“We love tea.” That is how TEA.L, a producer of all natural body care products, begins its discussion of its company philosophy. When I learned about TEA.L back in 2019, I was immediately intrigued by their embrace of tea for self-care. And I thought: all-natural body care products that are made with real tea? Yes! Count me in!
I wanted to try all
3 TEA.L products, so I ordered the TEA.L Ceremony Set which includes the green
tea & guayusa face lotion, the green tea & rooibos body lotion, and the
green tea & yerba mate eye cream. I used these three products until gone and
was hooked. The delicate scent of these all-natural products (no artificial
fragrance) suited my very sensitive nose and appealed to me - especially in the
lotion and cream that I use on my face.
The scent of the body lotion is delicate and appealing as well. After
using these products for a while, my skin felt soft and well hydrated. So that’s
my testimonial regarding the products.
My initial exploration
of the TEA.L website convinced me that not only did I want to try the TEA.L
products, but that I wanted to learn more about the men behind them. So I have interviewed TEA.L founders, Zhao Lu
and Ronald Taylor.
I love your philosophy that
everyone deserves to practice self-care. Tell us a bit about your self-care
routines - both those that involve tea and those that don't.
Covid has completely changed our
self care routines in a very positive way, as we are able to dedicate more time
to self care with less social distractions. Tea plays a central role in our
renewed routines, as now we actually have time to follow a routine daily
and steep loose leaf almost every single time. I (Zhao) usually have 4
cups of dragonwell a day and I changed it up once in a while with Guayusa (if I
need more caffeine) or some sort of Chinese black tea. Ron, on the other hand,
prefers Gyokuro or Yerba Mate in daytime. We do enjoy Rooibos together after
dinner to aid digestion or mellow down before bed.
Outside of tea, we lift weights 5x
a week in our home gym, which really helps relieve stress and build up stamina.
Another area we are focused on is sleep hygiene, i.e. being mindful of winding
down an hour or so before bedtime, no phones, no TV, and incorporate
aromatherapy into the unwind process. We actually drew inspiration from
aromatherapy to develop the scent for TEA.L products: we want to make them
smell like something we are happy to fall asleep to.
In the "About TEA.L" page
of your website you encourage people to live authentic lives that reflect who
they are beneath any label they might carry. This is a beautiful idea and I
would love to hear more about how authenticity comes through in your own lives,
in your company, and in your products.
Living authentic lives came from a
place really close to our hearts. Both me and Ronald learned the importance of
self-care, both physically and mentally, while growing up gay in small towns.
And I personally immigrated to the US 10 years ago from China with limited
language skills and zero acquaintance. As we stumble and tumble to establish an
authentic self in our adulthood, we have to fight the stigma and prejudice
associated with the labels put on us. I think a lot of people nowadays can
relate to that experience to a certain extent, and that experience continues
for all of us. Through TEA.L, we want to empower everyone with labels on their
backs by giving them an authentic way to heal after they work so hard to
establish their true self. Tea, for the longest time, instead of being known by
their names, origins and unique profiles, carries a color category and lives in
a pre-packaged teabag or some sort of chemical extract for beauty
purposes. So I can’t think of a better vehicle to carry that message.
Thanks so
much for taking the time to “talk” with me Zhao and Ronald!
And now for
a special offer from TEA.L: You will receive 30% off of your full TEA.L order
between now and September 30, 2020 with the exclusive code TEADIARY30. You can
only use the code once, so fill up your cart the first time around. Visit TEA.L at https://tealotion.com/ to get your discount
by entering TEADIARY30 at checkout!
