My Story

The relationship between my life and tea is like a childhood sweetheart story—I grew up with it, let it go for a while, and fell back in love again as an adult.

I grew up in Japan, where tea was part of everyday life. My mom served tea at every meal, from breakfast to dinner. I loved having a warm cup of sencha in winter, and ice-cold oolong tea in the hot summer!

However, when I moved to the US in 2013, life shifted. Coffee gradually took the place of tea in my daily routine. From late-night study in school to my early career, coffee became my daily fuel to keep myself going. Tea, which had always been part of my life, quietly faded into the background. Looking back, I often think that if there had been a culture where tea was more appreciated and accessible—places that felt welcoming and educational—I would have continued drinking tea just as much as coffee during those years.

The idea for Camellia’s NovelTEA sparked on one ordinary day in 2022. I was wandering the coffee and tea aisle at Kroger with a friend when she said, “I wish we had a place to enjoy tea here in Memphis.” That small comment struck me deeply — Memphis needed a new culture to truly celebrate tea. That’s when I fell in love with tea all over again and realized I had a mission: to create a community where tea is accessible, appreciated, and part of everyday life—just like coffee. And that’s how Camellia’s NovelTEA was started.