Ruth's Tea House

09/13/2026

A little Ruth’s Tea House update 🫖

Things are starting to come together, and I wanted to bring you all along for a little behind-the-scenes update.

We’ve officially locked in the dates for our first TWO Ruth’s Tea House Pop-Up Experiences this October! 🥹

Our website is officially about halfway finished, product photos are being taken, and we’re getting closer and closer to finally showing you everything we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

And very soon, we’ll begin introducing you to our collections AND the teas inside them. 👀

There has been so much happening quietly in the background—testing, planning, creating, photographing, building the website, preparing for our pop-ups—and it’s exciting to finally be at the point where we can start sharing more of it with you.

We’re building Ruth’s Tea House one step at a time, and I’m so grateful that you all are here to watch it grow.

October is going to be a special month. 🤎

Pop-up dates, collection reveals, tea reveals and more coming VERY soon.

09/12/2026

Look what Fiona surprised us with this time! 🥹

You may remember a few weeks ago when I shared the beautiful tea sets that Fiona so generously passed along to Ruth's Tea House before she and her husband move.

Well... she wasn't finished. 😂

She told me she had some teapots in storage that she wanted us to have too, and today we received 9 of them!
And when I tell you they all have their own personality... look at this one! 😍 A little house teapot?! I absolutely love it.

One of the things I'm most excited about with our pop-up experiences is that everything doesn't have to perfectly match. I want the tables to feel collected, cozy and full of character—like pieces that have stories behind them. These fit that vision beautifully.

Fiona, thank you AGAIN for being so incredibly generous to us. It means more than you know, and I can't wait to see these teapots sitting on our tables and being used by our guests.

And I'm still holding you to coming to one of our pop-ups before you and your husband move! 🤎

09/10/2026

STEEPED IN HISTORY THURSDAY 🫖

Last time, we talked about tea's ancient roots in China.

But have you ever wondered how tea went from being enjoyed in one part of the world to becoming one of the most popular drinks on the planet?

Because tea definitely didn't stay in China.

Tea spread throughout East Asia over centuries. It reached Japan, where Buddhist monks played an important role in its early history and tea eventually became deeply connected to Japanese culture and ceremony.

Centuries later, European merchants encountered tea through trade with Asia.

By the 1600s, tea was making its way into Europe and it wasn't exactly an everyday grocery-store purchase. It was imported, expensive and initially something mostly enjoyed by people who could afford it.

Tea became especially fashionable in Britain during the 17th century. As demand grew, so did the global tea trade.

But there's a much more complicated side to that story.

European demand for tea became tied to colonialism, taxation, smuggling and enormous trading companies. Britain eventually expanded tea cultivation in places like India and Sri Lanka, dramatically changing the global tea industry.

Tea even played a part in American history.

Remember the Boston Tea Party of 1773?

That wasn't a cute little tea party. 😂 Colonists dumped shipments of tea into Boston Harbor while protesting British taxation and control.

So this little leaf has been involved in trade, traditions, politics, protest and even empire.

And as tea traveled, different cultures made it their own; creating their own ways of preparing, serving and gathering around it.

That's one of my favorite things about tea.

One plant. So many cultures. So many stories.

And we're just getting started.

09/08/2026

🌼 Tea Tuesday: Let’s Talk Chamomile!

Today we're talking about one you probably already know … chamomile.

I know what some of y'all are thinking: "That's the sleepy tea". And yes, chamomile is probably best known for being a relaxing bedtime tea, but there's a little more to this tiny flower.

So let's learn about it ...

Chamomile is a small, daisy-like flower that has been used for centuries in herbal traditions. When steeped, it creates a naturally caffeine-free tea with a gentle, slightly sweet and almost apple-like flavor.

Chamomile contains natural plant compounds, including antioxidants, and has traditionally been enjoyed for:
🌿Relaxation and winding down
🌿Supporting restful sleep
🌿 Digestive comfort
🌿 A soothing, caffeine-free cup any time of day

And chamomile doesn't have to be your typical plain bedtime tea either.
It pairs beautifully with lavender, apple, cinnamon, lemon balm, rose, mint and rooibos. Depending on what you pair it with, it can go from light and floral to warm and cozy.

That's one of the reasons I love learning about herbs individually. Once you understand what each ingredient brings to the cup, you start to understand how much thought can go into creating a blend.

And who knows … you might want to remember some of the herbs we've been talking about on Tea Tuesdays. 👀
That's all I'm saying for now. 😂

Is chamomile already in your tea cabinet, or is it one you've never really given a chance?

09/07/2026

If you’ve been wondering what we’ve been doing behind the scenes lately … a whole lot of this. 🍵

For the past few weeks, we’ve been researching suppliers, learning more about matcha, comparing quality, and most importantly—testing and tasting. A LOT.

We knew we wanted to offer matcha at Ruth’s Tea House, but we didn’t want to choose just anything and put it on our shelves. We wanted something we genuinely enjoyed and would feel confident serving and selling to you.

