Blog – LOEYTEA

Earl Grey, New Look

20 January, 2025

We have always focused on creating products that bring beauty into everyday life. For our Earl Grey tins, we embraced a modern minimal design approach, using screw-top aluminum cans to ensure airtight sealing.

The current label was designed in alignment with our brand identity for the Las Vegas trade show in March 2024. It featured a minimalistic concept, with a focus on the metallic texture and a simple presentation of the tea’s name. The design served as an introduction at the exhibition, allowing us to gauge customer reactions. Now, following the launch of our first sampler, it’s time for a renewal.

We aim to preserve the raw beauty of the metallic body as much as possible. After testing numerous label designs, we found that leaving the surface clean and minimal best reflects the essence of our aesthetic.

Our Earl Grey tea has been a customer favorite for nearly a decade, earning our trust and confidence. We are now refining it further—making it more beautiful and better suited for the modern, urban lifestyle.

Coming soon.

by loeytea

Blessing Neighbors 2025

08 January, 2025

Blessing Neighbors is our slogan. If Love & Obey is about loving God, it reflects the Ten Commandments He has given us—to love God and love our neighbors.

Loving our neighbors may mean actively reaching out to some, while for others, it might simply mean quietly making room for them.

Today, we go about our work—designing products, importing raw materials, and spending busy days packaging them. Every activity we undertake in the U.S. is a new beginning. Naming our brand, launching products one by one, and filling empty shelves are, at their core, an invitation to our neighbors.

Creating and offering what our neighbors need. Becoming a brief moment of happiness in their lives. That’s what Blessing Neighbors means to us. Today, as always, we think of those who have yet to appear and create something new with them in mind.

by loeytea

Jan 2025

From the very beginning, we wanted to offer something that would make people feel comfortable. We occupy a small part of this world, providing what is needed for others as we live our lives.

Selling black tea is not just about the tea itself—it’s about creating a moment of relaxation, a space filled with subtle fragrances and calmness. Perhaps that’s why we’ve often shared stories about spaces and ways to beautify them, stories that might seem unrelated to tea at first glance.

One thing is clear: those who have sought us out, appreciated us, and continue to speak highly of us, resonate with these intentions and embrace them just as we envisioned.

We hope 2025 will be a wonderful year for everyone. May you all be blessed.

by loeytea

Love&Obey LOEYTEA, Neighbors 01

29 November, 2024

A Tea Sampler That Shares the Warm Stories of Neighbors

At LOEYTEA, we believe that a simple cup of tea can be more than just a drink—it can bring small moments of happiness into everyday life. Our first tea sampler, Neighbors 01, was created with this hope in mind. Featuring four premium blends, this beautifully crafted tea set is the perfect gift for friends, family, or any tea lover.

Buy on Amazon

Blessing Neighbors

“Blessing Neighbors” is more than just a slogan—it reflects our gratitude to those who supported us during our humble beginnings. When we started from scratch, there were people who chose us, and their trust and encouragement shaped who we are today. Neighbors 01 is our way of expressing heartfelt appreciation for their role in our journey.

Shaping Neighbors

In the past, we’ve created collections like Avenue and Village, inspired by various spaces. This time, we wanted to capture the essence of “neighbors” through the concept of houses, which led us to the iconic red brick buildings of New York.

Modern Neighbors

New York’s red brick houses beautifully embody the spirit of modern neighbors—unique yet connected, much like the way we live today. While people live independently, their lives remain intertwined in meaningful ways. This idea inspired the design of Neighbors 01, which celebrates the harmony and individuality of modern communities.

New York Red Brick

The tin case is the centerpiece of Neighbors 01. Crafted from screw-sealed aluminum, its tall, elegant shape was inspired by New York’s brick houses. While we initially considered using two tins to better represent the traditional house design, practical considerations such as cost and durability led us to the current single-tin format.

Gallery, Art in Life

Our signature color, Cyan Blue, is one of the key printing colors used worldwide and represents our philosophy of staying true to the basics. With a desire to bring beauty into daily life, we designed Neighbors 01 with a gallery-like aesthetic. This tea sampler isn’t just a product—it’s an artistic expression meant to add value and beauty to your everyday moments.

Neighbors 01

Neighbors 01 is LOEYTEA’s first tea sampler, sharing the warm stories of neighbors. Like New York’s brick houses, it captures the beauty of individuality and connection. We hope this collection brings a touch of warmth and joy to your life, just as our neighbors have done for us.

