Live Tea, Experience Life

Arguably, there are but a few other beverages on this planet that can boast about the healing, soothing and all around pleasure bringing qualities as tea. Tea is generally thought to have been accidentally discovered in 2737 BC by the servants of Chinese Emperor Chen Nung. For the past 5,000 years tea has been well steeped in both mythological and documented history. Its Asiatic roots have enriched the lives of both royalty and common man alike.

Keeping the tradition and lifestyle of tea alive is Ms. Naja Hayward. Her company, Naja Tea is set and poised to make tea even more of a staple than what it is today. The recently launched company imports the finest and some of the most exclusive teas available directly from Asia. Naja's love affair with the leaf began when she was a young girl of seven years old, when her grandmother would prepare a cup of chamomile tea for her every morning. As Naja came into womanhood and began to travel the word, her love affair with the beverage increased. "I started to see that where there was tea, there was laughter, where there was tea there was intellectual stimulation, where there was tea, there was love and delight," states Naja.

While on a business trip in Boston in 2003, Naja walked into a modern but quaint tea bar. Her experience that day forever changed her and it was then that she came to realize that Naja Tea had to be born. "I realized that I could have my tea and drink it too that day, the environment the energy and the well prepared tea was everything I had ever dreamed of and nothing I had ever experienced," says the mother of one.

Upon returning to her home in Los Angeles, Naja quickly assembled an advisory team and began laying the ground work for what would become a two year development journey. When asked how she came up with the name Naja states, " I was never really into companies that had the persons name in it, i.e. Sallies Salon, but when it came to my name and what I wanted to build, it just seemed to make sense. My name means celebration of the spirit, which I thought was a good fit for a tea company."

The energy and excitement that Naja exudes is almost palpable. For many, starting a business is simply a means to an end, but for Naja it is a means to her passion. She sees her company becoming one of the big players in the world of tea and would love to expand into health and wellness and a lifestyle company. " I really want to stick with tea based products, because I think that it is important to stay focused, but I would eventually like to have things like tea cookies and tea chocolates and have an entire Naja Tea line," states Naja.

One important component Naja wants for her company is for it to be fun and too serious, stating, "I want there to be a balance between fun and light and eloquent and sophisticated, I don't want to tip the scale on either side." This philosophy is easily seen through her packaging, labeling and all around attitude about the company. "I want people to identify with my brand. Like wine, people have become so intimidated by tea, because there is so much to learn and know about it. It doesn't have to be a process, where people are afraid of getting it wrong, there is no right or wrong, tea is personal," says Naja.

Currently the market for tea is quite competitive, with franchises like Starbucks, Pete's Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea leaf, it can be hard to stay afloat. That is why Naja makes sure the quality of her product is second to none and sells loose leaf teas as opposed to tea in a bag. "People have gotten use to buying tea bags and when you buy a tea bagged you are basically getting the dust of tea. The experience of our tea is that not only do they smell delicious and taste wonderful, you are dealing with all of your senses with our tea. Even visually, you are looking at a beautiful tea. We also have some fun unique blends that you will not be able to find anywhere else," states Naja. In addition to having single origin teas, Naja tea's have everyday ingredients that people love such as chocolate, vanilla and coconut.

Like many people in her position, Naja loves to give advice for other young entrepreneurs wanting to start their own business. One key element for Naja's success was the advisory board she created early on. "Having an advisory board was imperative to my business. I have started others businesses in the past and I did all of the work on my own, I told myself I would never do that again. There is really no way growing a successful business when you are going at it alone. You have to bring people in that are better than you and that is exactly what I did," Naja says.

Naja's past business experience has been quite instrumental in her success and has allowed her to see what not to do. As is often the case, the road to reaching your goals can be difficult to navigate. For people launching their company Naja states "Plan, but don't over plan. Create a plan and put together a team of people you trust, so that you can bounce ideas off of them. The most important thing is to just do it, don't over think it, don't over talk it and don't over plan it - start it! I could have easily talked my idea for tea to death, but at some point I had to just do it.

Although Naja has seen a good amount of success with her company, she has not been immune to some of the challenges that medium size business often face. Of course, there is always the financial issues that arise, but Naja has been able to overcome this potential pitfall by creatively staffing her company with interns.

Aside from the basic challenges that the company faces, there are also obstacles that are specific to the tea industry as well." There is so much to know and a lot to keep up with, especially when you take into consideration that tea is the number two beverage (water is number one) in the world. I have to constantly educate myself with tea as a commodity and because it is such a global industry, I have to keep up with all the changes that are happening," states Naja.

With people like Oprah Winfrey and health experts touting the benefits of tea, the industry is sure to grow at a breakneck pace. Its accessibility and vogue status make it a product to be reckoned with. Naja excitedly adds, "There is so much you can do with tea, like tea cocktails, teal lattes and tea fusions, that now it has become this huge popular thing to do. You have tea lounges popping up across the country every single day. Tea lounges are growing at a rate of 20% a year, so I am quite excited about the growth potential for my industry."

As far as the future is concerned, Naja would love to see her company grow, stating, "As we grow I don't want to see our customer service compromised. I want to bring on additional staff, but I don't want to grow too fast. I want to be progressive, but for it to make sense at the same time."

Five thousand years removed from its accidental discovery, tea continues to have a major influence and impact on the world. From the health benefits to simply enjoying the taste, tea will continue to enrich lives across the globe. As the industry benefits from the tea phenomenon, Naja will always stay true to why she started her company stating, "When you buy tea from me, you're not just buying product, you are buying an experience and a story."

If you would like more information on Naja Tea, please visit the website at www.najatea.com or you may email at info@najatea.com

Brian J. Murphy is a freelance writer residing in Long Beach, CA
Email: shoot4moon2000@yahoo.com