Tea + Travel.
Two Passions that created Pearl Fine Teas.
The word “Pearl” symbolizes purity, quality and integrity. That’s us, in an oyster shell.
Like a Pearl, tea is steeped in folklore and tradition. It is the oldest known gem, and was for centuries considered the most valuable. Similarly, tea was traded as gold for many years, especially bricks of Chinese Puer. Unlike other precious gems, the Pearl is organic matter derived from a living creature (oysters and mollusks), and no two pearls are alike – much like snowflakes – and tea leaves. A tiny, rough grain of sand transforms into an object of great value and beauty (a pearl). And it’s the same with tea, which begins as a leaf on the Camellia Sinensis bush, goes through rigorous stress and processing, and is transformed over time into another form of great value and beauty (and exceptional taste): tea.
It was our profound love of tea and travel that sparked a simple desire: to navigate the world in search of the excellent tea. We set out in 2007 to do just that: sip tea with like-minded people, buy select varietals in small quantities, and bring (often hand-carry) the leaves back home to share the flavor and the fun. We haven’t stopped yet.
From making Oolongs like Oriental Beauty, Baozhong and pressed tea in the mountains of Taiwan, to hand-rolling Japanese “Haystack” tea in Shizuoka, to exploring the high mountain tea plantations in Sri Lanka, to making and drinking tea with Korean Monks – we take a truly hands-on approach – and hand-blend many our our teas and tisanes locally in NE DC. We seek out and study under revered and legendary tea masters, and this knowledge informs every step of the journey from the source to your cup. The more we learn, the more we can say with absolute certainty: we offer a superior cup of tea.
Pearl Fine Teas is a small, woman-owned micro-company. As tea drinkers (and customers) ourselves, we value quality and excellent customer service. We believe we offer both. We won't sell anything we wouldn't drink ourselves, and to achieve this goal we understand that we must always strive to improve both our products and our service.
In the end our mission is simple: To provide high-quality premium tea to our customers and clients and spread a little TeaLove® as we travel the world. Our daily mantra that keeps us sane is: Tea Cures Everything: from bad drivers, to bossy bosses to cranky people to political stress to pandemic pudge…!
We welcome all questions, comments and compliments, so reach out anytime by email or message us on social. We are really good at replying.
Have a look below at some of the tea travels of our Owner, Founder and Chief Leaf: Elise Scott.
Tea Travel in Taiwan, Japan, Sri Lanka and Korea
