ice storm in '21 hit us hard—killing power for 12 days and taking down 22 trees, one of which destroyed the east wall of our shop. We rebuilt, but this wiped out any gains we made. One step forward, three steps back.
"Yahoo #1" — Minister of Culture
"Yahoo #2"— Assistant to the Assistant Regional Manager
Ever since we have been working towards making our tea space into a shelter, further reducing our waste and our impact. The goal is an "off the grid" space and a "leave no trace" operation.
We shifted from having things printed, to printing ourselves and hand-stamping—limiting material use, waste and solvents. The next phase requires a bigger investment, and we are slowly saving up our nickles and dimes.
It takes time and there will be setbacks. The latest is in the form of tariffs, uncertainty and higher costs for everything. We shall see how this goes, but in the meantime I get to hang out with these yahoos.