Oolong Tea Times Contributing Writers

Josh Chamberlain

Josh was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, where he developed an interest in foreign languages at an early age. He was raised by two renowned psychologists, Patti Chamberlain and Martin Waechter, to whom he attributes much of his success. Josh saw his college education at the University of Oregon as an opportunity to learn how to make a living by doing what he truly wanted to do. After graduating with a degree in International Studies with a focus on Taiwan, he moved to Taiwan where he studied Chinese, Kung Fu, tea and acupuncture for several years. These cultural experiences and the relationships he cultivated profoundly impacted Josh. In addition to his cultural studies, Josh earned an MBA from one of Taiwan's top-ranking graduate schools. While living in Taiwan, he also realized that he loved business because it allows you to make a living through connecting with other people. Josh started the tea business in 2004 from Taiwan and returned to Eugene in 2005 to launch J-Tea. He enjoys sharing tea culture. When Josh isn't peddlin' tea, he's probably outside with his bilingual Taiwanese dog, Boo.

Katie Lewis Chamberlain
A Kentucky native, Katie migrated to Oregon nearly eight years ago where she quickly fell in love with the Pacific Northwest while earning a Master’s in Magazine Journalism at the University of Oregon. By day, she is an editorial and research coordinator at Oregon Social Learning Center. Katie is also a freelance editor and writer, primarily covering food and the environment. She has contributed to 1859 Magazine, Wildflower Magazine, Eugene Magazine, Harvard Medicine, the Eugene Weekly, and Trazzler. When not procuring food or eating, Katie can be found practicing yoga, hiking, or cycling.  Katie traveled to Taiwan for the first time in 2011 where she savored many delectable snacks and consumed countless cups of puer, Dong Ding, and everything in between. She has a perpetual weakness for Iron Goddess and roasted oolongs.
 
Anna V. Smith

Anna is one of the most recent additions to the J-TEA team, joining them in October 2013. After years of working as a barista with coffee, she was excited to start learning about the world of tea since she had no previous knowledge of it, and thought that tea was only the crushed up Lipton teabags. Since then, Anna has acquired a liking for roasted oolongs and puers, and a range of other teas in the shop.

Anna just graduated from the University of Oregon with two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Environmental Studies and is currently interning with the Eugene Weekly as a news writer. She has a little lionhead rabbit named Otis, too.