My next guest, Steve Schwartz, is a Master Tea Blender and the Founder of Art of Tea, a hand-crafted tea purveyor based in Los Angeles. At Art of Tea, Steve applies his background in ayurveda, initially cultivated during his time studying at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico, to the creation of award-winning blends that showcase his passion for the alchemy of combining herbs and botanicals.
Schwartz was originally drawn to the field after his mom died of cancer when he was 19-years-old. He became fascinated with Eastern and preventative medicine as an alternative to Western medicine that failed to save his mom. Following his tenure at the Ayurvedic Institute, Schwartz traveled the world to meet with farmers in Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East to broaden his knowledge of tea, and learn how climate and terroir impacts its expression and flavor. While he didn’t initially plan to start a tea company, after settling back in his hometown of Los Angeles, he began experimenting with blending different teas and botanicals in his living room. He developed an underground following and started making custom formulations for chefs such as Wolfgang Puck while also teaching others the art of blending.
Steve’s drive and passion for expanding people’s knowledge of the history of tea has cultivated relationships with brands, acclaimed chefs and restaurants such as Google, Vera Wang, #Slack, The Peninsula Hotels, Huntington Gardens, Wolfgang Puck, Adam Perry Lang, Rustic Canyon Group, Craft Los Angeles and more.
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