About Us
Founded in 2011
Tea Urchin was founded in 2011 by Eugene & Belle, a husband and wife team from Shanghai, China. Eugene & Belle launched Tea Urchin to share their love of Chinese tea with the world. Eugene is a pu'er collector and Belle is a Government accredited expert in tea grading & tea ceremony. Together, they travel around Yunnan, China, searching for great tea, made by small workshops or individual farmers, and help them reach an international market. Tea Urchin also produces it's own brand of pu'er tea, called “Cha Ren” (茶仁 which means “tea compassion”), hand crafted in the traditional method, in remote mountain villages. We work with the same trusted tea-makers each year, so you can compare different harvests and do a vertical tasting. You can meet our producers & follow our tea adventures on our Tea Urchin blog and Facebook page.
Tea Urchin was always a labor of love, but is now very much a hobby rather than a business. We both work other jobs, as well as raising our family, but we still want to share our tea collection with friends around the world. So feel free to order, but please understand if we take a few days to get back to you. Also, China Post & EMS no longer ship tea internationally, so we use a private courier who consolidates shipments and ships via sea freight. This means we can't provide you with a tracking number until your parcel reaches the destination country, which can take 4-6 weeks, sometimes longer. So whilst we offer some rare aged tea at a great price, you will need to be patient! And if shipping to USA, please note import tariffs charged on entry into USA will be your responsibility to pay.
From China with love,
