Iroh's Corner Jessi Freitag

Join us for tea with Karter Elhabbassi, owner of Ovation Coffee & Tea, a chain of coffee shops in Portland, Oregon with a Moroccan twist to the menu. Karter shares about growing up in the US and Morocco, how his family started the restaurant Dar Essalam in Wilsonville, Oregon, and then started Ovation Coffee & Tea, how they infuse a culture of hospitality into everything they do, and and so much more. 

We recorded this episode in April 2022, and since then, Yelp published a list of the top 100 coffee shops in the US and Canada, and I’m excited to share that Ovation is #3 on that list! We’re releasing this episode on National Coffee Day in the US on September 29th, with International Coffee Day being just two days later on October 1st. Congratulations to Ovation for being named the #3 coffee shop in the US and Canada, and if you find yourself in Portland, be sure to stop by.



This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments: Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30



Episode Links:


Ovation website & IG @ovationpdx
Yelp's Top 100 List featuring Ovation
KOIN story "Yelp says this brunch spot is the top reviewed in Oregon"
Video from KOIN story for 2021 National Coffee Day featuring Ovation (and another clip here)



Show Links:


Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com

Join us for tea with Mélissa Rondeau, co-owner of Suzor Wines, a small production winery crafting beautiful, sustainable wines from the Willamette Valley. Mélissa shares about growing up in Montréal and pivoting from business school to hospitality, working in vibrant hospitality establishments in Europe that shaped how she views hospitality today, moving to Oregon and meeting her husband and co-owner of Suzor Wines, Greg McClellan, all about how they make beautiful wines at Suzor through Methven Family Vineyards' custom crush program, and so much more. 



This episode was sponsored by Prompt'd Moments:


Get 30% off your order at Prompt'd Moments using code TEA30



Episode Links:


Suzor Wines website & IG @suzor_wines
Video interview with Mélissa & Greg by Rich Schmidt
Mentioned Rose + Lincoln juices
Négociant wine shop and delicatessen
Domaine Roy winery in Dundee, OR
Aesthete Tea



Show Links:


Want to support Iroh's Corner? You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or buy Jessi a one-time tea here
Visit host Jessi's Linkedin or website
Check out the Iroh's Corner Tea Library with host and guest tea recommendations
Questions or comments about the episode? Email Jessi at hello@irohscorner.com

Join us for tea with Nisha Supahan and Toby Linwood, owners of Tattoo 34, Portland’s only Indigenous & Black owned tattoo shop. Toby and Nisha share about their journey from meeting each other and multiple moves to landing in Portland, how Toby got into art and creating sculptures for the Olympics and ultimately tattooing, how they've intentionally built Tattoo 34, and so much more.

Join us for tea with CeAnne Kosel, owner of Farmhouse Teas, an online organic loose leaf tea company run from their farm in Oregon. CeAnne shares about how she fell in love with gardening, herbs, and blending teas, the journey from farmers markets to building a thriving ecommerce business, and her focus on education, customer experience, and her "secret sauce."

Join us for tea with Ken Ojuka, founder and CEO of Fiddle, a modern inventory operations software for CPG brands and manufacturers. Ken shares his career path from being a CPG brand to creating a software for CPG brands, his focus on building inventory software with a modern, intuitive interface, and how he strives toward "work-life harmony."

Join us for tea with Amy Colville, founder, owner, and Chief Joy Seeker at aMYLK, a plant-based mylk company. Amy shares her serendipitous journey, including going from burn-out to creating a bliss-filled company, her own health needs leading her to making her own mylks, and how she intentionally grows and leads her team.