How did your career in the world of tea begin?
A few years ago, I was trying to find ways to slow down in my daily life, and realized that preparing and drinking a cup of tea had always been the moment in my day when I felt most present. That idea stuck with me. I bought a wagon, rolled a small stand out to the Fort Greene Farmers Market here in Brooklyn, and started serving one cup at a time. That stand became the beginning of Raazi, and I launched the business officially last year. Raazi is about helping people rediscover something a lot of the world has always understood: that tea, made well, is worth slowing down for.
Tell us about your small batch, BK-based tea brand, Raazi!
Raazi is a tea brand built on the idea that tea deserves the same thoughtfulness as fine wine, where origin, craft, and terroir give each cup a unique depth. My hope is to get more of the American public excited about great tea: the black, green, oolong, white, and pu-erh teas from East, South, and Southeast Asia that have real nuance, that open up as you steep them again and again over a session. That's a few steps above the tea most people in America grew up drinking, and we’re trying to get people there by meeting them where they are first, then guiding them toward what we think is great.
We keep our line intentionally small so we can be obsessive about the details, every tea is tasted and vetted multiple times by our tea sommeliers before it earns a spot in the lineup. Design is also something that’s really important to us: everything is packaged in biodegradable, plant-based sachets, and our tea caddies are meant to earn a place on your countertop. We believe the kitchen is one of the last places people are fully present, and we want Raazi to be part of that – a small, grounding moment at the start or in the middle of a busy day.
What’s your favorite part about the New York small business community?
I feel really lucky to be building this brand here. Other founders and the local community have been incredibly supportive from day one, even back when Raazi was just me at the farmer’s market in Fort Greene. Getting to know neighbors through the market and selling local, and watching that turn into genuine relationships with the stores and people who champion us now, has been one of the best parts of this whole journey.
Congrats on having Raazi stocked at all the coolest spots in the city like Gem, Court Street Grocers and Big Night! How does your start as a small booth at the Fort Greene Farmer's Market impact how you run your business today?
Thank you! The approach hasn't really changed since day one—get one new customer, then the next one, and just keep chipping away at it. That started quite literally with one cup of tea turning into two at the farmers market, and it's still how we grow today. I go into stores in person to drop off samples, call the ones that aren't close by, and do my best to remember every store owner’s name. That approach is baked into how we source and how we sell, and that won’t change even as we grow.
What's new for Raazi Tea?
We launched our first wellness line, Raazi Wellness this past month. It’s a line of three herbal blends we've spent the better part of a year developing: Digest, a blend of coriander, cumin, fennel, and roasted dandelion root, Glow: goji berry, hibiscus, nettle, rose petal, and Rest: a wind-down blend of chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, valerian root. Releasing something new to our customers is really the starting line, that's when we get to hear what people actually think and start making the products a little better every day after that.
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