About
I come by both my love of tea and my love of spirits honestly.
When I think back on my youth, some of my fondest memories revolve around the joyous times I spent with the two most influential people in my life - my mother and my late paternal grandfather.
My mother and I would sit at our dinner table drinking large pots of delicious Assamese black tea. We would talk about how our day went, share laughs until our sides hurt, or simply revel quietly in the warmth of the moment. Tea became inextricably linked with these happy times, and steadily grew into an immense passion over the following years.
Then there were the all-too-brief times I spent with my late paternal grandfather, a classic Italian gentleman with a heart of gold who taught me so much about life, though I was too young then to realize just how much. He exemplified spirit in every sense of the word, from his vibrant personality to the bootleg still in his cellar with which he made what remains to this day the best grappa I've ever tasted.
While I carried - and still carry - these formative experiences with me, it was not until a conversation with a friend a few years ago that The Spirit of Tea began to take shape.
"You love tea. You love spirits. Why not combine them?", she asked.
Of course!
It was so logical. Some of the best things in life have arisen from the combination of what would at first seem disparate elements - peanut butter and jelly; movies and popcorn; Simon and Garfunkel… So why not tea and spirits?
With those simple words, what would become The Spirit of Tea was set in motion.
Over the next couple years, we worked on putting together a business plan, securing funding, refining recipes, and finding a partner distillery to help realize the vision.
At last, that vision became a reality in November 2017 when we released our first two products - Vanilla Rooibos Liqueur and Earl Grey Black Tea-infused Gin - in collaboration with Anderson Distilleries of Burnaby, BC.
At The Spirit of Tea, our goal is not simply to create delicious, innovative, and exciting spirits, but to be an accompaniment to the fun, convivial times we share with those closest to us; to further enhance those precious moments we will look back on in future years, hearts aglow with nostalgia.
We hope you enjoy our spirits!
Del Tamborini
Founder, The Spirit of Tea