/si'a-te/

Hello dear friend, 

Thank you for visiting TsiaTe and I hope you have found whatever you were looking for here: tea, tea ware, tea events or perhaps just that trace of warmth, sense of peace and the feeling of homecoming. 

My name is May Chen, I am the founder of TsiaTe which idea had been brewing for years and it finally came to fruition as a result of my severe homesickness after being away from home and family for more than 4 years due to Covid and other personal circumstances. 

I was born and grew up in Fujian, a beautiful province on the southeastern coast of China with lots of mountains, rocks, rivers and sea. Its climate and terrains make it a perfect place for tea plantations so it isn’t surprising to learn that Fujian is the birth place for 3 out of the 6 major Chinese teas: oolong, red and white tea. 

My childhood memories are filled with tea fragrance of Tie Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao, teas that my dear mother used to make in summer to quench our thirst and our family often gathered and brewed gongfu tea in cold winter. We’d drink the tea while it was still boiling hot and talk about life and future. Little did I know that that future was going to be full of adventures and explorations but also being away from my beloved homeland and family. 

In moments of loneliness, fear and anxiety, I instinctively resorted to tea for comfort. Not only it reminded me of the love that I was fortunate to have been born into and it would always be there despite of the geographical distance and time difference but also from preparing, drinking and appreciating tea, I tasted the flavour of present moment and then all my fears and anxiety just went away as if there was only here and now. In sipping tea slowly, I felt the deep connection with my true self, others and nature for I heard my heart more clearly when my mind went still.

Being also a yoga practitioner myself, I understood the tremendous benefits of meditation but like a lot of people it wasn’t always easy for me to sit there and meditate for 30 minutes daily at the beginning. However, when I was with tea, I was flowing and melting with it moment after moment, always present and in equanimity. Chinese Tea Meditation!

I knew that was my calling, so I started to dive deep into the learning of Chinese tea and the ancient tea practice, became a qualified Chinese Tea Master and to share my experience and love of tea with others. I was so fortunate to have since met many wonderful tea friends along my journey. We are from different parts of the world but came together at TsiaTe for the love of tea and life. Lu Yu, the ancient Chinese Tea Sage said "sip tea as we live life" which might have been true and helpful for his time, but thousands of years later, we seem to have forgotten how to live life mindfully with respect and reverence for ourselves, others and nature. So today we gather and ask tea for help in relearning how to live life  harmoniously in the way of tea which aligns with the law of nature. "live life as we sip tea" hence became our motto.  

TsiaTe is a homonym for “sip tea” in my local dialect in Fujian if you ever wondered. It is also a community, a place where we sip tea together with our body, mind and soul and in harmony with our environment, just like how our ancestors used to do, a sacred tribal ritual. 

I am grateful that tea brought you to me and TsiaTe. I hope you find comfort and refuge in tea just like I did and I look forward to meeting you in person one day and sipping tea together with you. Please feel free to reach out to me if there’s anything I can do to help with your tea journey.

loves,

May