Newsletter: From Japan to Cincinnati - New Matcha, Fall Favorites & Holiday Surprises

A Fresh Look And New Discoveries

Fall has finally arrived in Cincinnati, and there's a lot happening behind the scenes at Churchill's as we get ready for our favorite time of year!

If you've visited our shops recently, you may have noticed a few changes. At Findlay Market, our tea wall has finally received its long-awaited makeover! We've refreshed the menu wall board and smelling tins with more teas and clearer flavor descriptions, to make exploring our collection even more enjoyable.

Over at both locations, our charming tea stores are getting a fresh coat of paint in October. Can you guess what color we're dressing our little house in? Inside, we've also finished updating our extensive tea menu book, with flavor profiles and full ingredient lists for nearly 300 teas. We hope these improvements make it easier to explore, ask questions, and find your next favorite cup.

These projects may look like simple updates. They've taken months of planning, tasting, writing, and plenty of work behind the scenes. Running a small business means our wish list is often longer than the hours in a day, so seeing these ideas finally come to life is especially rewarding. We can't wait for you to experience them.

And we're just getting started with the holiday season!

Our 2026 Tea Advent Calendar, 25 Days of Moments Together, is already selling quickly during pre-sale, with 2/3 of our produced units sold in less a month. If you've been thinking about getting one for yourself or someone special, now is a great time to reserve yours. We're also welcoming two new Japanese matchas, introducing beautiful matcha accessories and hands-on experiences, and bringing back our exclusive Charley Harper Candle & Tea Gift Set to celebrate the Harper exhibitions happening in Cincinnati this October. More on these exciting additions below!

To give you a little more time to explore and shop during the holiday season, between 11/13-12/23, our Madisonville location will open 10am- 6 PM Monday-Fridays, 10am-5pm on Saturdays and 11am- 4pm on Sundays. Findlay Market location will be open 10am-5pm Monday- Fridays, 8am-5pm on Saturdays and 10am-4pm on Sundays.

As we prepare our shops for the season ahead, we're thinking about more than new products and holiday gifts. We want Churchill's to be a place where you feel welcome to slow down, discover something unexpected, share a conversation, and enjoy a special moment over tea.

Thank you for being part of our small-business journey. Your visits, curiosity, encouragement, and continued support make all these improvements possible. We look forward to welcoming you into our refreshed spaces and sharing many more tea moments together this holiday season!

Fueling inspiration, one steep at a time,

Angela

New Matchas, New Ways to Whisk

This summer, I traveled to Japan, visiting matcha farms, production facilities, and specialty tea shops to deepen my understanding of the craftsmanship and traditions behind this remarkable tea. Matcha has long been an important part of Churchill's collection, but there's always more to discover! I'm excited to bring some of that inspiration home to Cincinnati with two new Japanese matchas, thoughtfully selected accessories, and new ways to experience authentic matcha together.

Meet MATSUBA 松葉 and YUUBI 優美, our two newest Japanese matchas! MATSUBA, meaning “pine needles,” offers a vibrant green color and a light, smooth cup with fresh vegetal notes and a subtle dark-cocoa finish. YUUBI, meaning “elegant beauty,” brings an earthy-forward character, delicate grassy notes, and gentle astringency. Both are 100% pure Japanese matcha, offering lighter profiles than our existing rich, full-bodied Gyokuro Matcha. Three distinctive matchas, each with its own personality to explore!

We've also expanded our matcha accessories just in time for holiday gifting! Our upgraded Matcha Making Gift Set brings together the essential tools for preparing matcha at home, making a thoughtful gift for beginners and enthusiasts alike. You'll also discover beautiful ceramic preparation and serving sets, along with bamboo whisks in natural purple bamboo. Purple bamboo is prized for its resilience, flexibility, and naturally rich, dark color. Its firm yet flexible tines help create a smooth, creamy matcha foam while offering durability and an elegant appearance. We're especially excited about our new long-handled purple bamboo whisk, designed for comfortable whisking directly in taller Western-style mugs — no traditional matcha bowl required! It's a beautiful blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern convenience, bringing the art of matcha into everyday life.