Experience the art of life with tea. Discover the heartfelt story of neighbors through Neighbors 01 by LOEYTEA.

by loeytea

September 2024 Title Image

09 September, 2024

For the coming months, we will be featuring old photographs. A brief escape from the present to evoke nostalgia. Childhood memories that everyone holds—times with friends and family. The joy of having an ice cream or a brand-new bike felt like owning the world. We hope that, even if just for a moment, these faded photographs allow you to become part of them and bring back the warmth of cherished memories.

by loeytea

Blessing Neighbors

Starting from scratch, we initially launched a few products that were embraced and enjoyed by the younger generation. To warm their small and mundane living spaces, we created a gallery-themed sampler.

This sampler was a success, and the minimalist design inspired by the gallery style became the hallmark of LOEYTEA’s identity.

The generation that began this journey with us still lives on their own. We wish to warm their hearts and be a good neighbor to them because they did the same for us.

Thus, “Blessing Neighbors” naturally became LOEYTEA’s slogan.

It reflects our gratitude for those who stood by us through the challenges of our early days.

by loeytea

LOEYTEA IN ASSAM

06 May, 2024

In April 2024, we traveled to India. It had been eight years since we started our TEA company, Clayton. While we are still relatively new compared to well-established brands with histories spanning 30 or 100 years, our journey has been far from easy.

One of the initial and most significant challenges was finding reliable suppliers and partners. We had to establish factories and import tea bag machines while advancing on multiple fronts simultaneously.

Currently, our partners include Sri Lanka, India, China, and Germany. Sri Lanka and India supply black tea, China provides Chinese tea, and Germany offers various herbal refining services. The tea industry is vast and global, involving large-scale operations across extensive plantations.

To build trust in our products’ taste, we began by focusing on both historical and operational scale. Our partner in India is a leading exporter with five plantations in Assam, plus an additional one acquired in 2022, bringing the total to six plantations, which include both tea fields and refining factories. For our Breakfast Blend, Assam, and Assam CTC, we cultivate directly without going through auctions, importing only the appropriate amount for the current year.

Most Indian teas, like those from Sri Lanka, are distributed through auctions, similar to other agricultural products, both domestically and internationally. Each company selects quantities based on tasting and requirements. In the case of Darjeeling, large-scale cultivation in mountainous areas is challenging, so we purchase the necessary quantity from auctions. All Indian teas are evaluated by a taster with 22 years of experience.

During our visit to India for discussions on black tea, we recorded our visit to the sixth plantation with the manager. For our international sales efforts, we are engaged in activities such as trademark applications for LOEYTEA, participating in exhibitions, and developing our YouTube channel and Amazon store. We aim to provide meaningful content on YouTube, including field trip footage, reflecting our past experience as a documentary producer.

We captured the manufacturing process of black tea and scenes from the tea fields, which were truly beautiful and pure.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our customers who consistently choose and support us. Thank you.

by loeytea

2024 World Tea Exhibition, Las Vegas, USA

25 March, 2024

We recently participated in the 2024 World Tea Exhibition in Las Vegas, which offered an excellent opportunity for emerging brands like ours to connect with a variety of consumers and industry professionals in the US.

During the event, we showcased prototypes of our existing products, and the response from visitors was overwhelmingly positive. Encouraged by this feedback, we’re preparing to launch an Amazon Store to better serve the needs of our international customers.

One of the highlights was the chance to interact with neighboring booths from India, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. These connections blossomed into valuable friendships, and we’re even planning a trip to India in April to meet with our existing partners and explore collaboration opportunities with our new friends for crafting our masala chai.

We’re thankful to all the visitors who showed interest in our offerings during the exhibition. Looking forward, we have ambitious plans for future exhibitions. While we’re considering having a booth at the 2025 event in Japan, we’re also exploring opportunities in other Western countries like SIAL or even considering returning to Las Vegas.

by loeytea

LOEY’s Earl Grey

06 March, 2024

Hello, I’m David, the founder. When it comes to Earl Grey, I have to talk about the story that marks the very beginning. I spent my twenties exploring three different paths: fashion design, band vocals, and documentary production. In my early thirties, I entered the food industry, starting in Eastern Europe, moving to Australia, and returning to Korea. I managed international food brands in Korea for a significant period. Throughout my life journey, I traveled extensively, visited numerous places, and met many people.

