Jesse's Tea Orange Series
Hello Tea Friends,
Are you curious about the tea orange samplers that are part of our new subscription box? What makes them different from the tea oranges we’ve had in our shop until now? We’ve shared our timeline below so you can see just how much work has gone into getting these new tea oranges ready for everyone.
We hope you enjoy the read!
Making The Tea Orange Series: A Jesse’s Teahouse Timeline
October 2024 - After searching for months to find fully-made tea oranges that fit EU pesticide regulations and also use high quality tea, we decide to start developing our own. The team starts searching for farmers who grow to our quality standard.
January 2025 - We find Jie Ge and receive the first samples of empty organic tea oranges, proving that if we can source our own tea, we can make our own oranges.
April 2025 - Jesse and the whole JTH team fly to Xinhui village in Guangdong province to meet Jie Ge, see the farms, try the different oranges, and do taste testing to see which tea types match well with the citrus flavors. We also see the brand new clean room packaging facility Jie Ge has built just for our Tea Orange Series in order to register with the FDA and other relevant regulations.
July 2025 - With the help of Tian Zong, we select 11 different organic teas that we ship to Jie Ge for packaging. He packs the samples and ships them to Tian Zong in Changsha, Hunan Province.
August 2025 - Jesse and the JTH China team fly to Changsha, to meet with Tian Zong, visit local organic tea farms - some of whose teas are featured in this series - and taste test Jie Ge’s tea orange samples. Jesse and the team agree that we should make a five tea orange sampler and individual 10-packs of each.
September 2025 - Harvest Season! Our oranges are picked, scooped, dried, and packing begins!
November 2025 - Our custom packaging designs are completed, packaging samples approved, and final printed packages arrive in Xinhui to be filled.
Jie Ge contacts China Customs and begins the process of explaining how we will be the first people shipping EU-standard oranges to the EU and UK markets, and making sure Chinese Customs approves the unusual shipments.
December 2025 - Packing continues, we ship to the ports and begin the export processes.
January 2026 - Our tea boards trains, planes, ships and automobiles, on its way to our four warehouses in the USA, CA, EU, and UK! By importing directly, we avoid paying US tariffs outside of the USA.
February 2026 - Our Tea Orange Series launch month begins!
We hope this little snapshot of our work over the past year has you as excited for the new tea oranges as we are! Wondering when you can try some? Head on over to our Launch Month Blog for all the latest updates on your region.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the team at teafriendsupport@jessesteahouse.com and we’ll be happy to help you out.