Hi, I'm Mike.
I’m a growth marketer with a decade of experience and a tea nerd who writes on the internet.
In my writing, I explore how to live a more meaningful life by relying on the lessons of the ancient tea masters.
I love all tea, but I’m also a student of the Urasenke School of chanoyu (frequently called “Japanese tea ceremony”), which is a great source of learning and wisdom for me.
In my tea-inspired newsletter, I try to provide interesting and insightful writing from myself and others that are best enjoyed over a cup (or more) of tea.
What I'm thinking about right now:
- How to live a more meaningful and connected life through the lens of the Japanese Way of Tea, known as “chadō” or “sadō”. For the ancient Japanese, practicing daily arts such as tea, calligraphy, flower arranging, poetry, and more offered a practical path towards self-actualization and enlightenment. As a student of these traditions, I’m fascinated by the ideas driving them and how they can be adapted and applied in our modern lives.
- How practices such as tea can become a part of a foundation of inner peace that guides us through life’s ups and downs. The world was already chaotic before a global pandemic came along and made things worse. In this modern age, I believe simple life practices such as tea can keep us grounded and stable.
- How connection with our intuition can balance our minds in an age where many of us suffer from information overwhelm. Unfortunately, I believe I and many others like me never learned how to rely on and cultivate our intuition. We’re supposed to think our way through all problems, never realizing there is an incredibly powerful source of knowledge and wisdom hidden below the surface of our waking mind–the intuition. I’m trying to strengthen the connection to my inner self and share what I’ve learned with others.
Some of my best writing:
- Do We Have Enough Yet? – A reflection on the idea of “normal” since the pandemic began.
- Wait For Good Tea – How impatient consumers sacrifice quality for convenience.
- How Tea Makes Time Real – When the world stopped, time didn’t.
- The Essential Guide to Tea in San Francisco – A brief overview of every Bay Area tea spot worth visiting.
- The Complete Guide to Matcha – Almost everything I could think of about matcha in one spot.