And after weeks of searching, we finally found the one.

We’ll officially be adding organic café-grade matcha to the Ruth’s Tea House shop! 💚

We’ve tested it different ways, including preparing it traditionally and making iced matcha lattes, and we’re really happy with the flavor, color, and versatility.

One thing I’ve learned while rebuilding Ruth’s Tea House is that I’d rather take my time and get something right than rush just to say we have it. Every product we add is something we’ve researched, tested, tasted, and intentionally chosen.

So this is another little behind-the-scenes moment that feels like a pretty big win.
Matcha is coming to Ruth’s Tea House!

Now tell me, how do you like your matcha? Hot, iced, straight, sweetened, or in a latte?

09/05/2026

Okay… it’s starting to feel REAL. 🥹

Ruth’s Tea House officially has a home on the internet.

Our website isn’t open for shopping just yet, but our Coming Soon page is LIVE — and you can now sign up to be the first to know when we officially open.

There’s been so much happening behind the scenes lately. Building the website, finalizing our teas, figuring out packaging, preparing for pop-ups, working with local businesses, and slowly watching this vision come together piece by piece.

Ruth’s Tea House is becoming exactly what I hoped it would be: tea inspired by memory, culture & comfort, rooted in storytelling and community.

And we’re just getting started.

If you’ve been following this journey, cheering us on, sharing our posts, commenting, or simply waiting patiently to see what we’ve been brewing — thank you. It truly means more than you know.

✨ Visit ruthsteahouse.com and hit “Keep me posted” to join the list.

Something is brewing… and soon, you’ll finally get to taste it.

09/03/2026

STEEPED IN HISTORY THURSDAY 🫖

We talked about afternoon tea last week, but tea's story started LONG before fancy china, finger sandwiches and British tea parties.

We're talking thousands of years before!

According to Chinese legend, tea was discovered around 2737 BCE by Emperor Shennong, a legendary figure associated with agriculture and medicinal plants.

The story says Shennong was boiling water when leaves from a nearby tea plant accidentally blew into his pot. Instead of throwing it out — because apparently he was a lot more adventurous than some of us 😂 — he tasted it.

And according to the legend, that's how the first cup of tea was born.

Now, is that exactly how tea was discovered?

We don't actually know.

Shennong's story is a legend, not something historians can confirm happened in 2737 BCE. But it has been told for centuries and has become an important part of tea's cultural history.

What we DO know is that tea has incredibly deep roots in China.

Tea was used and consumed there long before it became the everyday drink we recognize today. Over centuries, the ways people prepared and enjoyed it changed. Tea went from something valued for its properties to an everyday beverage, an art form and an important part of social and cultural life.

Eventually, tea traveled beyond China and became part of cultures around the world with each developing their own traditions around the same little leaf.

And here's another fun fact:

Black tea, green tea, white tea and oolong all come from the SAME plant; Camellia sinensis.

It's how the leaves are grown, harvested and processed that helps create the very different teas we know today.

So before tea became afternoon tea in England ..

Before the tea bag ..

And LONG before we could walk into a store and choose from an entire wall of tea ..

There was a little leaf with a very long story.

09/01/2026

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉 Kris Simmons-Newman, Patte Weber

09/01/2026

🌼 Tea Tuesday: Let’s Talk Calendula!
This week we're talking about an herb you may recognize by sight but not necessarily by name: calendula.
Calendula, sometimes called pot marigold, has beautiful golden-orange petals and has been used for centuries in traditional herbal practices, teas, cooking and skincare.
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Calendula has a mild, slightly earthy flavor with a little bitterness and a subtle peppery note. Because it isn't overpowering, it blends well without taking over the entire cup.
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Calendula naturally contains plant compounds including antioxidants like flavonoids and carotenoids. It's traditionally been used for general wellness and is probably especially well known for its use in skincare.
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For tea blending, it pairs beautifully with chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, mint, ginger and rosehips.
And let's be real… those golden petals also make a loose-leaf blend BEAUTIFUL. Sometimes an ingredient brings flavor, sometimes aroma, sometimes color—and sometimes a little of everything.
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That's what Tea Tuesday is about: learning what's actually in our cup and why it's there.

Have you heard of calendula before? Did you know you could drink it as tea?

09/01/2026

This is so surreal!

Thank you for the opportunity to be able to interview with you! This article is beautifully written! 💕

Here's the link to the article:

https://cumberlink.com/news/local/business/article_62f46764-c8cf-4902-aa8f-a040394ceedf.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_The_Sentinel_Newspaper&fbclid=Iwb21leAUEGV1jbGNrBQQZV3Bkb2YBZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeEVFa8LAaCf8FwAAU3O1vSkie6rJBuW-7uTx0Q3qD6ezpbNTspTaRVgczweM_aem_idhdZyFu_9-gCRHxduD_Fg

While plans for a permanent space fell through, Ruth's Tea House is planning its first pop-up event in October featuring three signature collections. ⤵️ Find a link to the story in the comments.