Manish Shah

Manish Shah was born in India, and spent much of his childhood in New York. At a young age, a business opportunity brought his family to Tucson, Arizona, where as an adult he would make his home. In the early 1990’s, Manish began to notice a rise in the popularity of chai tea, a drink traditionally served in India. This prompted the young entrepreneur to develop his own formulation of chai, which he began to sell at a small booth at a local farmers’ market in late 1996. Maya Tea Company was born. As the years progressed, the tea company blossomed and the farmers’ markets grew exponentially, and soon Manish was asked to take over their management. Today, Manish manages two local farmers’ markets and is looking to open a third, and the tea company has grown to provide over 200 varieties of tea. Eternally entrepreneurial, his eyes never close to opportunity, and those of us close to Manish are always on the lookout for what is next to come. Manish favors oolong varieties of tea, and highly recommends our Monkey-Picked Tie Kwan Yin.

Angela Demple

Angela Demple was raised in Wyoming until about her 18^th birthday, when her family moved to Arizona. She made her home in Tucson, and in the 80’s began working for Indu Shah as a housekeeper. Manish, Indu’s son, was then in junior high. Angie remained close to Indu’s family for years, and in 2002 when the grown Manish was cultivating a business of his own, Angie was the first onboard. Angie works hands-on with the tea, blending large batches of our recipes and packaging them for final usage. She handles each and every package with love. Angie’s favorite tea is Vanilla Spice herbal.

Tony Gonzales

Tony Gonzales was born in Los Angeles and spent his childhood in over fourteen states. In the early 90’s Tony settled down in Tucson with his wife and two children. He started his own distributorship in 2002, called Desert Bay. Engrained in the beverage industry, it was not long before he crossed paths with Manish. By 2005 the two had worked together to supply brewing equipment to local establishments and, behind the scenes, to develop a formula for a liquid chai concentrate. In 2008, Tony began working with the Maya Tea Company full time. Tony oversees all orders, from the time that they come in via phone or fax to the time they are rolled out the door for delivery. There is not a package that Tony hasn’t personally handled. His favorite tea is Jin Xuan oolong.

Roxanne Garcia

Roxanne Garcia grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico on a chile and tomato farm. In 2002, Roxanne relocated to Tucson, Arizona where she planted roots with her two children. In 2004, a mutual friend referred her to Manish, who was looking for someone to assist him in running Tucson’s Farmers’ markets. With her background in agriculture and a degree in marketing, Roxanne was an ideal candidate. Roxanne helped Manish to run a successful market in central Tucson and to open a second market in Oro Valley. As a remarkable go-to girl, Roxanne has her fingers in tea as well. Her passion for cooking and sophisticated palate allow her to imagine and create some of our finest tea blends. Her all-time favorite tea however is simple and unaltered: Darjeeling black.

Sarah Price

Sarah Price was born and raised in Tucson, with a background in accounting. In late 2006 she left a position as office manager in pursuit of her passion, tea. Her dream was to open a tea shop of her own, and began searching for a position to get her foot in the door. Her skills in bookkeeping made her an easy hire for Manish, who in early 2007 made her a part of the Maya team. As the company expands, so do job descriptions, and Sarah’s position has grown to include writing company blogs, designing a monthly newsletter, and maintaining the website and company Facebook page. Her joy in this work has inspired her to return to school, where she intends to earn a degree in writing. Her favorite tea is the one with the most caffeine to push her through the day: Yerba Mate herbal.

Jennifer Vallier

Wisconsin born, Jennifer Vallier fell in love with the majestic Sonoran desert at the turn of the millennium and in 2001 established residence in Tucson. As a massage therapist, Jenn’s holistic approach to life led her to Tucson’s farmers’ markets where she sold biodynamic produce grown by others and eventually, organic produce she and her family grew in their backyard. It was a vender-manager relationship that she first established with Manish, and it wasn’t until 2008 that she became an employee of Maya Tea. Blessed with the gift of gab, her efforts soon turned to customer sales and supports. Those customers who have spoken with a sales representative over the phone likely spoke with Jennifer. Occasionally her bright three-year-old, Ihler, joins her in the office toting his bag of toys. Jenn’s favorite tea is the robust and delightfully earthy Puer black tea. Ihler will happily drink them all.

Kelly Watters

Kelly Watters was raised in Vermont where she spent childhood days scurrying around the farmers’ markets where her family worked. From a young age she was exposed to the ins and outs of farming and merchandising. Eventually she left her hometown and volunteered for an Americorps program, planting her in Tucson. Soon after, Kelly came into contact with Tucson’s Food Bank, where she has been employed for the past ten years. Connections between the Food Bank and Manish’s farmers’ markets run deep, and in 2009 Manish hired Kelly to assist with the management of his two growing markets. While her market skills are plentiful, Kelly is still new to the world of tea, though she has grown an affinity for some of Maya Tea’s unique blends. Her favorites are African Rose herbal tea and Casablanca Earl Grey green tea.

Lupita Osorio

Lupita Osorio came to Arizona from her home in Mexico City. Her culinary talent and warming smile won her place at one of Tucson’s premier restaurants, the Café Terra Cotta, where she graced both the dining arena and the kitchen with her talents. In 2009, when economic hardship caused the Terra Cotta to close its doors, Lupita began working closely with Maya Tea Company to keep the Terra Cotta line of spices alive. Lupita endlessly works to create the mixtures and has been formulating new spices to add to the line. Her baking talents can also be seen at the farmers’ markets, where she sells her homemade Mexican Sweet Bread. Lupita loves rock & roll, mole sauce and our Pomegranate Mojito green tea.