It all started in a cool summer afternoon in 2024 in my yearly visit back to China. My mom and I stepped into a tiny tea house in Dali, Yunnan at the end of our mom-daughter trip. We were invited to sit down and the owner brewed several kinds of Pu’er for us, teaching us how to observe the color, notice the aroma, and pay attention to the aftertaste. I remember thinking, “wow I’ve never had tea this good before.” No sugar, no milk, just the pure taste of the leaves. And immediately, I was thinking - I should share this with my friends in the US, the really good teas, and this magical ritual.

In 2025, after leaving my corporate job, I officially started my journey of teas. I spent four months traveling through China to understand tea more deeply. I visited tea farms and studios, stayed with a tea-making family in the Wuyi mountains, learned modern Chinese tea studies in Hangzhou, and hiked into ancient tea forests in Yunnan. Meeting growers, makers, their stories and the land itself reshaped how I see tea: not just as a drink, but as a living culture.

Leleforest was created from that journey. It is not just a tea studio—it’s a bridge between where I come from and the life I’m building here in LA. Through these teas, I hope to share stories that are less seen, connect people to nature and craft, and bring more curiosity and appreciation into everyday life. Every tea leaf travels a long, human path before it reaches your cup. Noticing that path is part of the joy.

-Scarlett