Black Lives Matter
Racism still exists and it is unacceptable. We have to do better. Earlier this month we donated a portion of our weekend sales to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
As a company, we will no longer be neutral nor silent. Just as we require each team member to have an OLCC and Food Handlers Card, we will now also require anti-racism education for our team through Rachel Rickett's online web-course. This is just a start but a very important one in our efforts to be more in ally-ship. We are committed to doing this work forever and to not be silent about racial injustice.
As Rachel says “It is not a moment, it is a movement”. Creating a movement takes an ongoing, constant commitment to being anti-racist and this is one of many steps we are privileged to take in our efforts to be more in ally-ship.
About our Founder
Hello! My name is Erica. I am the CEO and Founder of Tea Bar located in Portland, Oregon. At 23, I opened Tea Bar after moving back to Portland from living in China for 2 years.
As a child, I was raised by a single father in North Portland. From a very young age, I began learning Spanish and living abroad in both Ecuador and Cuba. I watched and eventually helped my Dad grow our family real estate business. From a very young age, I was immersed in design, construction and customer service. At 16, I moved to China to be immersed in the culture as well as to learn Mandarin.
Tea has always been my beverage of choice. In a city saturated with coffee and very few tea shops, I set out to create a new experience: a space reflective of my Scandinavian roots that was approachable, modern, and welcoming toward everyone. Our goal has always been simple: to make high quality tea approachable.
You can often find me in one of our shops sipping a Ginger Lemon Tea Toddy or an Iced Vanilla Matcha with oat milk. If you see me, please say hello. I would love to meet you.
Quality over Quantity
Our goal is simple: to make high quality tea approachable. We offer a curated menu with a focus on less is more. Each drink we offer is made fresh to order. We use absolutely no powders, artificial flavors nor dyes. Our boba is made daily using grade A tapioca pearls. Many of our teas are sourced from family farms all over the world, are certified organic and fair trade. We offer multiple dairy alternatives and use the highest quality locally sourced ingredients. Additionally, more than half of our drinks are consumed for here in reusable mason jars and when you purchase a reusable kanteen in our shop, one of your drinks is on us.
