tl;dr

my name is ed

i help run the main inpatient mri scanner at one of the busiest hospitals in new zealand

 

this tea hobby business is simply a byproduct of my delusional food and drink hobby (i'm looking for the best non-alcoholic drink pairings for my east asian-centric hypothetical food menus), so many business decisions revolve around that hobby of finding the best quality things (within reason) rather than making a mass profit

 

i also didn't think i was contributing enough to society at my full-time (& so much overtime/on-call) job at the hospital, so this hobby tea business is also a way to get my foot in a different industry and generate some money to donate to worthy causes

 

i usually ship things twice a week, but occasionally might be delayed if i'm too tired from work

also sometimes my courier guy doesn't come even when i ask him to so it's not always my fault. he's probably annoyed at having to pick up only 2 orders every other day 😬

half the time it's probably me forgetting to request a pick up though 👀

too bad that's just life, so deal with it 😎

 

longer story

i've spent thousands of hours in the last 8-10 years reading and researching fine dining-style meals and recipes. the hobby was actually a form of escapism that i used as a distraction to my issues, childhood traumas, and mental health in the past. now that my depression arc is over and self-love arc is beginning, i've turned the skills and knowledge i've gained into something positive 😊

 

realistically, most of us (including myself) can't afford to travel and try all the best restaurants, so i've had to theorise and imagine the taste of many components and thew quality of ingredients and how they could potentially come together in a dish based on my experience

 

my main hobby relating to food and drink is actually coming up with hypothetical tasting menus revolving around elevated quality ingredients/components of east asian cuisine - japanese, korean, and chinese cuisines

 

part of the tasting menus involve drink pairings as well - i can brew and distill most things if i want to (i live in new zealand where home distilling is legal), but i don't really drink alcohol - that's when i started to look to non-alcoholic drinks

 

if you're reading this right now, welcome to my lil tea journey 

 

🌈 i have absolutely zero experience running a business nor do i have any connections in the food and beverage industry 🌈

 

my only experience is being hypercritical of all foods and drinks i've tried for the past 10 years which may have inadvertently strengthened my 🧠 gustatory neural connections 🧠 <-- this is purely my own conjecture, so don't quote me on this as there isn't much about this in the current literature

 

either way, i'm going to take you on a fun* journey and make my name in this world somehow in ways only i can do

 

i'm going to make it to the top or get wrecked trying

anyway, sit back, relax, and pour yourself a cup of tea 🍵

 

* after i get out of debt** 🙃

** i used my personal savings, don't worry

 

timeline & milestones (so far)

• april 2026
  • launching the first mystery powdered tea, mystery loose leaf tea, and mystery tea accessory (it's my birthday month - why not?)
    • eta end of april
  • launched the first mystery item on 1 april 2026 (2 sold 😂)
  • updated the website - it’s still a work in progress but it will never be launched if i don’t publish it now lol

• march 2026
  
  • my most loyal repeat customers (up until 31 march 2026) were granted free shipping forever (within new zealand) for orders over $40 or $50 depending on their loyalty
    

• february 2026
  
  • decided i want to take n2 matcha to the next step and want to also really say thanks to my very early loyal followers (including, but not limited to):
    • matt, rhys, suhyun, & helen (from reddit)
      • thanks matt and rhys for just trusting me
      • thanks suhyun for continuing to support n2 matcha and the /r/nzhomecooks subreddit
      • thanks helen for letting me annoy you and also drawing those cute characters which i stole without your permission to use as my @n2matcha ig stickers lol
    • ruby & tyler (her dad)
      • number 1 hojicha lover - thanks to her and her dad for giving me feedback on my website!
    • bella & rory
      • having the trust for letting me cook for you
    • christina & joseph
      • having the trust for letting me cook for you and also providing a custom order experience
    • derick
      • flew in from the usa and decided to buy $1800 of matcha without having even tried my products. he just just decided to trust his gut and yolo based on my reddit posts ahahahaha and he got rewarded so much wtf 🫶🏻
    • jwen
      • i truly value the effort and allowing me to try many samples from your favourite matcha brand. it has helped me continue to shape the direction of where i can see myself going
    • christine
      • i'm still looking for a you know what - thank you
    • josie, audrey, merissa, danielle, dayoung, haeum,  ... i could keep going but you're probably getting tired reading all of this
    • jee, rebekah, sun, seth, leighton, jenny, & acelin (in the order you received the matcha based on logistics and not playing favourites here) - thank you for your ongoing love and support ❤️
    • helaina, amy, freda, nataly, deborah, jack, jisu, diana, elizabeth, jocelyn, karishma & other hospital friends - thank you as well 😊

• december 2025
  • happened to try the casual fine dining "just feed me" option at little honey eatery in hamilton, where i got to know lerryn who is fun to chat to
    • this was the first cafe to put my matcha on his menu!
      

• november 2025
  • collaborated with bear gelato to make a hojicha oat milk latte gelato
    • bucket list item: help create a product for the market to prove that my palate is somewhat refined??? (ego boost 😎) ✅

• september 2025
  • didn't actually do anything with the business until september when the inland revenue department started sending me all these emails about gst returns 😂
  • launched the website and got my first official order on 4 september 2025!

• june-august 2025
  • had this hobby business idea and registered as a company so i could order some matcha into the country at the peak of the matcha shortage (i needed evidence i was a legitimate business)