Puns are everywhere. Whether you’re a fan of them or not there has probably been at least one that’s put a smile on your face! Any related to tea are a personal favourite. Think of a tea pun and you’ll most likely find that on Nazanin Yousefnejad’s work. Queen of Tea Puns, Nazanin is the wonderful maker behind Tea Thoughts, a shop filled with tea inspired products that include her popular tea pun cards, pins, tote bags and more. She doesn’t stop there though. Tea blogging is another side of her creative world where she shares different ways to incorporate tea into a variety of recipes. At the tea table we discussed her family memories that involve the beverage, we tour her space for creating her fun products and much more.
The kettle is on and I can hear it about to sing. What tea are you going to steep for us today?
I’m going to steep my tried and true favorite, Ceylon. There is a specific brand I love called “best tea” and their name is correct, it’s THE BEST tea!
Can you recall one of your earliest tea memories?
I don’t remember the first time I had tea because I was quite young but I do remember the setting, breakfast! It’s a traditional Persian breakfast to have lavash (flat & thin bread) with goats milk cheese and sweet tea. We used to also put walnuts on top of the cheese. We usually sweetened our tea with sugar cubes and the savory breakfast was washed down with the sweet tea. I don’t often eat this type of breakfast anymore because I try to eat a little healthier but I have so many positive memories and I can still taste it.
So that’s how your tea obsession started and slowly flourished into Tea Thoughts! How would you describe the connection between your love for creating and your love for tea?
Tea and creating share the same characteristic of bringing me calm. When I’m stressed out I love to have tea or I love to make something, or both! They’re connected because these are the two activities I know can bring me out of a slump and for that they will always go hand in hand. Having tea and painting on my balcony is one of my favorite weekend activities…until I dunk my paint brush in my tea cup 🙂
Haha! Next time that happens you should use the tea as paint 🙂 Take us on a tour of your tea & creating/shop space.
I operate out of a 1 bedroom apartment so my space is basically the entire apartment. I have a large unit with shelves and drawers, like a sideboard where I store all my tools and supplies for Tea Thoughts shop. Besides this sideboard, the carpet is my home. For some reason I like to sit on the floor to pack orders and create!
You will also find my space decorated with work from other makers that I love and elements of my personality that aren’t necessarily tea related. I have a batman bank, some comic books, a letter board and a few poetry books that I like to draw inspiration from.
I like that your apartment space seems to be completely dedicated to tea somehow! How would you personally like to grow in the tea industry?
Being a small business owner, there is always the goal of “making it.” I would like to grow my blog and shop but mostly I want to spread my love for tea. I want to help the tea industry grow so that more people in the US give tea a try! One of the reasons I started making recipes on my blog is so that people could see that tea can easily be incorporated into daily life. I want to decrease the amount of “tea is too fancy” or “tea is too complicated” opinions that I often encounter!
Speed Round:
Black, Green, Yellow, White, Oolong or Puerh?
Black!
Hot, Iced or Cold?
Hot!
Teapot, Infuser or Gaiwan?
I love my gaiwan but I make my black tea in a teapot!
Straight, Sweetened or Latte?
Black tea sweet, all others straight!
Cheese or Chocolate pairing?
Definitely cheese!
You’re stranded on a desert island and you could only bring 3 tea related items. What did you bring?
I would bring the “best tea” mentioned above, a glass tea cup and my cast iron tea pot. I need to bring Ceylon because my day is never the same without it. I prefer to drink my tea out of glass and there are a few reasons for this. I love that with glass I can visually connect with the tea and see the color of the brew. I also think that tea tastes different in glass, call me crazy but I think that a glass lets the true flavor come through best. I need a tea pot for brewing, my cast iron tea pot is heavy duty and keeps my tea warm for a long time!
Find Nazanin / Tea Thoughts:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Etsy Shop
ABOUT THIS SERIES: Tea tells stories and when connected with humans, more are created. That’s where the idea for this blog series, At the Tea Table, originated. This interview officially marks one year since it began. With this series, The Cup of Life asks tea lovers around the world to take us inside their tea lives to share their favourite steeps, spaces, routines and more. Meet some of your fellow tea drinkers here.
Love this interview and I love Naz! We met when we were each starting our tea journies – Naz with Tea Thoughts and me with my tea business, Wight Tea Co. I’ve loved watching her success. Such a genuinely friendly woman with really wonderful tea recipe ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Brittany, Thanks for reading. So glad you enjoyed the interview with Naz. She’s a wonderful tea lover to connect with.
P.S. I definitely recognize your tea company from her posts! 🙂
I love seeing tea friends connect! I’m a big of Nazanin’s Etsy shop and it was great to get to know her a bit more though your interview 🙂
Thanks for reading, Nicole! I will have to get you at the tea table one month 😉