A. TELLIN

BUYER, BLENDER, PACKER, BREWER, FORMULATOR, MAKER
&
TEA-HAND FOR HIRE

SINCE 1976

CO-FOUNDER
ATCO

Tea found me back in '99 when I moved to Portland and by sheer happenstance, started working at Tazo Tea. Ever since I have been tasting, buying and making tea and botanical based beverages of one form or another.

What started off as a job quickly became a career, which then became a lifestyle—but behind it all is an endless field of study.

Tea is a story that is too long and too old to be learned fully in one lifetime. But I hope to learn parts, to add my own footnote or two and to pass on what I have learned. That is my mission.

MY MASTER

STEVEN SMITH  

1949-2015

Caption: (2012?) From an unknown photographer. Steve Smith, evaluating tea in cupping room in NW PDX and measuring his options. Me, his apprentice at his side. Always.

WORK HISTORY

ACT 1 - TAZO TEA

(GREENHORN) 1999 - 2009

I started as a forklift driver for Tazo Tea and left as the head tea buyer and formulator for Starbucks Coffee.

I was trained by Steven Smith and countless tasters, brokers, traders and growers in cupping rooms around the world.

I studied how to evaluate tea, spices and botanicals as well as where they are grown and how they are made.

I learned how to formulate for a consistent product using natural and therefore inconsistent ingredients.

And I became experienced in brewing and bottling tea and the food safety programs that regulate the industry.

All by doing it, along side a master of his craft, over and over and over and over again, until he had the confidence to let me take it on myself.

Caption: Cupping room in Darjeeling. Pots and bowls under windows facing the North, like a good cupping room should be. Window panes indexed with hand painted numbers and clear tape obstructing the beautiful view, per Rainforest Aliance program. Jerks.

ACT 2 - SMITH TEAMAKER

(ASSOCIATE) 2009 - 2018

I started as a contract worker to refinish some stairs and left as the Head Teamaker.

While TAZO was a big machine that relied on copackers to make the finished product and distributors to sell it. Smith Teamaker was small, nimble and artistic. Everything was done in house. At least in my day.

Here I studied the complexities of making full leaf tea—from the blends themselves to the equipment that pack them.

I learned how to build operational capabilities, from dry tea packing to brewing, bottling and carbonating tea.

I started applying my training towards product development, and began to find my own voice.

And I learned to work without my master—and that he taught me pretty well.

Caption: My work as Head Teamaker. From cafe service to bespoke teas and collaborations. Not seen is the collaboration with Nikki Giovanni that the marketing department wouldn't let me do.

ACT 3 - A. TELLIN COMPANY

(MENTOR) 2019 - PRESENT

I started by building a space on a shoe string budget, where I leave is not yet written. Only time will tell.

So far we've moved from harvest to harvest, from season to season, crafting teas & tisanes and taking on projects and inspiration that comes my way.

Behind the scenes you can find our work in more than a few brands. We've developed bottled tea lines, liquid concentrates, good ol' teabags—and inspired development teams on where tea and other products can go next.