Meet Chandler McAnally and Niko Olympiadis | Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chandler McAnally and Niko Olympiadis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chandler and Niko, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We wanted to bring not only high quality tea, but the tradition of tea to western markets. We both have backgrounds steeped in tea (pun intended). We noticed there were companies focused on offering some nice high quality teas, specifically here in the US and the western world, but there was maybe a little bit missing from our perspective: the tradition of tea. A tradition that has influenced us both. A tradition that has served ancient peoples in other parts of the world that could serve people here too, as it has for us.

What should our readers know about your business?
We noticed locally that it can be hard to find a good cup of quality tea at most shops. We wanted to bring high quality loose leaf tea and the tradition that surrounds it back to the West. We strive to educate the consumer on all things tea! We do this by offering tea classes at a local bookshop every other month. In the class we give out samples and teach the history and tradition that surrounds tea. On our website we offer tea history snapshots that include tea legends, poetry, and famous tea saints! Every product has a story so every time a consumer looks at one of our teas we include the lore or history behind it. We want the consumer to join the tradition of tea and get consumed in it with every sip. This is why we do not call ourselves a tea company but a tea tradition!

We started out small and funded the business ourselves. We have not taken out any loans and after a year the company is now able to support itself and pay us back a little each month. By growing it this way, we have to take small steps to help the company grow. Last year we started selling at the Alpharetta Farmers Market which helped us grow by word of mouth and provide weekly revenue while online sales were slow. It is a great place to meet tea lovers and other vendors who share your passion for growing a business. All the vendors help each other grow and work together on projects to help incur more sales. It was also a great place to network and help get our tea into more stores and to do more local events. We started to have tea classes outside of the bookstore and also got to sell at some festivals.

Tea brings people together. It is an ancient drink that not only heals the body but nurtures the mind. Every time we meet for a business meeting we make a pot of tea. The tea will have a mind of its own and we will start with talking business and end up in philosophical debates by the end of the night. Tea also teaches us to be humble and to help others. That is why we give a portion of our funds to those in need every season. Tea teaches us to be mindful as well. If we think about what it takes just for a consumer to have a sip of our tea, it is mind blowing. Start with a tea garden in China, tea growers picking the leaves, oxidizing the leaves to create a specific type of tea, waiting for the tea to get to the right oxidation before packing it to sell to an importer or another garden, the tea then gets shipped over the ocean and comes to a small company who packages it and creates a story that surrounds each tea, then one gets to have a sip and experience the tea tradition!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start out by going downtown and go to the high museum to look at art and enjoy the paintings. We would go to Cafe Sunflower in Buckhead to get a unique take on vegan food. Their vegan bacon cheese burger is amazing and huge! In the morning we would stop by The Ginger Tearoom and get some hot tea or ginger juice. The tea room is very elegant and hosts high tea in the afternoons. We would head up to north GA and hike Mt Yonah. See the beautiful mountains and views at the top and spend some time enjoying nature. One of the nights we would head to Shoya Izakaya for the best sushi and Japanese food you can find in the metro Atlanta area. Walking in you are transported to a true Japanese sushi house with the servers giving you green tea on the house and showing you friendly Japanese customs. You feel like you are family while dining and enjoying the freshest sushi. They also have a great selection of Sake to help the night become more fun as well! Another night we would head to Ground and Pound Coffee in Roswell, GA to have some great coffee and tea and enjoy their jazz night. This coffee shop has a cozy feeling and having the sound of a live jazz band makes it the place to be! The owner and baristas are the friendliest people you will ever meet and always make sure you are taken care of! One of the nights we would head to Puttshack in Midtown and play some indoor putt putt for adults. This place gets going after 7pm and you can have beer, wine, or cocktails while playing putt. afterwards you can sit on their porch and have some amazing food. Another day we would go to Sandy Springs and check out Mastermind Escape and try to escape out of one of the rooms. The rooms are very creative and the staff makes it very enjoyable. Afterwards we would head into Sandy Springs and get some great Chinese food at Canton Cooks which serves authentic dishes. Food is always hot and the staff is the best!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We’ll shoutout Brandon Miller! He’s an amazing photographer, videographer and graphic designer. So many people ask us who designed our logo. We have to give the vast majority of the credit to him! He’s great to work with, very professional and highly skilled in all of his fields! He’s awesome! Find him at www.imagesticllc.com or his instagrem, @the_imagestic

Website: westernimmortaltea.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/western_immortal_tea/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WesternImorTea

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westernimmortaltea/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@westernimmortaltea

Image Credits
Jensen Geevarghese Jennifer Troche Walsh