The land is nestled between the water and the mountains. It’s dotted with rice fields, blanketed with grassy plains, crisscrossed with rivers, and overgrown with the flowers and plants that we, the calm caffeinators, prize above all else. This place of growth and abundance is Fujian. A province in the southeast of China, it’s home to some of the most prized varieties of bold black, subtle white, floral jasmine, and earthy oolong teas. It’s also where the Los Angeles-based company Teawaves got its start.
Joey Zhou, co-owner of Teawaves, grew up among these gardens. For him, tea, family, and community are inextricably linked. “Tea is a way of life in Fujian. I’ve been having tea with my parents every night after dinner since I was a young child,” Zhou says. He turned his passion for tea into a business when he met kindred spirit Michael Graney at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in 2020.
Graney, originally from West Virginia, fell in love with tea and its culture when he lived in China on and off between 2012 and 2019. “I wanted to bring the best part back [to the United States]. I sort of caught on that this is something they do a lot better than we do, and I wondered if we could introduce more people to it in a way that makes sense to them,” he said. The two men bonded and formed a business plan, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The diverse ecology of Fujian makes it one of the most interesting tea-growing regions in the world. Through his family connections, Zhou established partnerships with tea farmers and producers based in the Wuyi Mountains, the Anxi prefecture in Quanzhou, the coastal city of Fuding, the hills of Fuzhou, and across the border in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. “The farmers we partner with want to work with people they trust and people they feel can give their products a meaningful home,” Graney said.
Their main goal in starting Teawaves is to make tea culture more inclusive. Graney and Zhou tell their customers that they don’t need to purchase fancy tools or participate in elaborate ceremonies to partake; all that is required is a little patience and an appreciation for subtlety.
While the duo operates a wholesale business online, most of their energy is devoted to connecting with the Los Angeles community directly through rented booths at Westside farmers markets. From Wednesday through Sunday, the Teawaves team can be found handing out samples of cold-brewed White Grape Oolong Tea, Hibiscus-Rose Tisane, and Tie Guan Yin (Lady of Mercy), among other flavors, to sweaty shoppers desperate for something cool and refreshing.
For Zhou and Graney, these farmers markets offer invaluable contact with their consumers. “It’s a great way to get live feedback and interact with customers,” said Graney. They’ve also found that it’s a great way to introduce Angelenos to flavors that aren’t as easily found in the United States like their Peaked Brow White Tea, Osmanthus Oolong Tea, Golden Bud Black Tea, and Dragon Well Green Tea.
“Our hope is that our products facilitate meaningful connections and conversations,” said Graney.
“We want to share calm in this crazy world,” said Zhou.
For information about where to find them and for updates on hosted events at local businesses, Teawaves posts updates to their Instagram account.