Couple Opens Tea Business
By Tricia Nelson
Throughout the centuries, tea has ignited passions and inspired cultural habits the world over. The drink is a staple of Chinese life, and it plays a major role in British custom. It fueled the ire of American colonists, survived the Russian Revolution and is now the second-most-consumed beverage behind water.
It's no surprise, then, that a simple pot of tea couple inspire a Chicago couple to alter the course of their lives.
In 1990 investment banker Gary Shinner and wife-to-be Jill Portman, a real estate developer, were shopping for wedding rings. While perusing their choices, their jeweler served them a drink unlike any they'd ever experienced. It was oolong tea, and they were smitten.
Over the next few years the newlyweds became tea enthusiasts, visiting tea gardens, learning the ins and outs of tea production and studying with tea masters in Europe. The next obvious step was to turn their passion into a livelihood. "It was all going to be a wonderful adventure," says Shinner, 46. "We were so committed that by hook or by crook, we'd do it."
So, in 1995, the two took their nest egg, their dog and their 8-month-old daughter to a city where beverage trends begin: San Francisco. There they opened Tea & Company, their own teahouse.
After three years — which Shinner describes as "humbling" — it was time to make a decision: either expand the business or evolve it. The couple took the latter route, closing their retail operation to focus on wholesaling their unique blends of loose-leaf tea. They also redefined their identity, brand and packaging to become Mighty Leaf Tea. According to Shinner, the changeover took about 18 months to complete.
The change in direction has definitely paid off. Mighty Leaf Tea, which employs a staff of 15, imports its leaves from countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan and India. It blends a whopping 17 exotic varieties of black, oolong, green, white and fruited teas. For many of their products they use their own patented nylon tea pouch as an alternative to paper tea bags.
The tea is distributed in 28 states and caters to major clients such as the Mandarin Oriental hotel. The company is now expanding into the United Kingdom and Taiwan, and maintains a retail operation on the Internet (www.mightyleaf.com). In 2001, Mighty Leaf Tea reported $1.75 million in revenue. "We've experienced triple-digit growth each year over the past few years," says Shinner.
Twelve years after the seed was planted, Shinner and Portman, 43, have hit their stride and they can finally take time to "smell the tea." Shinner admits that during the early years, they "flew by the seat of their pants," doing a lot of on-the-job learning. He says that today their lives are much more in balance — as much as can be expected for a couple motivated as much by passion as by profit.
As consumption of fine leaf tea increases in the United States, Shinner and Portman are doing their part to make tea drinking a part of Americana. The tea connoisseurs, who also admit to being java fans, aspire to carve their own niche in the competitive market — while fashioning a modern image of tea drinkers — with a product that they insist is "not your grandmother's tea."
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