Approaching the latter part of my thirties, I finally embarked on the business I had been preparing for a long time. I secured a small office space—a place with nothing, extremely small and cold. Choosing tea from the diverse forms of food was due to its universal appeal worldwide. If I were to create a tea company, the most crucial element would be Earl Grey.

Having enjoyed tea during my travels, it was essential to have a unique, high-quality, yet typical Earl Grey. To achieve this, I conducted extensive research and traveled extensively. I believed that starting would be challenging if we couldn’t offer a good Earl Grey.

Tea was a field unfamiliar to me, and there were no acquaintances or known companies. It was a challenging environment compared to existing companies. However, I was a well-trained, familiar person starting with nothing. Starting without knowledge might require paying tuition through trial and error, but the advantage was having no preconceptions.

Above all, we aimed for our Earl Grey to be smooth. Not too intense, with a softness and a distinctive scent beyond just bergamot, distinguishing it from other brands and being memorable. So, I sought Sri Lankan tea and wanted a partner who could handle substantial quantities for the future. Tea is a collaborative industry worldwide, where major origins mix and products traverse the globe like one body. However, even in my thoughts, it seemed impossible.

During various trials, I visited a food exhibition, not specifically for tea. There, I encountered a booth of a Sri Lankan tea company. The exhibition wasn’t tea-focused, and they seemed to have little to do. I greeted them, shared my background, preparation process, and future plans. They were one of the top companies there at the request of the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Later, I found out that they had come to that place only once. I was deeply impressed by their humble and sincere attitude and the quality of their tea.

After several journeys to Sri Lanka, they dedicated efforts to create the Earl Grey I desired. The scent of Earl Grey we have today, emitting a silent sigh when the lid is opened, was finally completed. Clayton Tea’s unique Earl Grey. Now, we’re ready to start. I had the confidence to begin. Despite ongoing challenges, those joyous moments propel us forward.

Every Earl Grey product from Clayton Tea company features the same tea leaf, and LOEY follows the same principle. This is the story of how we crafted our Earl Grey. When I inhale the aroma, it takes me back to those days, evoking not just a delightful flavor but cherished memories as well.

by loeytea

Our Commitment to Sustainable Practices in Tea Packaging

Observing the plight of polar bears dwindling due to melting ice, witnessing the annual temperature shifts, and making efforts for the environment are now considered natural for everyone. Simple actions in our daily lives can make a significant impact. Choosing not to use one or two items that won’t decompose, whether it’s ten people, a hundred people, or even 1% of the population of each country, can lead to substantial change.

In our tea business, sensitivity to storage conditions and humidity led us to use sealed packaging, often in the form of plastic bags. One effort we made was to eliminate a machine—one that individually wrapped each tea bag in a plastic pouch. While every production day may not be perfect, sometimes, many plastic wrappings end up as waste. Even products produced normally can be torn open by customers and eventually accumulate somewhere. We got rid of that packaging method.

Of course, complete freedom from plastic bags may not be achievable. Though we explored paper-based bags, we couldn’t find a perfect solution that guaranteed shelf life. Efforts to place multiple tea bags in one bag, minimizing printing, and using filters made of PLA (corn-based) have become routine. It’s not entirely corn, but it’s undoubtedly a better choice than nylon.

Launching LOEY TEA, we spent a long time contemplating the packaging type. To maintain consistency with our existing business identity, we kept the blue color while aiming to create a sustainable form for the future. Thus, we opted for aluminum with minimal labeling—a sealed aluminum cap. Its design embodies a modern texture and form, reflecting our intentions toward contemporary individuals.

While using PE Pack for the bag, we also commit to minimizing printing or diverse usage. If a better option arises, we’ll gladly make the switch. Although there are large aluminum cans available, the issues of deformation during transport and potential price increases due to rising packaging costs may arise. The key point is not to linger on environmental concerns in documentaries but to execute what can be done now.

LOEYTEA Love&Obey LOEYTEA embodies the essence of genuine quality tea infused with a spirit of 'gift'.

A Tea Sampler That Shares the Warm Stories of Neighbors

Blessing Neighbors

Shaping Neighbors

Modern Neighbors

New York Red Brick

Gallery, Art in Life

Neighbors 01