Happy 2019! We are relocating our store at Eastview Mall

Happy New Year to all our customers and friends! 

For Happy Earth Tea 2019 starts with a big change. We have decided to relocate our store in Eastview Mall, Victor, taking it back to our original location in the South Wedge, Rochester. The last date for Leaf at Eastview Mall will be 27 January. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to be at Eastview. We met many new tea enthusiasts and it was a pleasure to share the joy of tea with all of them. However, for a business at our stage of growth running two locations was a challenge. We have decided that it would be better to scale back and focus on just one for now.

We will miss our regular patrons at Eastview. Hopefully, we will see some of them at South Wedge. If not our online store is always open. For our LoyalTea members at Eastview signed up before 27 Jan 2019 we are offering free shipping until 1 May! Use the Local Pick Up option for shipping while checking out. 

We would also like to thank all our staff at Eastview. Their passion for tea and dedication to serving our customers made this year long experience of Mall were among the positives. We are hoping that we can retain some of them in the Happy Earth Tea family even after the relocation. 

For Leaf Tea Bar in South Wedge we will have longer hours starting next month. More tea classes and events are planned for the future. And sometime in summer we are hoping to move to a bigger location. We will be releasing details of our plans in coming weeks, stay tuned!

Yesterday, I got to participate in new year celebrations with a small group of dedicated Chanoyu - Japanese tea ceremony - practitioners. Called Hatsu-gama or the "first tea of the year," the event has a festive atmosphere. After a fantastic meal we sat down for a round of koicha (thick matcha) and then usucha (thin matcha). By the way the meal itself, pictured above, was like a work of art.

If I recall correctly the scroll during the ceremony read the "Pine tree long stands green" that reflected on the chanoyu tradition as old but yet vibrant.  And so is tea - old but still very much alive and sustaining the body and soul of so many of us. After yesterday's celebrations I am convinced 2019 will bring us many blessings. And we hope to share them with you all.