And here's something especially close to my heart: sharing real matcha with the next generation! Have a teenager who loves trendy matcha drinks? Our new one-hour, hands-on Matcha Tasting & Whisking Experience is a fun way for families to explore matcha together. You'll taste three Japanese matchas, learn to whisk your own, make a delicious matcha latte, and discover what makes pure matcha different from instant mixes that sometimes contain more sugar and fillers than actual tea. We hope they'll leave inspired to make their own matcha at home!

Explore our new matchas and accessories, and discover our private Matcha Tasting & Whisking Experience in the Events section below!

A Holiday Collaboration in Tea, Art & Candlelight

I had the pleasure of attending Charley Harper Alive and spending time with Brett Harper, celebrating the remarkable artistic legacy of his parents, Charley and Edie Harper. With two special exhibitions honoring the Harpers in Cincinnati this October, I couldn't be prouder to bring back our exclusive holiday collaboration and celebrate the wonderful Harper family we are so fortunate to have as part of our Cincinnati community!

Our Charley Harper x Churchill's Fine Teas Holiday Gift Sets bring together three Cincinnati businesses — the Charley Harper Art Studio, Cincy Candle Lab, and Churchill's Fine Teas — in a celebration of local art, craftsmanship, and tea.

Choose from two beautiful designs: White Christmas, featuring Charley Harper's charming Cardinal Claus, or Hot Cincinnati Spice Rooibos, adorned with Edie Harper's beloved Magnificat. Each set pairs a hand-poured soy candle, offering up to 60 hours of burn time, with one ounce of its matching loose-leaf tea. Enjoy the fragrance while sipping the tea that inspired it!

Another new launch we're proud to bring you this fall is the two new flavors in our pyramid sachet collection, featuring some of our staff's favorite teas for the season: Chaiwalla’s Choice Black Tea, with its warming chai spices, and Caramel & Almonds Black Tea, with creamy caramel and roasted almond! 

We've selected these cozy fall favorites to make enjoying great tea even easier, whether you're starting a crisp autumn morning, taking a relaxing afternoon break, or sharing a comforting cup with someone you love. Our convenient pyramid sachets give tea leaves room to unfurl and release their wonderful flavors, without the need for measuring or an infuser.

Discover our staff's fall favorites, now easier than ever to enjoy and share!

Fall Tea Recommendations & Events

Have a teenager at home who's fallen in love with trendy matcha drinks? Take a peek at the ingredient list on some instant matcha mixes. You might be surprised to find sugar and other ingredients listed well before the matcha itself!

We're introducing a hands-on Matcha Tasting & Whisking Workshop as a new theme for our one-hour private tea tasting experiences. Designed for small groups of up to six guests, you'll taste three different Japanese matchas, learn to recognize quality matcha, practice whisking with a traditional bamboo whisk, and create your own delicious matcha latte.

It's a fun opportunity for families with teenagers, friends, or anyone curious about matcha to discover that making a wonderful matcha drink doesn't require a long list of ingredients — just good tea, a little knowledge, and the right technique.

Contact us first to reserve your private event!

Upcoming Classes & Events:

Tea Classes:

• 10/17/26 Shadows & Steepings: Britain's Hidden History Through Tea
• 11/8/26 From Empire to Everyday: How Tea Became India's Chai 
• 1/17/27 Herbal Harmony: Women's Wellness

Tea Social:

• 10/4/26 Tea & Tale Social: Charley & Edie Harper – Cincinnati Art, Tea & Trivia 
  
• 1/31/27 Tea & Calligraphy: Bring Home a Lunar New Year Blessing

Special Tea Pairing:

• 12/6/26 Tea & Chocolate Pairing Experience – Holiday Edition

Churchill's Speaker Series: (only $5 to RSVP as our way to give back to the community):

• 11/15/26 Harriet Beecher Stowe's Legacy & Tea

Whether you're interested in history, culture, or simply discovering exceptional teas, there's a journey waiting in every cup.

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