I met Friday at Norweson this year and found her to be delightful. Her geeky themes teas were a welcome addition to the dealers room and I enjoyed what I tasted. When I found out she had a kickstarter (5 days left and less than $2000 to go), I knew I had to have her tell me something about how she creates her tea blends. And, frankly, the idea of Friday creating a set of teas based on some of my books is really cool. Maybe. Someday.
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My interaction with the world is hugely based on flavor. I have a sensory integration condition known as Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia. Translation: my brain applies flavor profiles to abstract concepts. I’ve managed to find a strange little niche market, selling geeky tea blends to awesome nerds.
It all started with a friend’s Dark Alice-themed tea party, for which she requested some custom blends based on Lewis Carroll’s work. I didn’t even have to think about it. Carroll’s characters have been so richly entrenched in my mind since childhood, they already had strong flavors to them. Thus, the Queen of Hearts and Wonderland blends were born.
Since that first Alice tea party a few years ago, I’ve almost exclusively been blending themed teas. I now have customers from all walks of nerd-dom commissioning custom blends based on their LARP characters, their favorite characters from various fandoms, their favorite music, etc.
If you want a more in-depth description of my blending process, please read a blog post I wrote about it a bajillion years ago here: http://fridayknowstea.blogspot.com/2013/04/synesthesia-and-blending-as-sensory-art.html
My tiny tea company has thrived and grown in the last few years as I’ve been working the convention circuit, selling to sci-fi and fantasy fans, steampunkers and gamers of all sorts. My nerd teas are now carried at several gaming cafes and bars, and I’m on the cusp of expanding my entire operation!
I’ve recently launched a Kickstarter project, now in its last week, to raise funds for my company to level up. Specifically, we’re planning to revamp our entire website (it won’t just be a crappy template-built site anymore! Huzzah!), get new labels, new packaging, lots of great stuff all around. Pledge levels run from $1-$850+, and rewards are anywhere from a thank you note to co-designing a full collection of teas with me!
We’re rocking right along, and it’s looking like we’ll at least meet our goal. I’m hoping we get to some of the stretch goals, because they’re just too fun! We have a collection of blends inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a collection inspired by Sailor Moon, and the possibility of a collection based on a community vote!
So hey, if you like nerd tea, weird brain science, small businesses and nice people, check it out.
