One Degree Closer to Phuong Le

Owner of ONO Tea
Iloveono.com
Written By Allan I. Ross | Photographed By Kevan Bowers

Phuong Le, aka The Tea Chick, is the CEO of ONO Tea, and is also the youngest tea sommelier in the world. Why is it great to be Phuong? “I get to create,” she says. “Creating delicious, beautiful and healthy ONO Tea products is my passion.”

Although she’s been cooking with tea since she was 6, her journey into the tea business was a circuitous one. A career in medicine didn’t inspire her (she was a bio major at University of Michigan), and moving to Hawaii wasn’t as fun as she thought it would be, so two years ago she moved back to Michigan and launched ONO, a brand of specialized teas. “Every tea is catered to a specific lifestyle,” she says. “There are teas for athletes, for yoga, for children, for beauty — there are just no limits.”

This summer, Phuong started doing tea events and tastings in Tribute Restaurant’s garden. She’s also currently working on a tea cookbook — yes, it’s for more than just drinking. “Tea is like wine, only better,” she says. “You can have it in the morning to energize you, during the day for endurance and in the evening to relax. I love my job, I love my life.”