In Response to Tariffs

In the past week, we have received many emails asking about all the new tariffs. To be honest, we don’t know anything more than anyone else. But we are very grateful for your concern!

At this moment, we are taking it one day at a time as we don't know what will happen. It looks like Taiwanese tea will be spared the absurd tariff increase for now, but even still the cost of administrative fees (inspection fees, associated shipping fees) is unknown. There is no clear plan as to how any of this will be implemented. Who knows what will happen with Chinese teas. We are stressed due to the uncertainty.

However, we want to make this point very clear : We are in this together. We want you to know that no matter how much the tariff is going to be, we will share the cost with you. We will not push all of the cost onto our customers. When the tariffs do start affecting our costs, prices will have to go up but we will take the hit along with you so it’s not so shocking. The ultra wealthy are playing games with our lives, but it’s imperative that through these challenges we look out for each other.

With thinner margins, there are ways you could help us balance out our budget too. Operational costs have continued to rise with inflation. Here are some ways that you can help us:

If you order small quantities of tea every one or two weeks, please consider bundling your orders into one larger order less often. Each electronic transaction costs us a base fee on top of the percentage charge. Also we will save on boxes, paper, shipping labels ect. as well as our time.

Also, if you live locally, please consider coming by to pick up your tea. Once again, we can save on boxes, paper, shipping costs. What’s more, if when you come to the shop you can pay in cash, which will save us the credit card transaction fee altogether.

When we feel stressed with these uncertain times, we are grateful for our tea practice. Tea brewing and drinking requires us to quiet down and just be with the tea in that moment. I hope when you are sipping tea, you can allow tea to help you to find the quiet and peaceful place in your mind. 

We want to thank you for supporting us and we want to thank the tea farmers and tea producers we work with. We are grateful for the opportunity to exist in this position, bringing their beautiful work to you. We really are all so much more connected than we imagine.

With Love,

Floating Leaves Tea