“The founders of Three Gems, Us Two, and Alaya find themselves uniquely positioned to do business differently by establishing direct relationships with farmers. "Esha and I both speak Hindi and have worked in India before, and that familiarity with culture and customs has been enormously beneficial in working with folks on the ground,” says Satiani, who spent childhood summers in India and Pakistan. Sourcing their black and green teas directly from growers in Assam and Darjeeling ensures that they’re buying high-quality leaves that haven’t been languishing in a broker’s warehouse for months. And without several layers of middlemen, profits go straight into farmers’ pockets.”

Update April 6th, 2021:

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/the-qi-lisa-li-favorite-teas.html?omnisendAttributionID=email_campaign_606b86d8c5e84a2e2218219e&omnisendContactID=600df0b24572ea474668057a&utm_campaign=campaign%3A+NY+Mag+%28606b86d8c5e84a2e2218219e%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=omnisend