Nothing Like a Little Ingenui-tea

January 14, 2009

Nothing Like a Little Ingenui-tea

I read about this young man in the World Tea News.

Australian Teen Leads Successful Tea Biz

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Jason Loft did not drink tea as a child – unless you consider 14 years of age part of childhood. That’s how old Loft was when he picked up a small family venture and turned it into a lucrative tea business.

Jason's grandfather, Frank Loft, created the Dutch Teapot Strainer in his garage in 1970. The small, umbrella-like strainer fits down the spout of a teapot, straining the liquor through the leaves. The elder Loft founded TPS Manufacturing, a home-based family business, to make and distribute the strainers, and the company sold several thousand of them over the years. Business waned following Frank Loft 's death and amidst the rise in popularity of bagged tea. By the late 1990s, Loft’s father – an accountant by trade – filled orders only occasionally.

Jason Loft came into the picture in 2006, following an accident that took him out of his part-time fast-food job. Eager to continue making money, he approached his father, who pointed him – in family tradition – to the shed, where the small factory for making Dutch Teapot Strainers sat, neglected.

Since then, Loft has not only revived TPS Manufacturing, but also launched his own, adjunct business, Pop-In Teas. His mission is no less than to introduce his region to the rewards of drinking full-leaf teas. WTN Editor Heidi Kyser caught up with Loft, who will be 18 in a month, to see how that plan is unfolding.

To read the interview, click here.

Remember that it's National Hot Tea Month. It's also FREEZING cold here in Ontario. I can't think of a better way to warm up than with a nice hot cup of tea, steeped in my nice big brew in the mug, so I can keep my hands warm too!