(Don’t) Spill the Tea (with Michael Ortiz‪)‬ This Wooden O

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains mentions of sex, and references of drug use.

This week, Daniel and Monty reconnect with a former acting classmate turned entrepreneur and International Tea Master, Mike Ortiz (@sipjojo on Instagram) to discuss his journey from theatre school to brewing tea on the world stage.

Topics include: The return of “Danny” Kemper; Finding your weirdos in action; The parallels between auditioning and building a business; The importance of unapologetically taking up space; Being comfortable with not having answers, and being willing to constantly ask questions in life and theatre; The proper way to drink tea; How Mike went from actor to tea salesman and entrepreneur
Brewing tea as a practice of meditation; The importance of persistence in developing relationships; Learning under pressure; The influence of slave labor on modern tea consumption and sales; How an actor with no business training starts a company; Resilience as a necessity in the pursuit of your goals; What makes a master; Understanding a structure well enough to break it; The origin of the name Jojo Tea

This week’s shoutouts, recommendations, and further reading include: Anya Saffir; EBE Ensemble; Master Chufei Tsai; Jojo Tea Company; Badia Spice Company; World Tea Expo
Grandmaster Maurice Ashley; Tea Master’s Cup; Osteria 57; Malaparte; Cafe Integra; Tiger King on Netflix; Hollywood Caucus podcast

This Wooden O is a production of Rude Grooms. Learn more at rudegrooms.com or follow us @rudegrooms on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

WE HAVE MERCH! Official This Wooden O coffee mugs and baseball tees are available on our website. Get yours at http://www.thiswoodeno.com/shop today!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/this-wooden-o/donations