Today we’d like to introduce you to Maureen & Emilie

Hi Maureen & Emilie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

Our story began as a hypothetical. We’ve been friends for about 14 years and a constant shared interest of ours has always been our love of tea. We’ve identified as witches in some form or another for almost as long. It was a running joke for years that we should open a witchy-themed tea room. We day-dreamed names and imagined the kind of vibe of the space and what kind of teas we’d serve, but it always seemed out of the realm of possibility. And yet. One day over a cup of tea with our friend Cindy, we were discussing this hypothetical shop, and Cindy posed an intriguing question: Why not? We both had the skill set for it (Emilie is an artist and graphic designer, and Maureen has several years of tea industry experience), and more importantly we are ambitious. The only thing between us and this venture was our own hesitation. We decided it was time to take the plunge and really give this idea life. A bit of paperwork and a whole lot of meticulous tea sampling later, we opened our website doors. Currently we are stocked at 3 stores here in Salem, MA on top of the pop-up markets we frequent, and we ship across the U.S. from our website. This August we’ll be at our 2 year anniversary of starting our journey into the world of tea!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

A lot of things have fallen into place for us, but it hasn’t been without difficulties. Our biggest obstacle is balancing both our day jobs and our business. We work full time jobs in standard 9am-5pm fashion, and after we’re done with that workday our Midnight Teas(e) workday begins. Our market season can get crazy especially during October here in Salem, and December with all of the holiday markets on top of online orders. Juggling that volume of work can wear you down.

While we both come from families of small business owners we’ve had to learn a lot about the logistics of running a business on our own. We’ve had great resources made available to us to facilitate learning as well as support from local organizations, but learning how to run a business is like learning another language. It takes a lot of time and dedication to it.

We love what we do so it doesn’t always feel like work, but the time management and work/life balance is a delicate line to walk.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Midnight Teas(e) is an online and pop-up market-based loose leaf tea shop. Our teas, sourced in accordance with the Ethical Tea Partnership, are inspired by witchcraft and occult lore, each with its own unique blend of tea, fruit, flowers, and herbs. We are a woman, witch, LGBTQ+ owned business, and first-time business owners living in Salem, MA. Our brand is a reflection of our personalities: a blend of whimsy, goth aesthetic, and witchy identities. Our long term goal is to open a physical location here in Salem providing not only a tea room but a dry nightlife space serving alcohol-free tea-based drinks (we call them TeaTails), cultivating a space for local artists showcasing events such as drag and burlesque shows. We take a lot of pride in keeping fresh flavors in our collection, spending hours taste-testing to make sure our teas align with us as people and as a brand. We look for flavors that inspire us. Our packaging is also entirely done in house by Emilie, and is made of eco-friendly, recycling soft plastics. We do our best to not just make a positive impact on our customers, but lower our impact on the earth.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?

One of the best parts of Salem is the variety of people you encounter both during Halloween season and off of it. There are a ton of different characters around town, many of whom are local celebrities of sorts (like Goat Girl, our number one supporter, but also fellow business owners, artists, creators, etc). We also love the myriad of customers we encounter both local and otherwise. A lot of good energy travels through here; it’s hard to be in a bad mood when there’s so much magic happening around you. There’s also a huge presence of small business owners who know and support each other. There’s a lot of kindness in the community.

The least favorite part about Salem: Real Estate prices. Apartments, homes, retail space – Salem is the second most in-demand town in Massachusetts after Boston for retail space, and the rent is, as a wise man once said, too damn high.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.midnighttease.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midnightteasesalem/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midnightteas/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@midnightteasesalem