Tegan Woo of Amoda Tea

Amoda Tea is an online tea shop that operates out of Vancouver. I was introduced to owner, Tegan Woo by Stephanie Caruso, one of my fellow Belly Monsters. Tegan is one of those entrepreneurs who has a very diverse career path before landing feet first into a position that makes them happy and one that they can excel in. After graduating from university, Tegan spent time in the non-profit world, did tax planning, worked in hospitality, trained as a wine sommelier and worked in a winery in Hong Kong, (see what I mean about “diverse career path”). Tegan and her partners started Amoda in late 2012, but it was after her stint at directing the Walk of Reconciliation in 2013 in Vancouver that she dove into the tea business full time.

Tegan Woo of Amoda Tea

What opened your eyes to tea and made you decide to open a tea company

It was back in 2005 that my eyes opened to tea as a business opportunity. I took a day trip to Vancouver and discovered Infuse Tea, a matcha-focused tea cafe. I was inspired to bring the modern tea house concept back to Victoria. I knew the tea industry was growing and I saw an opportunity. I didn’t end up opening the tea house. The timing wasn’t right for me – I had too much fear of failure at that point in my life to launch into something so “risky” as entrepreneurship. Fast forward 6 years, I met a couple guys in my masters program that wanted to start a subscription box company. What better product to ship in the mail than light loose leaf tea! And they had never met someone that knew so much nonsense about tea. There wasn’t any major players doing tea in that format, so we went with it. We’ve since expanded into a full online tea brand sampling and discovery platform.

I’m a coffee drinker, what am I missing out on by not drinking tea?

First of all, you’re missing out on drinking Oolong Creme.  In general though, you’re missing the flavour variety! The chance to drink something delicious ALL day, many times a day, without overloading on caffeine. Instead, you’re hydrating and adding healthy properties to your body. For me, not drinking tea is a missed opportunity to centre myself, get focused and intentional. Tea is a ritual for me.

How do you go about selecting your teas?

It’s pretty simple for me really and usually happens organically through social media. If not,  I will google an array of tea terminology to see what companies pop up talking about them. I scour social media and ask our customers and followers for recommendations. I travel quite a bit and always visit the tea companies situated there. When a company shares our values and has all-natural, unique teas, I ask them to send me samples. When tasting teas I look for authentic, natural, flavours, nothing artificial. If I get a kiwi tea, it better taste like kiwi!

If you have to choose one tea to drink for the rest of your life what would it be and why?

The Oolong Creme I mentioned before. It tastes incredible. Plus, when I smell that tea steeping, it instantly sends me into calm.

You said that you do a lot of travelling,  what has been one of your most memorable tea trips thus far?

Has to be to New York! Tea companies there can get more innovative since the market is open to that in New York. By innovative I mean with their flavours and also what they’re doing with the tea – from making tea cocktail mixes to pressing tea through a special espresso machine to sitting down for a long session of traditional Chinese tea.

What are you drinking these days?

I am a huge creamy black tea fan. Duchess First Love is one I steep frequently in the afternoon. It’s a black tea and rooibos blend that’s creamy, nutty and rich with caramel. It’s amazing!  I also drink our Detox tea almost every evening.

What’s a common misconception about tea?

That it’s inconvenient to make. New tea drinkers can see tea making as a progression. Start with the basics – ask your tea purveyor how much tea to use per cup and scoop it into disposable tea filters. (We put steeping guidelines right on the labels) From there you can start playing around with steep times, water temperatures and varying amounts of tea. It becomes instinct and natural really quick.

If you didn’t own a tea company, what would you be doing?

I’d definitely still be directing major non-profit events that bridge cultures. I love that work too.

How many cups of tea do you drink on a daily basis?

Haha I never count! I’m on my second cup and it’s 10:45am. That’s pretty normal for me. In the afternoon I’ll have 3-4 cups and another 2 in the evening and one at bedtime. So, almost 10 a day. That’s not bad actually.

If you’d like to learn more about Amoda anf their teas, you can reach them on their website or at any of their social media accounts:

Amoda Tea http://amodatea.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/AmodaTea
Instagram http://instagram.com/amodatea
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amodatea
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/amodatea/

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