The Tea Line brand was founded in July 2011 by Alexander Polyakov, Andrey Vinogradov and Maxim Osipov, and six months later Alexander Zabugin and Dmitry Menshikov-Salyuk joined the team. They were inspired by numerous trips to China related to logistics, where they were imbued with the spirit of tea. Returning to Krasnoyarsk, they decided to open a small online store in an office on the picturesque Otdykha Island, a place far from the city on the Yenisei River. That's where it all started. Then in March 2012, Alexander Polyakov and Andrey Vinogradov moved to China, where they lived for two years, which turned out to be very fruitful in finding reliable suppliers and setting up logistics. Having traveled all over China, upon returning to Russia, Alexander Polyakov opened a wholesale warehouse in the Lipetsk region for the convenience of sending orders to customers. In 2016, together with Alexander Zabugin, a second tea shop was opened in Voronezh. And in 2019, in Krasnoyarsk, a small tea corner on an island also turned into a cozy teahouse in the city center, where Dmitry Menshikov-Salyuk continues to promote tea culture.
An interesting story is connected with the beginning of pressing of branded pu-erhs. The first sheng "Tea Line" "Name" was made in 2013. The raw materials were selected by A. Polyakov, personally trying each variety offered by farmers on the spot. This was the time when tea workers did not hesitate to buy ready-made cakes at factories, adding only a paper wrapper from themselves. This practice exists to this day. These pu-erhs were of dubious quality with an unknown composition of raw materials, which in itself was always a lottery. But the affordable price and the desire to quickly make money on the status of pu-erh producers prevailed over the desire to make a quality product, but more difficult. After all, this required visiting more than one village, trying an impressive amount of raw materials, agreeing to bring it to the factory and then delivering it to Russia.
From 2013 to 2018, the branded line of puer cakes under the brand "Tea Line" was replenished with worthy examples, appreciated by tea lovers. Over five years, 19 types of sheng puer and 11 types of shu were produced.
Growing production volumes and assortment required quick decisions. At the end of 2018, Alexander Polyakov's brother, Mikhail Pendyurin, joined the team, opening together a new wholesale warehouse in the city of Yelets, 300 square meters in size, including a spacious office in a place remote from the bustle of the city with the clean air of an oak grove. In May 2018, Alexander and Mikhail went to China, where they selected raw materials for a new branded line of pu-erhs. It included 12 pu-erhs, 4 of which were sports-themed and 4 were randomly designed by Alexander Kolchev, 4 were based on paintings by Alexander Leushin.
The idea of a new pressing, creating briquettes, appeared in 2020 during quarantine. From the raw material samples sent in advance by suppliers, we remotely selected the samples we liked through joint efforts. Based on the comparison table compiled, our clients ordered branded pressing for themselves too.
In addition to pu-erhs, the brand line also includes Mengsun Shaikhun cakes, red tea from pu-erh trees. The range of briquettes includes Shoumei, DHP, Xiaojun, Shaikhun.
We also produce branded tea ceremony utensils (gaiwan, chahai, bowl, chaban, trays for chopping pu-erhs).
Our company grows and develops every year in technical terms. With each delivery we expand the range of tea and tea utensils, contribute to the emergence of exclusive goods. The team consists of more than 16 people, specialists in their field. Therefore, we constantly receive grateful feedback from our clients and do everything possible so that tea culture grows and prospers in every corner of the earth!
