We recently connected with Hans Marchese and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hans, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
In some ways, farming tea is a lesson in self-discipline. The tea plants do not know the concept of weekends, Christmas, or Easter. Someone has to take care of them regardless. They do not know that their growing season is also the best season to be married or have a honeymoon. We have to work on the tea plants schedule. They are completely dependent on us, and if we do not care for them, then they will not thrive. I believe that in surrendering to this truth, that without self discipline and stewardship the plants would not do well, self discipline becomes easy. If I do not water diligently, they will wither. If I do not prune regularly, they will not produce a large crop. If I do not properly amend the soil, they will die in the field. In a way, because my self discipline is tied to the life and health of the plants, self discipline becomes simple and easy: I either put in the work and see the tea thrive, or I become lackadaisical and risk killing hundred to thousands of plants.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I manage a small tea farm call Fleur de Lis Tea Company in southeast Louisiana. When I was first hired to manage the farm the owner, David Barron, told me “This is just a hobby, we aren’t a business!” and that was true for the first two years! As the tea grew, more and more people became interested in tea (camellie sinensis) growing in the continental United States. We were in regional and national magazines, three letter news stations, local radio, you name it, and we hadn’t even made tea yet! Well, two years after “This is just a hobby,” David came back to me and said “You know… I just dropped 500k into that tea house we are building across the street, we should probably start making some money now!” Only slightly daunted, David hired tea expert Beverly Wainwright to fly in for a few months and teach me all about growing and processing tea. We will forever be in her debt for teaching us all of the things we were doing wrong, and for designing our Big Easy black tea, which won an award at the UK Tea Academy’s “Leafy” awards its’ very first year in 2022!
Shortly after Beverly came in 2022, we hired our Event Coordinator Alex Graver, who every day we are thankful for! Before Alex came along, my wife Lyra and I were trying to manage the nursery, manage the fields, process tea, guide tours, schedule and run events, manage the website and manage the social media all by ourselves! Alex has been wonderful to work with, and has booked hundreds of showers, rehearsal dinners, birthdays and dozens of beautiful small weddings at our scenic woody venue since then
Our first year we only had black tea, but this year we released a white tea made from the flowers and buds called “Tea Blossom,” a wonderful roasted green tea (that I am so proud of, I think it is delicious) called “Thé Vert,” and very soon we will be releasing our first blend of tea and spices called “Apple Spice.”
I feel very blessed to have had a part in not only building this company, but in spreading the seeds of American tea culture.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I never could have known my journey led to tea, but when I look back I can see how every step along the way did help lead here. I knew that I loved plants, so I immersed myself in them. To anyone early in their journey of herbalism, farming or simply plant identification I would offer the old adage “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” I did get a degree in biology, and I have a firm grasp on chemistry, but what has helped me more than anything was immersing myself in the content. The hours I spent in the dirt in a garden, or outside in the woods identifying plants, or reading material outside the curriculum were more impactful than any lecture lesson.
One quality which was definitely hard, yet infinitely beneficial was learning to take risks. I moved from Austin to New Orleans and started a tiny retail tea company before I ever new tea was being grow in Louisiana. I took a huge risk, with no job lined up, never having started a business, and flying by the seat of my pants. If I had never taken that risk and followed my dreams of being a tea supplier I would never have found this gig. Because I brought tea everywhere in New Orleans, I became known as “The Tea Guy,” and because people thought of me in this way it led me to find the job of my dreams!
I don’t know if this is considered a skill or a quality, but I think it may be the most important and under valued concept in our society, and that is finding a mentor! There is someone out there doing what you love and doing it well. There are probably hundreds or thousands, and this is a good thing! Many of these experienced people, in any field, love what they do and would also love to pass the knowledge down to the next generation. Find someone who you want to be like, who has a good work ethic, creates masterpieces, and loves the work for the work’s sake, and be humble enough to learn from them! You DO NOT have to learn everything by yourself, and you can save a ton of hassle by abiding the wisdom of a good mentor.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We have been looking for a potter who is already interested in tea and tea culture! We would love to provide hand made cups, pots and other vessels to our customers. Ideally they would live in or around Louisiana but if any of your readers are interested in being our signature potter please give us an email at Fleurdelisteaco.gmail.com !
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fleurdelisteaco.com
- Instagram: @fleur_de_lis_tea_co
- Facebook: @Fleurdelisteaco
- Youtube: @Fleurdelisteaco
Image Credits
Vieta Collins
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
