There’s a quiet magic the moment you step into Enchanted Teas. The hand-painted tea tubes lining the back wall, the herbs and flowers spread across the table, the colors shifting from deep blue to violet right before your eyes.
Rini is the founder and owner of Enchanted Teas, a Seattle-based botanical tea brand rooted in ritual, slow moments, beauty, and thoughtful sourcing. If you haven’t found her store yet, consider this your sign to heat to Pacific Place.
We sat down with Rini to hear her story, from a childhood herb garden in India to building a community one cup at a time in Seattle.
Tell us about yourself and Enchanted Teas.
Hi, I’m Rini, founder and owner of Enchanted Teas. We are a Seattle-based botanical tea brand rooted in ritual, slow moments, beauty, and thoughtful sourcing.
What’s the story behind the brand?
My story actually started far from where I am at this moment. I had a very interesting career in tech, seven years ago. Everything looked good on paper, but something did not feel right for me. Something was not connecting with me. I felt that my purpose, my calling, was still not there.
I grew up in India and spent a lot of my childhood with my grandparents. One thing I vividly remember was spending time with my grandmother after school. She would take me to her beautiful little herb garden and we would touch the flowers, touch the herbs. She would kind of talk to them. At that time I was just a kid, but back in my mind, I was also learning. I did not know there was a learning in there.
One flower I will never forget was butterfly pea flower. That is the key ingredient of most of our teas today. As a kid, when you see something that brews blue, it’s enchanting. It’s magical. And then when I saw it transition from blue to purple with the addition of citrus, like lime or lemon, that was game changing for me. That enchanting moment stayed with me.
I want people to start their day with something calmer, something that helps them take a pause and reconnect with themselves. Because the morning sets the tone of the day, right? If you can take just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to set the tone, that’s why Enchanted Teas was built. To create moments, to create a sensory experience that can calm you down and reconnect you to your inner self.
How has the community responded?
I started last year through farmers markets, around 30 to 35 of them, because I started online and nobody knew me. My first market was with Urban Craft Uprising’s Spring Fest and we had a tremendous response. More than selling tea, I really love connecting with people. It’s not about just the flavor, but how they want to feel while drinking it.
When people walk into the store, the first thing they talk about is the tea tubes on the back wall. Every tube is a hand-painted piece of art by artisans in India. I used those designs because I wanted to stay very close to my culture. It depicts the Indian art, the culture, the heritage, and every tube tells a story. And because they’re sustainable, you can reuse them as decor once you’re done with your tea.
I also do custom tea blending experiences where people come in and ask what to mix with what. Sometimes they come in and say, “I’m not feeling great, but I want to spend some time with my friend who’s having a hard time. Can you come up with something that will make them happy?” So yeah, we’ve gotten a really good response with that.
Repeat customers have been telling me, “Rini, please do an event where you’re doing the custom tea blending, we want to bring people.” So very soon I’ll be able to offer that with my tea service launching, and I am so excited about it.
Tell us about the upcoming tea service.
I want to bring more people in and introduce them to this place because I want to build this as a community. People can come in, have their tea, bring family and friends, create memories.
I’m going to change the teas every other day. Tea of the day, matcha of the day, recipes built with Indian influence. It’s kind of overwhelming doing retail and service together, but I’m more than excited to take this challenge. With summer here, I’m really looking forward to it.
Intentionalist’s motto is “Spend like it matters.” Why does that resonate with you?
All the ingredients we’re sourcing are quality ingredients. Everything we’re doing, people are ingesting it. So it is really important what people put in their system. I take immense pride in that.
We’re also very mindful of how we’re contributing to the planet. We don’t want the planet to ingest a lot of waste, so everything is reusable.
And the thing that truly matters to me most is building a community and giving people something they are looking for. If they’re looking for something that slows their moment, creates support in their life, and helps them connect with themselves, then Enchanted Teas is for them.
What would you recommend to a first-time customer?
My all-time favorite is Sky is Pink. Butterfly pea flower brews blue, and when you add anything citrus, it transitions to pink. We wanted to create a name that is magical, enchanted. Not in a kiddish way, but even a slow ritual is an enchantment for me.
The other one very close to me is Glow Tonic. It has turmeric sourced from the northeastern hills of India. Because of the elevation at which it grows, the curcumin content is really high. And the farmers growing it are all women farmers. I’m a woman-owned business and I know how much it takes to be where I am. Supporting someone else doing that, as a woman, was something I really wanted to do.
Then there’s Dusky Lavender, which I created because of my husband. He’s a hardcore coffee lover and I wanted something we could drink together in the evenings. It’s Silver Needle white tea, cacao husks from Hawaii, mint, lavender, and butterfly pea flower. We did around 15 to 20 iterations to get it just right. When he tasted the final one he said, “I’m absolutely gonna drink this.” The chocolate notes somehow match with the coffee notes. That’s how Dusky Lavender was born.
And people really love the fruit blends too. There’s one with watermelon, strawberry, and lychee. Anytime you’re here, just try it. You’re gonna love it, I’m sure.
Any small businesses you’d like to shout out?
Oh, there are so many! Mirabelle by Orphée, my favorite. Their croissants, I was like, what is this feeling? I love them.
ONEOFEACH just moved to the US from South Africa and does these handmade beaded bags. Oh my god, I have two of them now. She’s a beautiful soul. Transcend for the upcycling and sustainability. Pumerosa Candles, I think I have four of them in my house.
Being at Seattle Restored and connecting with other small businesses, talking about their journeys and inspirations. I cannot be more grateful for the gates they’ve opened for businesses like ours.
Enchanted Teas is located inside Pacific Place in Seattle.
