Many people have jump-started their careers in different fields, although few have probably changed directions as much as Annie Xiang, who went from being involved in international tax to founding the Chicago-based company Volition Tea.
Her work in cultivating a mainstream market for specialty tea has been widely covered since the company was founded in 2021, with Xiang working from a platform of business tempered with humanity. In a recent conversation, Xiang talked about everything from barrel-aged teas to queerness, resulting in a candid, educational conversation.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: I went to the Chicago Tea Festival earlier this year—and one thing that stood out to me is that we’ve come a long way from when I just drank Lipton Tea. Why do you think the tea industry has blossomed in this country?
Annie Xiang: That’s a great question that has a long answer. I actually think a lot of tea drinkers worry that it hasn’t progressed enough in this country, and I share that sentiment. Customers are [more into] specialty teas now, asking questions about where they come from and the health benefits of tea. That shows that people are drinking tea as a functional beverage, and we’ll be able to unlock more doors in America. But there are a lot of other ways where we can improve.
One thing that’s happened since the pandemic is that a lot of people have [moved] from coffee to tea. When you don’t have to commute as much, you realize that you don’t need to consume as much caffeine, especially in the morning. Tea is much more gentle on your body and you still get the caffeine kick.
WCT: It sounds like you feel that knowledge of tea has come a long way, but still has a way to go.
Xiang: Absolutely! The tea knowledge is sort of lagging behind and that’s one of the spaces we’re hoping to fill.
WCT: Your website has an FAQ page. It’s very helpful for novices like myself.
Xiang: I’m glad you found it! What question did you have that we answered?
WCT: Well, for example, I didn’t know that there are six types of tea [white, yellow, green, red, wulong and black].
Xiang: That is interesting. When [European traders] first landed in China, they learned that there was something called tea that invigorates you; at the time, in factories, workers drank ale—which tends to not be great for productivity. They were mesmerized by this functional beverage, and they looked at green tea as well as red tea (which they called black tea, because the dried leaves are black). Nowadays, tea purveyors still call it black tea instead of trying to correct that narrative. So it’s confusing. We try to honor the history by calling it red tea.
WCT: And then there’s the term “tea liquor,” which might confuse some people because they’ll think it has alcohol in it.
Xiang: [Laughs] Yeah, and we have barrel-aged teas. It’s really popular and we’ve done several collaborations with local distilleries, like FEW Spirits, in which we put fresh tea leaves in recently emptied barrels to get the aromas and flavor profiles. We have a gin barrel-aged white tea we call Tipsy Garden, and we recently released a series called Trapped in Amber, which is a beautiful collaboration with FEW that involves bourbon barrel-aged tea. It has caramel, vanilla and oak notes to it but it’s just the tea leaves.
WCT: I thought it was interesting in your bio that you started Volition Tea while there was this proliferation of anti-Asian hate crimes. You also wanted to reclaim the phrase “made in China.”
Xiang: We started Volition in October 2021. Prior to that, I worked at a big accounting firm as an international tax manager. I really enjoyed the job but the watershed moment came during the Atlanta shootings [when six Asian women were killed in 2021 during a shooting spree].
That was really devastating to me, and I found myself so impacted emotionally and psychologically; and I had a newborn and I was constantly wondering how the world would treat him. And when I talked with people about refugees and migrants, they would say, “We have enough problems. We can’t [take on] theirs, too.” But when you talk more deeply with these people and add your own personal experiences, it changes their perspective. I told them that my father works in China and it’s possible that, one day, he’ll become a political refugee. Refugees don’t choose to come to America for opportunities; they come here to survive, and I would love to have an open door for people like him. And then people’s reactions would be, “Of course we’ll have an open door.” So I think the news will provide stories who don’t look like you in a faceless manner, which makes it easier to be separated from people and humanitarian issues. So I realized that our stories are not being told.
The older generations don’t teach their children Chinese, Korean or Japanese, because it’s more important for them to see their children being assimilated to American culture than to be different. But we’re living in a different world now, and people do crave those stories now. I really want humanity to be front and center with Volition Tea—to be able to tell our stories.
All of our teas are pesticide-free and our farmers [all in China] have been doing this for decades, before being organic was a trendy thing. The farmers saw first-hand the damage that conventional farming has done, and they want to protect their land for future generations. The result is that the flavors are so robust and the bitterness is not there because there are no pesticides or toxins. These teas are actually good for you because you’re not microdosing yourself with chemicals.
WCT: Are you thinking of expanding into other countries such as the UK, where tea-drinking is so traditional?
Xiang: I’m flattered that you’re thinking of us expanding into other countries. However, as a small business, it’s really difficult juggling all the tax issues. Having been involved in international tax for six years, I’m especially sensitive to that. We do have customer bases in Canada and Mexico, though. With the UK, my observation is there are a lot of specialty tea companies there. People are always looking for something that’s unique.
What I find interesting is that I will offer to host traditional tea ceremonies—and often, people misunderstand and think they’re coming to tea parties. That’s always interesting and it’s okay, as long as they stay. They learn about a completely different way of how tea can be presented.
WCT: What do you think is a really common misconception about tea?
Xiang: I think caffeine is one aspect that people misunderstand. With folks who drink tea—especially in teabag form—frequently they think darker teas have more caffeine than lighter ones. But with premium looseleaf teas, that’s actually the opposite. Green tea often has more caffeine than darker teas, and that has to do with what we call a plucking standard [related to the types and sizes of the harvested leaves].
WCT: Asking you something I’ve asked people over the past year, what is it like for you to be part of the queer community in today’s America?
Xiang: A word that sums it up is intersectionality. I am a queer woman who’s Asian, and I can never parse one identity away from another; they all contribute to who I am today. I would say that one thing that I am embracing, especially starting Volition Tea, is the concept of tokenism. In this industry, companies love identifying businesses that are owned by women, a racial minority or the LGBTQ community.
When I was in my 20s, I’d feel a lot of different ways about that—like I was only presented with this opportunity because of who I am. These days, I have a different [perspective] about that—and that I see the opportunity differently. They’re creating a platform for me to present to a wider audience that I wouldn’t be exposed to—and that wouldn’t be exposed to me. I will take that opportunity proudly and share all the information that I want to share.
It’s all important—not just for my business but for all my marginalized communities. That’s a good thing, and I hope more companies do that.
Volition Tea will hold a public tasting on Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m.-noon, at The Roof Crop, 1516 W. Carroll Ave. To RSVP, visit VolitionTeaTastingWFM.eventbrite.com.