True Tea and the Art of Stillness in a Cup

A tea that travels the world to make you feel more at home.

Tea doesn’t push. It doesn’t hurry. And maybe that’s the whole reason we need it.

There’s something about it—a good cup, steeped slowly—that rearranges your day without ever asking you to sit down and make a plan. You pause, and somehow the room feels different. Not louder, not quieter, just… a little softer around the edges.

That’s what True Tea brings to Eli Jo.

It’s not just a supplier—we’ve never really liked that word anyway—it’s more like we found someone who sees the world the same crooked, beautiful way we do. The woman behind True Tea travels the globe with a kind of wide-eyed reverence. She walks the fields. She touches the soil. She talks to the farmers who still hand-pick leaves with stories folded into their palms. And then she brings those leaves back to Portland, quietly, as if they’re gifts.

Honestly, they are.

Rooted in Curiosity, Steeped in Intention

When we met her, there was no pitch. Just this calm steadiness. Like she already knew what she wanted tea to be—and it wasn’t a product. It was a moment. A gentle interruption. The kind of thing you don’t realize you’ve been needing until it’s already in your hands.

We carry several of her blends here at Eli Jo. Floral. Earthy. A few that feel like the first page of a book you forgot you loved. None of them are trying to impress you. They don’t need to. They just arrive, do their work quietly, and ask for nothing in return.

Which, let’s be honest, is a bit rare these days.

Ritual > Routine

We believe in ritual here. Not the big, showy kind. The quieter one. The kind that sneaks up on you in the middle of the week. Lighting a candle. Folding the same sweatshirt just right. Pouring hot water over leaves and waiting—actually waiting—for the flavor to come through.

True Tea makes that kind of waiting worth it.

Tea, in this way, becomes a soft place to land. Not just a beverage, but a rhythm. A container for the thoughts you haven’t quite caught up with yet.

A Quiet Power

Portland has a lot of bold voices. We’re grateful for them. But sometimes, the strongest thing in the room is the one that doesn’t need to prove anything.

True Tea is that voice. Steady. Certain. Gentle, but with backbone.

Which is probably why it fits so well here. Because Eli Jo isn’t about volume—it’s about presence. And this tea? It shows up the way we hope you’ll feel when you visit: grounded, calm, and still very much awake.

Learn more about True Tea: https://www.trueteapdx.com/