Since every journey has its beginning, this one starts in the cozy shelter of Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, and ends on the streets of India.
Blog
Mi Xiang Oolong and Our Purchasing Philosophy
Jill, a regular customer of ours recently inquired how we, a “socially responsible company” could be so insensitive as to purchase the entire existing lot of Mi Xiang oolong tea–and that our doing so was an indication of Samovar turning into a big, careless corporation. I disagreed, and responded to her with the letter…
(Part II) Business is Nothing …But Community
One of the funniest ironies about technology and improvement is that as we make giant technological leaps ever day, and get ever more “connected,” we are at the same time we are also getting more disconnected from each other and the world.
(Part I) Business is Nothing … But Stories of People
Business is not about profit, money, software, HR, taxes, credit lines, technology, training, payroll, or anything else. Nope. Business is actually just stories of people and their lives.
Meditation & Tea: Words of Wisdom from Samovar’s Paul T.
Paul T. writes: “To my knowledge, no one ever founded a spiritual practice based on the preparation of a Starbucks Americano”.
The Samovar Tea Lounge Growth Plan: One Slow Sip at a Time
Thanks to amazing support from our customers, vendors, and employees, Samovar Tea Lounge has grown from a little tea spot in the Castro, to becoming a huge presence in the tea industry, with our new location in Yerba Buena Gardens, a great online store, plans for regional rollouts, and phenomenal national, and international press.
Slow Money, Slow Food, Slow Tea, Slow Living
Sometimes customers complain that the service at Samovar is slow. That’s intentional. We are about tasting the experience of life, through a cup of tea. We slow you down, and sometimes the first time is painful. But customers come back, again and again because….they like it.
Samovar Staff Speak Out: How to Spot Your Own Sweet Darjeeling
Julian, one of our most esteemed tea gurus talks tea, and dating and how to best blend the two! You can learn so much about a person by what kind of tea they order. Don’t get me wrong – I was definitely a peppermint Stash kind of guy when I walked into Samovar for […]
The Bottom Line is Where the Rubber Meets the Road
The bottom line is profit, or not. What happens when the only goal is about financial profit? Generally speaking, if that’s the primary overarching goal, then nothing else matters. People don’t matter. The environment doesn’t matter. Even the longevity of the company doesn’t matter. Only profit matters, and it is achieved at all and any […]
Pu-erh 101
A lot of customers have been asking about Pu-erh tea, so, I thought I would provide a bit of insight into this really magical brew…
Pu-erh is a category of tea, just like Black tea is a category of tea.