FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
U.S. TEA DRINKING CONTINUES TO RISE AS COVID CONTRIBUTES TO INCREASED CONSUMPTION.
Consumers Seek Healthy, Sustainable Products. Fort Atkinson Company Looks to Capitalize on Demand for High-Quality Teas.
FORT ATKINSON, Wisconsin (December 1, 2021) – Mary Lowisz, loves tea – rituals of tea, trappings of tea, and stories about the people and places behind the tea. Serving as a critical care nurse at hospitals in the Madison, Wisconsin area, Lowisz has realized as much as she loves being a nurse, the extreme physical demands make this a precipitous career that could end with one injury. So, developing a plan to carry her into and through retirement has been a priority. What better dream than opening a tea shop?
Chai House is an idea that has been gestating for many years in the mind of Lowisz, a Fort Atkinson resident. She is married with two grown children who are now on their own, and a husband, who resides in an assisted-living facility due to a traumatic brain injury he suffered in a bicycle accident in 2001. This accident effectively left Lowisz as a single-mom to raise her two young daughters and some very large medical bills. At the time of the accident, Lowisz had just completed her first semester of nursing school, earning her A.D.N in Nursing in 2004, her Nursing Baccalaureate in 2009, and her Master of Science in Nursing in 2011.
Jack Herbert, from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, has spent his career in the corporate world of sales and marketing in mid and executive level management. Like many, he has entrepreneurial dreams and has been searching for an opportunity. In 2019, Herbert traveled to the Republic of Georgia and became thoroughly enamored with Georgian people, culture, tradition, and it’s majestic, natural beauty.
In 2017, Lowisz met Herbert at St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Madison, Wisconsin. The two became friends, Lowisz introducing Herbert to her love of masala chai and tea, and Herbert sharing his affinity for the country of Georgia. Soon, they started collaborating on Lowisz’s idea for a tea business.
Approximately 85% of tea is sold by a few multinational companies, making it difficult for family tea farms to compete in the global tea market. Farmers working for multinationals face forced and child labor, poor working conditions, low wages and little profitability. Many small family tea farms try to make it on their own, but find it virtually impossible to compete and survive without help. This has led to increased demand for more economically, ecologically, and sustainable tea, primarily in Europe and North America.
The U.S. has seen a significant rise in tea consumption recently, making tea the most popular beverage in the country today. COVID dramatically increased Americans’ tea drinking habits as people sought the immunity boost and calming agents tea offers. Tea is perceived as healthy and natural, particularly millennials and baby-boomers, so overall industry growth is expected over the next half decade. Tea consumers pay attention to health, but they also seek and pay for environmental, social, economic and ethical attributes in selecting their tea. Demand for high-end specialty, organic, and loose-leaf tea continues to grow at accelerated rates.
In their research, Lowisz and Herbert learned the plight of tea producers around the world, and also that the Republic of Georgia was trying to revitalize a once thriving world-class tea industry. The two decided Chai House would focus on developing partnerships directly with independent family tea growers, promoting the grower’s skill and expertise. Chai House buys tea from three cooperatives of small family farm tea growers in Georgia, Nepal, and southeast Asia. Lowisz and Herbert even traveled to Georgia in August to visit the Georgian tea farms and tour their operations. Chai House is the exclusive U.S. importer of tea produced by GOTPA (the Georgian Organic Tea Producers Association).
Chai House sells direct to consumers via their online store at ChaiHouseLLC.com, local farmers markets and local events. Products include: two signature spice blends made in Wisconsin – Madison Masala #17™ and Green Bay Golden Milk™; a variety of world-class, loose-leaf teas (Black, Oolong, Green, and White); unique and rare Wild Harvest Teas from Georgia; snack items commonly served with tea; and various teaware items (measuring spoons, teapots, tea mugs, and tumblers).
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Chai House is an importer and online retailer of loose-leaf tea and related tea products. Chai House sells world-class teas from the Republic of Georgia, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. We also handcraft a proprietary line of signature spice blends, including masala (for making masala chai) and golden milk. In addition, Chai House sells teaware (including measuring spoons, teapots, tea mugs, and tea tumblers), and tea snacks. For more information, please visit www.ChaiHouseLLC.com.