“When I drink these teas I’m immediately transported to some of the best moments of my life,” says Aaron Stair, a lifelong tea aficionado.
Stair, the co-founder and CEO of Inari Tea, is a producer of high-quality teas sourced from China, India, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. He grew up in Oklahoma sipping his grandmother’s sun tea and drinking oolong and green varieties throughout his high school years.
After Stair graduated from college with a degree in anthropology, his career led him to China. The first place he lived there was Xiamen, a small town in the region where, he says, “the international tea trade essentially began.” He also lived in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.
After schooling himself in tea production in several parts of China, Stair co-founded Inari Tea in 2012 with Yanbing Chen (tea engineer), Shihwei Lin (director of tea production) and Gai Assouline (marketing director). The company, named after a Shinto god believed to oversee agriculture and fertility, is dedicated to preserving the original richness of the soil where the tea is grown and does not use pesticides or commercial fertilizers.
Inari also works with tea producers to restore soil that has been stripped of its natural microorganisms through pesticide use, says Stair, who has been studying soil composition for five years with microbiologist Elaine Ingham, founder of the soil preservation company Soil Foodweb Inc.
Stair recently relocated to Niles, MI, where he has extended family, and set up Inari’s distribution center there.
“When I was young, we used to travel to Michiana every few years to see everyone there,” says Stair. “In some senses it’s a type of home for me.”
Inari teas can be purchased at Infusco Coffee Roasters in Sawyer, MI, or sampled at Chicago restaurants Alinea and Band of Bohemia, the only Michelin-starred brewpub in the world. Available varieties include oolong, white, black and green teas.
Stair is also making plans to grow tea in the area and at other locations in the United States, with the hope that locavores will learn more about the tea production process, just like they have with coffee, beer and wine.
When a product like tea is grown locally, consumers engage with it on a different level, Stair says.
“With coffee roasters you can watch and see; at breweries you can see where the beers are made and see why and understand why they are better,” he says. “It’s also really evident in the wine business, the wine trail in Southwest Michigan.”
Stair says he’s developing Inari’s U.S. production slowly, hoping to develop relationships with 10 to 20 growers. Of course, with the region’s short growing season, adaptations such as hoop houses will be required.
“I love the area for its lifestyle and grounded nature,” says Stair. “I think the agricultural underpinning, with a good dose of progress, are really healthy, and the whole area feels very welcoming for me.”
