Meet the Maker - The Tea Crowd

Meet Jodie Millhouse who is  the brains and spunk behind The Tea Crowd!



Using all natural and organic herbs, fruits and tea leaves the blends are done in small batches to get maximum freshness and yummy taste! 


The Tea Crowd has a range of black, green and herbal hand blended loose leaf teas. The teas and tisanes are created from real ingredients with good vibes and great taste in mind. No fake flavourings – "we’re all about the good stuff!".
When asked what sparked her creativity and journey into tea, Jodie has what seems like an endless amount of reasoning - but boils it down to an absolute love of tea!!! "I love tea – like really LOVE tea! I stopped drinking coffee years ago due to issues with my digestive system and this really cemented my interest in tea for the taste and added health benefits." 
 
The Tea Crowd started officially trading in July 2017, perfect timing for Jodie. As a new mum who couldn’t have coffee Jodie needed something that could give her a little bit of a pick-me-up after a long night but also a way to steal a moment of relaxation on a crazy day. "I can’t go a day without it and playing with new ingredients and blends for The Tea Crowd gives me the perfect excuse to drink more! I also lived over in England for a while where tea is a massive part of their culture and it was hard not to get swept up in the euphoria." 
Before officially starting to trade in July 2017 there was a 6 month period of period of a lot of experimental blending, taste tests and getting the packaging design right. Since all that is now sorted Jodie's doing what she loves, getting in the kitchen and trying out new recipes – "it's where the fun part of being in business happens! I love getting feedback face to face at markets as well where you can chat to people immediately after tasting or smelling your tea. Quite often a market visitor will ask if you make a certain kind of tea or if there is a blend with a particular ingredient. I kind of log all these ideas away and when I feel like creating a new tea will draw on all of these experiences." 


The Tea Crowd is operated from Jodie’s home. ‘Like all food businesses have to be to operate, I am a Registered Food Business with my local council so have the luxury of being able to blend the tea whenever I feel like it right in my little kitchen.’ 
Loving being a part of the Perth business scene Jodie is quick to give shout outs to her fellow makers. "There are LOADS of amazing local makers and businesses that inspire me and its great to be immersed in such a supportive group locally. Katie from Delish Ice, Erica from Baked By Erica, Erin from Sparrow Soap, Tara from Ruby Lights, Claire from Claire Tincey Design - the list goes on! These small biz ladies all have personality and business traits that I admire and we can all learn so much from each other." 
Jodie has put a huge effort not only into her tea itself but her branding on what her product means to people. Whilst being creative and experimental when putting together a new blend she also gets to satisfy her marketing skills that she honed from her past careers. This is obvious when chatting with Jodie as she has an astute awareness that her product is something that people get to enjoy and wants to slowly build it to be a staple with a good following. "Tea drinking means different things to people - for some it's a way to relax and take a time out individually or a great ritual between friends to 'catch up over a cuppa' - and I would love for it to be my blends they choose to do that with."
                                    Where to find The Tea Crowd?

The Tea Crowd is available online at www.theteacrowd.com.au, for the rest of the year at Perth Makers Market and at the Vic Park Farmers Market the first Sunday of every month. 
Words of wisdom from this savvy Maker?

"Take the time to think things through rather than rushing a decision that may impact your business down the track.  Before creating a new product try to define who your ideal customer is and why it will appeal to them. This will help with everything from social media through to chatting with prospective customers at a market."