About Nio Teas

At Nio Teas, it is our mission to find the best green tea in Japan, grown without pesticides, and share it with people all around the world. In doing so, we strive to tell the story of the incredible farmers that produce the tea, sharing their values and insights with our community.

Our history

During a trip to Japan in 2016, Oliver noticed something he had rarely seen in Europe - a culture that celebrated premium green tea. After visiting a tea field and doing a tasting, he noticed the powerful green color, sweet and savory flavor and he was hooked right away. He put in an order for a few packs of teas and attempted to sell them to people in his hometown at the local farmer’s market.

The unique taste of these teas and the colorful assortment of teaware began to catch the eye of consumers in Europe. This initial interest at the farmers market soon turned into success online, and now Nio Teas is able to provide thousands of happy customers all over the world with delicious and healthy Japanese green tea!

Our values

When we source green tea in Japan, there are 3 things we look for:

First, the taste of the tea needs to be incredible. We get to taste hundreds of different teas from all over the country, so we can really be picky when it comes to selecting our favorites. Our customers tend to like teas that are on smoother and sweeter side, so this is what we mostly look for.
Second, the tea needs to be produced in a sustainable way. We only select tea that is grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals. We also take the time to walk around the tea fields, and see what kind of ecosystem the tea farmers are creating. We believe it’s important for the land to not only produce great tea, but also be a home for the local wildlife as well.
Finally, we like to work with farmers who are not afraid to try new things. One of our favorite things to do is learn about the unique techniques used by farmers to produce the best possible tea. Every farmer has their own recipe for organic fertilizer and every farmer processes the tea leaves slightly differently. Of course they would all consider their own method to be the best, so we’ll just let the customer decide which they like most!

The farmers

The tea farmers we work with in Japan are some of the kindest people we have ever met. They invite us to their farms, and in many cases into their family homes, to teach us about different types of Japanese green teas. All they ask in return is that we share their story with the world. Part of our mission is to educate people about all the work that goes into making the best green teas, and why quality makes a difference. We believe that it is important for the next generation of tea drinkers to be informed about what true quality looks like, so that we can keep these traditions alive for years to come.