Naman Shrestha
Through The QI Tea, Lisi Li brings her childhood tea tradition to the rest of the nation by offering healing teas prepared from flowers. The founder appeared on the fifth episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 17 and pitched her brand in front of the Sharks. She focused on talking about the journey of The QI Tea and her future plans regarding it, hoping that at least one of them would get on board and provide their expertise in taking the company to newer heights.
The QI Tea: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Lisa Li reportedly spent her early years in the countryside northeast of Beijing, China. She grew up in a nurturing household, surrounded by warm and supportive family members. In particular, she shared a close-knit bond with her grandmother. Some of the fondest memories she cherishes from her childhood are of sipping tea with her beloved grandmother when her single mother went to work. The simple ritual not only felt calming but also shaped her sense of connection. What little Lisa didn’t know at the time is that she would ultimately build a business around the power of tea. She eventually pursued a career in the fashion industry. After spending over ten years in the world of fashion, she decided it was time she took a step back.
All those years of strenuous hard work had left her exhausted and admittedly quite withdrawn from her own self. “I didn’t feel like what I was doing really had a positive impact on people’s lives,” she told Good Housekeeping. It was after she received a medical diagnosis that Lisa realized it was about time she took charge of her holistic health, which brought her back to the days when she felt most relaxed and joyful — her childhood ritual. “After I was diagnosed with a thyroid disease, I went to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He did acupuncture, energy tapping (a type of Reiki) and gave me herbal medicine. That was the first thing that made me realize how important it is to take care of myself holistically,” she added.
It also sparked within Lisa a desire to reconcile with her innate joy. Then, she discovered Rose tea in early 2018, while on a trip to the mountain town of Shangri-La in northwestern Yunnan province with her mother. She felt the need to share her source of Zen and nourishment with the world, and that’s when The Qi was born. To ensure first-rate quality whole-flower tea for her wellness brand, she traveled to diverse locales across Asia and tasted more than 100 herbs before settling on family-owned farms for sourcing “hand picked, organically grown and sustainably cultivated” flowers.
As far as the inspiration behind its name is concerned, Lisa said, “When a plant flowers, it’s at the peak of its life. The flower is actually the fruit of its highest energy — that’s Qi.” The company states that each batch of the super-healing flower tea is “100% pure whole blooms,” with no machine-harvested or chemically treated artificial flavors and preservatives. The QI Teas pride themselves on dealing in fresh, pure, ethically sourced, single-estate, recently harvested tea straight from the tea farmers. Simply drop the flowers into a cup/carafe/pot, pour hot water over them, and watch as they bloom into a colorful cup of calm and inner peace.
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The QI Tea: Where Are They Now?
Since its launch, The Qi has created natural, clean, flower-infused tea rituals for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Lisa’s precious baby has also found a place in several esteemed publications such as Thrillist and Food & Wine. Additionally, they have received recognition from the iconic Martha Stewart. They have also opened a studio space at 27 West 20th Street #602 in New York City, New York, for people to sip, create, and connect on Saturdays from 1-6 pm. In October, The QI organized a Cake Popup event with pastry artist 1 Candela. In the same month, the company also held an Incense Making Workshop in collaboration with Incense artist Hyungi Park. They have also collaborated with 113 Spring, Sogetsu Ikebana artist Ayako Shida, pastry artist Eldrflwr, SYI Acupuncture & Herbs, and Sephora, among others.
For those looking to try diverse natural flavors, the company offers a wide range of variants to choose from, such as Shangri-La Rose, Wild Chrysanthemum, Rosebud, Butterfly Pea, Royal Chrysanthemum, and Blue Lotus, priced from $26 to $36. They also offer a Floral Collection for $36, which includes a combination of flower bulbs for those seeking variety. Not just that, they also offer four Green Tea blends comprising nine handmade Blooming Tea Truffles for $36 — The Qi x Beautywithin (peony flower and globe amaranth), Inner Radiance (osmanthus flowers, lily, and premium green tea), Inner Connection (rosebuds and calendula flower), and Inner Awakening (carnation flower).
If you are someone who would enjoy a box set, you can bring home their Ultimate Wellness Set for $249, which consists of each flower as well as accessories like a tong, teapot, and cups. Some of the other assorted collections that you can find at The Qi are the Iconic Bloom Trio set ($105), Blooming Tea Ritual Set ($149), Daily Ritual Set ($49), Trio Petite Flower Teas Set ($55), Bulk 30-Flower teas ($55), and Hormone Harmony Set ($99). They also have a range of caffeine teas of varying strengths named Energy, Cleanse, and Beauty, all starting from $29. For a set of all the aforementioned four teas, the QI Tea has a Complete functional tea set for $99. Interestingly, a caffeine-free Sleep Tea box is also available for $29. You can also find accessories like Glass cups & saucers, a Bloom glass teapot, a Dewdrop Cup, Gold rim glass cups, teapots, and bamboo tongs for your tea ritual on their website.
When asked about her vision for The Qi, Lisa divulged, “We’re working on more functional blends — maybe immunity or digestion, the things all of us can use more help of on a daily basis. We were getting feedback that people wanted more flavor, so that’s another reason for the blends. It’s for the stronger taste. We’re thinking about what else we can do to make people’s lives better, healthier, and happier. How else can we positively transform people’s lives through just natural herbs from the earth?” In all, through Qi, her aim is “helping people feel more joy, beauty, and love again through flower teas of course.” Lisa strongly believes in giving back to the community, and through QI, she has come to the aid of local nonprofit organizations, such as CAAAV, Heart of Dinner, and a few others.
