10+ Questions with Dax Miller of Tea Amigos

According to my Gmail inbox I have been receiving Tea Amigos tea reviews since March 2011. In that particular e-mail an Amazon Spice Tea was described as having the "aroma of a fighting champion". I finally got around to asking Tea Amigos co-founder Dax Miller to explain himself. (All questions conducted via e-mail).   

1)   For those who aren’t familiar with Tea Amigos, could you give us a rundown of the site?

Tea Amigos is the home to the most comedic tea reviews out there.  We keep it real on all levels, delivering unbiased, real-talk reviews of teas you’ve heard of, and teas that you’ve never heard of.

2)  When did you first come up with the idea for e-mailing tea reviews?

It started as just a joke.  Mike and I are marketers, and seeing all of the funny made-up phrases that people use to describe products needed a parody.  We decided that all the tea we drink on a daily basis would be great candidates to clown.  Then Tea Amigos was born.

3)  When did you first start sending them?

From day 1 we always had the email option for people that wanted to subscribe, and day 1 was sometime in late 2008.

4) Why tea reviews? Why not review something else?

We steep tea on the daily.  Having tried hundreds of tea, we know what we are talking about.

5)  Do most of your friends know about your website?

Most definitely.  People know what’s really good with the Tea Amigos.  They don’t even have to steep tea to appreciate the humor.

6)  There was a recent hiatus with your reviews. Would you like to say anything about it?

I started getting very involved with a personal project now turned corporation (namely The HOTH Corp), and Mike was traveling a lot.  TA got put on the back burner, but the love was never lost. 

7)  If you could choose three historical figures and/or modern day celebrities to read your tea reviews, who would they be?

Bo Jackson – I’ve been in his official fan club since a youth and I know that Bo Knows Tea

Morgan Freeman – His narration is unparalleled.

Ellen – We’d get on her show and run with it to the moon.

8) Why should people trust your reviews?

We let the tea do the talking.  If it is bad, we will say so.  If it is awesome, the world will know.  Plus, this is a labor of love.  We take no money from the mob nor any tea lobbyists

10)  Do you have a set routine for writing your reviews?

We steep the tea, take a couple of notes, then re-steep the same sachet to check the power of the leaf.  Lastly we steep again just to make sure we didn’t miss any mesquitability or something noteworthy. 

11)  Do you have an ultimate goal for Tea Amigos?

Our goal is to bring tea into the “cool zone”.  Many people don’t understand how great tea is and how many different types there are.   We are bringing the tea culture back!

12) Where do you live?

I currently live in Tempe, AZ, while Mike resides in a Chicago suburb named Buffalo Grove.

13)  Are there any tea shops and/or cafes near you that you particularly like?

In Chicago we really like DarkCloud.  Great people, great steeps.  Also, Wormhole in Wicker Park is the jam as well.  We do a lot of hothing there.

14) What’s your daily tea consumption like?

I’ve been steeping a lot of Yerba Mate lately, to the tune of 3 cups per day.  Throw in about 4 other random tea for the love or for the game and we are at about 6 cups of tea per day each.

We steep hella.

15) Do you have a favorite tea of all time?

Personally, my favorite tea of all time has to be Organic and Pure White Tea with Lemongrass.  This is a rare find and is only available in random grocery stores in Chicago.  Peep the reviews on Tea Amigos and you’ll see exactly why this mystical blend is a mainstay in my pantry.

16) What do you envision for the future of tea drinking in America?

I see either us, or another figure in the 20-35 age market making tea cool again.   I envision people showing up with full teasan status, whipping out their own tea bags at cafes.  It will get gangster.

17)  Is there anything you’d like to add?

Thank you for this opportunity to put more people onto Tea Amigos and our reviews.  Shout out to thehoth.com and lookout for GroupHug (grouphugapp.com) that will most likely change the internet as we know it.  Steep on…

10 Questions with Jason Witt

If you have been reading and/or writing a tea blog lately odds are good you have come across Jason Witt. The author of two books on spirituality and a weekly e-newsletter, his latest book deals with the spirituality of tea. The following ten questions were conducted via e-mail.

1. For those who have never read your newsletter, could you describe it?

I call my email newsletter “Teaternity” and it’s about the spirituality of tea. But this is often in the context of health so a lot of attention is given to the healing properties of tea and why it’s better than coffee, etc.

2. What would you like the impact of your newsletter to be?

I just want to reach everyone who’s interested in the tea faith specifically. That could end up being a lot of people at least here in America.

3. Could you give us a brief day in the life of Jason Witt? How much tea does it involve?

I get up at 3:00 or 4:00 am. In the morning I do certain tasks that change with time. Lately I’ve been getting my book “Spirituality of Tea” ready in the mornings. In the afternoon I do commenting on the 200 tea blogs that I follow. Throughout the day I drink about 5 liters of Puerh. And I could even drink more on many days if I didn’t slow down deliberately.

4. How has having written two books about religion influenced your tea drinking experience?

Jesus gave of Himself in the form of food (bread and wine) and He encouraged the devoted to bring their own offering to the table. I want to give of myself as if I were tea.

5. You say on your website that you like “tea-themed music of all eras”, could you explain?

The 20th Century and modern times holds a lot of music that mentions tea or puts it totally in the spotlight. I’m collecting these songs with my ability on the Internet to search lyrics databases. Right now I’m in the processing of collecting songs about a “cup of tea” and there are many because they make good love songs. Everyone wants to meet the person who’s their cup of tea.

6. What’s it like being a tea drinker in Minnesota? Any favorite spots or shops?

There’s one hip tea shop, The Tea Garden, Inc that’s in some cool neighborhoods. But since I’m a Puerh Guy, I just can’t get that locally in any variety like I want it. I like bringing Puerh with me and just getting hot water in coffee shops.

7. A major topic in your newsletter is choosing tea over coffee, when did you last (if ever) drink coffee?

A few months ago I realized that I may never again touch coffee, even for the rest of my life. There have been times when I’ve drunk my share of coffee but it’s been rare in recent years. In Fall of 2008 I quit all caffeine (including tea) for a couple months. That only served to open up to me my devotion to tea when I started drinking it again.

8. If someone wanted to make the switch from coffee to tea, where should they begin?

I would say to sample different kinds of tea a lot to find out what you like. Find stores online that offer samples and find out the difference between Oolong, green, and black. Sometimes I say to switch right to Puerh also, especially if the person was particularly fond of coffee.

9. What do you envision for the future of tea drinking in America?

I see the growth of the tea industry continuing at least until the Baby Boomers are all mostly gone. That’s because they’re driving the current obsession with health of the body as they age. That’s made tea more and more appealing.

10. Is there anything you would like to add?

If you’re interested in my book “Spirituality of Tea” then you can get a free copy of it in PDF by signing up for my newsletter. And so that it’s easier to read, I’ve priced the book at $12.95 so it doesn’t cost too much to grab a copy or two.