We were lucky to catch up with Christina Cowherd recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business
We have been so fortunate to have started our business in the most supportive, encouraging neighborhood and community! Even so, of course there have been some obstacles along the way.
The shutdown of 2020 was obviously very difficult for most restaurants and other businesses to keep afloat — we stayed open for takeout while our dining room was closed, but it wasn’t enough business to retain all of our incredible staff. So, we pivoted quickly (thanks to an idea our kids hatched while we were all swimming one evening) and launched the “Tea-P” local yard sign program. It really took off, and soon all of us were busy bees again, delivering not only a cute yard sign bearing loose-leaf tea and toilet paper, which was in very short supply at the time, but also smiles to people’s yards and doorsteps.
The idea really gained momentum, and people were wanting to send Tea-P packages to out-of-town friends and family, so we added a Tea-P box program, and the local news, Good Morning America and People magazine picked up the story. It was wild! Such a silver lining of Covid.
As the world slowly began to normalize and toilet paper was available again, one day the Tea-P orders stopped as suddenly as they had begun. So we morphed it into a tea box option that includes two bags of loose-leaf tea and a cute infuser mug.
We will always be grateful.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
We are an urban vegetarian teahouse with over 100 varieties of loose-leaf tea, since 2004. All of our teas can be made hot or iced, and we also carry fun coffee drinks and flavored lattes made with local Credo coffee.
We are best known for our spread of vegan and gluten-free pastries and pophearts. If you’re in the mood for a v/gf cupcake, popheart, or the best banana bread around, look no further!
All of our menu items can be made vegan at no extra charge,
We also enjoy featuring local artists, and inside our space you’ll find a well-curated gift shop displaying the works of local writers, artisans, artists, and other makers.
Our café was designed with the goal of providing a nurturing space good for the body, mind and spirit. We want people to be comfortable and stay a while.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
As we have grown, we have added a catering arm that not only hosts baby and bridal showers, birthday parties and afternoon teas in our cafe, but also caters off-site events. It’s a ton of fun, and we are so grateful for our team!
For a while in 2008, we had a second location downtown, and while it was a fantastic learning experience and a ton of fun, ultimately we were stretched too thin. We are very happy to focus on our one location in College Park!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My business partner (my husband!) and I met at Edgewater High school, just a few years ago (ha!).
We were married after college, and from there we were placed in rural Guatemala for three years with the Peace Corps. It was in our village that I was exposed to loose-leaf tea for the first time, as well as beautiful open-air markets full of fresh fruits and vegetables.
I was inspired to create a source for vegetarian fare and loose-leaf tea in Orlando. We opened Infusion Tea just a few months after our return in 2004. In 2008, Brad left his full-time urban planning position and came to work at Infusion to develop our catering arm and strengthen operations.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.infusionorlando.com
- Instagram: @infusion_tea
- Facebook: Infusion Tea
- Yelp: Infusion Tea
- Other: Tik Tok @infusiontea