I was born and raised in Ipoh, the fourth largest city in Malaysia. Ipoh is famous for its limestone caves and traditional ethnic foods from Southeast Asia, China and India. As my grandparents were originally from China, I am exposed to Chinese culture from young, and quality tea has always been a part of my life. I am always amazed by the history and art behind tea.

I came to the United States in December 2003 to pursue my tertiary education. I received a B.S. at UCSD and a M.S. in Molecular Biology at UCSF. During this period of time, I was focused on climbing the academic ladder as a research scientist. However, I knew deep inside my heart that I was just following a scripted life path that was written for me by others.

Living in the Bay Area is a turning point for me. The diversity, warmth and open-mindedness of the populace have been an eye-opening experience for me. I started to realize that I have neglected the needs of my mind, body and soul. This is also when I met my co-founder, Yshel Lok. Both of us are passionate about tea and art. Tea has always been the way for us to slow down, contemplate and relax. Unlike Malaysia, quality tea is not easily accessible in the Bay Area, and most people are still not familiar with the rich culture and fine craftsmanship behind tea. We both feel that we can use tea and art to help people to nourish their souls. As such, we founded Fabula Tea together to foster a collaboration between art and tea that encourages people to rediscover the art of living through awakening the senses.

At Fabula Tea, we offer high-grade loose-leaf teas from Asia that are beautifully packaged in designer tea canisters. We bring together in one place the ancient traditions of tea ceremony, storytelling and art appreciation. Our mindfully sourced teas and tea canisters capture the essence of fine tea craftsmanship – unifying its restorative powers with inspirational works of art. Each product tells a unique story through the artwork on the label and the origins of tea discovered within. This is why we use the word “Fabula”, which is a Latin word for fable.

Fabula Tea was born of a deep inquiry. As we continue to march down the road filled with increasingly powerful ideas and technologies, have we started to lose touch with our own body and neglected the needs of our minds and souls? In other words, are we doing anything to keep ourselves sustainable? This contemplation led us to rediscover the forgotten time where tea and art were celebrated and appreciated for their healing powers.

We invite you to wander in the landscape of exquisite tastes and aromas. We believe that our tea line can inspire people to live beautifully and sustainably. When you take a sip of our teas, you will feel your senses reawakened and your soul rejuvenated…

This Kiva Zip loan will be used to build our online presence and boost our marketing efforts. We have been working with different local artists and a designer to design our website and blog. We will be hiring a professional videographer and WordPress developer to complete the development. This will cost about $3000. We also plan to allocate $3000 on featuring different local artists and offering more tea tasting events. Besides gaining exposure for our brand, this will allow the talents and stories of various local artists to be seen and heard, and enable us to continue to continue to give back to the community.

We will also allocate $4000 on inventory purchases, which include purchasing high-quality traditionally crafted teas and herbs, as well as packaging materials that enable our brand and beautiful artworks to be featured. Having sufficient funds for inventory will allow us to continue to source for teas and herbs of the highest quality from the best private reserve cultivars. Since most of our teas are handcrafted in small batches by very experienced tea masters, your support will allow us to continue to feature and revive centuries-old tea craftsmanship, some of which are in the danger of dying. Such rare teas will always have outstanding aromas and flavors without the need for additional flavorings or any other additives. Our goal is to bring the finest teas and purest herbs to the local people and market.

By supporting and/or sharing our Kiva Zip 0% interest loan campaign, you are not only supporting us, but also supporting local artists, traditional craftsmen, farmers and tea masters.