The nose leads to market stand where tea is king

Huyen Martin’s teas are so fresh, they make noses recoil.

“People always go, ‘Ooh, that’s strong!” says Martin. Her family’s company is called Pacific Mist Tea. “They’re not used to it. That’s always the reaction. People don’t know when they put their nose in.”

Noses descend often into the small sample tins of teas on Martin’s table at the Renton Farmers Market.

The tins contain an assortment of teas, many organic. Plain and flavored black, flower, fruit, green, herbal, jasmine, oolong, rooibos and white. There’s also surprising items, like a jar of rosebuds that Martin says people in Asia drink with their tea. And tins of lavender and organic peppermint, both fresh from nearby gardens and farms. A best seller are the jasmine tips from an organic garden in India. And there’s plenty of fancy teas, like blends called hazelnut truffle, lavender Earl Grey and an hibiscus mint Martin’s working on.

Pacific Mist’s teas don’t come in bags, but loose in pouches. Martin says that makes for a more flavorful product. She sells a variety of commuter cups, mugs and tea pots with baskets to contain the loose tea.

“People say, ‘Oh, I don’t drink tea, I don’t drink tea,’” Martin says. “They don’t understand that the bags don’t have much flavor. (Ours is) different. There’s now a variety of interesting stuff.”

Martin gets her tea from China, Japan, India and South Africa. She also recently received a new black tea from Sri Lanka. Because tea is such a labor-intensive and expensive crop, Martin knows of only one tea-growing place in the United States. That place is Tea Gardens near Charleston, S.C.

But many herbal teas are grown in the United States. (Herbal teas aren’t made from the tea bush, but are an infusion of any other plants.) Like the lavender and peppermint, Martin buys many non-tea items closer to home.

She buys many teas pre-made, but also makes some of her own blends, such as the lavender Earl Grey and the soon-to-be-released hibiscus mint. Also on the way are a couple new black teas from Kenya, and a couple crops of Darjeeling from India. Huyen describes Darjeeling as a “unique taste between black and green teas.” Darjeeling comes from the town of the same name in West Bengal, India.

Jasmine is Martin’s favorite tea, but lately she’s been hooked on Darjeeling. She grew up drinking tea in Nha Trang, in South Vietnam. She came to the United States in 1985, at age 15.

Martin drinks tea all day, straight, with no milk or sugar. Black in the morning, green in the afternoon and herbal in the evening.

Her husband John has also become a tea drinker. He grew up as a coffee and pop drinker, but switched to tea. He drinks black in the morning and herbal at night.

John is a computer engineer, but he helps Martin with Pacific Mist Tea. Technically the company is a family affair. Two of the couple’s three children, Jacqueline, 11, and Josephine, 7, are testers. Josephine is an especially avid helper. She brainstorms names and tests tea in her mom’s fine china cups. Her favorite tea is San Juan Island Dream, which is a blend of apple, orange, hibiscus and other natural flavors.

Josephine and Jacqueline also help pack the sachets of “lovely lavender” and “pure peppermint” for sale on Martin’s Farmers Market table. The sachets were Jacqueline’s idea. She sells them to her dance and skating buddies to freshen up their smelly sports bags. Profits go toward her afterschool activities.

Two rooms in the Martin’s Benson Hill home are reserved for Pacific Mist Tea production. Martin launched the company’s Web site in December. She also sells the tea in person, at the Renton Farmers Market on Tuesday, the Kent Farmers Market on Saturday and the SeaTac Farmers Market on Sunday.

Martin started Pacific Mist Tea as a low-key activity to do while staying home with her kids. But the business had a mind of its own.

“I’m passionate about tea. I love tea,” Martin says. “I think it’s a very good product and a very healthy product for everyone, including kids. Kids can drink herbal tea.”

Visitors to the Martin home can expect to be offered a cup of tea.

“For us tea is friendship,” Martin says.

Josephine has volunteered to help her mother with Pacific Mist Tea after she graduates from college. But for now, Martin is happy running the company.

“I love this,” she says. “I could do this the rest of my life. I’ll be fine.”

To learn more

Visit www.pacificmisttea.com for products or more information about Pacific Mist Tea, including tips on how to select and make a good cup of tea. Or contact Huyen Martin, 425-221-6229, huyen@pacificmisttea.com.