We created a short list of cities to use as our base, then quickly selected Des Moines, Iowa as the finalist.

Rusty and I immediately embarked on an all-consuming tea education regimen – a regimen we continue to pursue even today. We exposed ourselves to thousands of teas, dozens of steeping and preparation techniques, and much of tea’s history and lore. We also examined tea and tea-inspired aestheticism as an outlook on life and bought into this outlook wholeheartedly. We toured both coasts of the United States, visiting a total of 57 different teahouses in the process. We met many wonderful people during our travels – growers, brokers, blenders and teahouse proprietors – each with a terrific story to tell about what brought them to tea.

We took our inspiration from an assemblage of these people and places, and began the task of designing our shop and amassing the teas and wares that we planned to provide to our customers. It was, and is, hard work, but very enjoyable and altogether rewarding work at that.

As we approach the twentieth year of taking on tea as both a lifestyle and a means of livelihood, we can define Gong Fu Tea as the venue for tea enthusiasts everywhere to source the very finest quality teas and tea wares available, backed by dependable, expert service and 100% guarantee.