Mellow Monk, sourcing single-estate curated Japanese green tea directly from independent artisans

Curated tea. Without compromise.

We offer a carefully curated selection of award-winning single-estate Japanese green tea, which we source directly from exceptional tea artisans who practice traditional tea-crafting.

On their estates in the pristine mountains of rural Kumamoto, Japan, these eco-responsible grower–artisans control every step of their teamaking, from planting and harvesting to packaging and shipping directly to us.

Our tea estates are certified under the Japanese government’s Eco Farmer Program. Mellow Monk® is also a dedicated green business, and in keeping with our mission to support family-based agriculture, we also avidly support Kiva.

On August 18th, 2022, the founder of Mellow Monk, Paul Kotta, passed away after a long battle with multiple myeloma. Since his passing, we - his wife, Akimi, and children, Sean and Erica - have been trying our best to continue providing Mellow Monk customers the same tea and service they have grown to love. Paul had set everything up such that, in large part, this was easy for us to do.

However, we regretfully acknowledge that our responsiveness to inquiries and issues has been much slower, and we certainly cannot match Paul's avid and cheerful passion for learning and teaching about green tea and Japanese culture. Many of you may have already realized this, and we sincerely apologize for not letting you know the news of his passing sooner. We hope this doesn't turn you away from us, as we are determined to continue providing everyone with great quality green tea as Paul intended.

Thank you for your patience with us as we slowly but surely recover.