November 28, 2024

In the United States, the weeks leading up to Giving Tuesday and beyond are often big for consumer spending and advertising. This year, jumping into the joy of the winter holiday season is harder than ever.

For the past 5 years, I have tried to avoid increasing prices in an attempt to make tea accessible to as many people as possible, despite increases in costs from my distributors and in cost of living that are likely familiar to all of you as well. I have made what cuts I can in logistics and other nonessential spending while never compromising on the quality of the tea, or the love that goes into every package I ship.

However, the incoming administration's plans to increase inflation, firstly by implementing tariffs, will drastically drive up Discover Teas' cost of doing business—and the cost of goods everywhere. The ongoing attack on USPS by the current postmaster general, who was appointed in May 2020 by the now-incoming president will likely ramp up even further, raising shipping prices while continuing to affect delivery times and outcomes.

In addition to that, my (and nearly everyone's) personal costs for essential needs will continue to rise further after the inauguration, from increased medical costs due to cuts in public health, to increased grocery costs due to the effect on the supply chain of cruel, dehumanizing practices such as mass deportation, detention, and denaturalization, and more.

Therefore, in order to maintain the tea quality you deserve and my ability to continue running the business, I have made the difficult decision to raise prices, starting in February of 2025 once I have an idea of how this will affect my costs from my distributors. I hope that it will just be one increase, but I may have to make other adjustments as well as my distributors react to the unstable situation and as mounting repercussions create a domino effect.

I know that the incoming rise in costs nationwide will affect everyone, so I will try to keep most teas under $20/2oz if I can. I'm also exploring ideas for other offerings that may be more budget-friendly while preserving the quality we all expect from Discover Teas; please stay tuned here or via the Discover Teas monthly e-newsletter to be notified when these release.

For anything currently on the website though, prices will likely never be this low again after the price increase, so it's a good time to stock up. If you've recently ordered, you may want to take advantage of the current promotion on e-gift codes (through December 3rd, 2024) to help tide you over for next year. And if you no longer find yourself in a position to shop Discover Teas for budget reasons, I completely understand, and I deeply regret that it has come to this. You are still part of the tea family in spirit. ♥

I personally, and Discover Teas as a business, have never been shy of stating where we stand politically, and it should be no surprise that I wish this would have turned out differently for many more reasons than pure economics. However, please note that this decision is based purely in logistics, and I am not interested in debating this consequence of the actions that have been taken by people, or that will be taken by the incoming administration. If you no longer wish to purchase from Discover Teas due to political reasons instead, I thank you for your past support and encourage you to find another tea business to patronize rather than spend your time negatively.