What is Garden Direct Tea?
Premium & Rarified Micro-lots
Our Garden Direct series is a carefully curated selection of single-origin seasonal teas. Each year we travel around the world to connect with esteemed tea makers and select the season’s most outstanding micro-lots. They are packaged fresh at origin and sent via air freight to our warehouse in Milwaukee, WI so we can share these most cherished teas at their peak freshness. Each tea tells a unique story and invites you to share in the discovery of new places and exceptional flavors.
The teas and botanicals we source for Garden Direct are not the usual commodity types. Less than 2% of the global tea production meets the quality and the provenance we import. True teas are like wine, so place, season of harvest, and terroir matters.
The Highly Anticipated Harvest
Spring is an exciting time for tea lovers as the first crop of tea is typically the most revered. The specific date of harvest depends on the location’s latitude, elevation, and relative weather conditions. As the earth moves from cold hibernation into energetic bursts of new life the growing season starts anew and thus begins our new season of Garden Direct tea.
Some of the first harvests come to us from China in the Mingqian season, which literally means “Before Qing Ming.” Qing Ming is the annual tomb sweeping festival and honors the ancestors with a time of celebration. In Japan, the first flush teas are categorized as shincha, or new tea. This tea harvest season begins in late March in warmer southern regions of Japan and lower elevations and mid to late April for higher elevation regions.
Similar to the anticipation of Beaujolais Nouveau or other sought-after wines, tea enthusiasts share the excitement of the seasons within the global tea harvest calendar. True tea connoisseurs know these seasons and eagerly await the release of the new crop vintage.
DIRECT TRADE
Our Garden Direct series of tea is only possible through our Direct Trade program. Our Direct Trade offers the freshest connection to amazing teas, botanicals and spices from the best growers in world. We have supported this model for many years and use it to source our single origin and heritage teas.We pay farmers equitably and beyond sustainable prices for their hard work and dedication to quality so we can share the best and freshest teas and herbs with our customers.
EXPLORE OUR GARDEN DIRECT TEA
Rishi Tea & Botanicals travels extensively each year, following the peak harvest to select the very best micro-lots just days after production. This practice allows us to offer unique and delicious teas that capture the essence of their origin and are not available anywhere else in North America.
