Alan's Tea Pilgrimage

My name is Alan Moore. I have a deep passion for tea, its health benefits, and its ability to bring people together. I have a goal to open a tea house in Blacksburg, a beautiful cosmopolitan mountain town in southwest Virginia. I am planning a journey to the Pacific coast to sample and select the finest teas from 2016's spring harvest with North America's most esteemed tea importers, to share love and tea with long-time friends along the way, and return home with more of the finest teas on Planet Earth to share with my community.Since 1990 I've visited China and it's marvelous tea houses nine times. In 2012 I kicked off the Planet Tea House as a home business. I've nurtured my dream through the study and sharing of tea and tea knowledge in my hometown. Several local businesses buy and sell my tea, and I have small devoted number of tea-loving friends. I Believe I have the experience and energy to move my dream forward, but I recognize I can do nothing alone. From scratch my former partner and I built the region's unrivaled international grocery, Oasis World Market, a valued community enterprise which, 17 years later, continues to ring up annual sales in the millions and provide jobs to over a dozen. I admit I am mostly self-taught regarding tea, but in early February my confidence received a huge boost from a visiting Tea Master from Beijing. She confirmed The Planet Tea House has a finer tea collection than she ever expected to see outside of China's tea centers!  However, most tea inventory is running low, especially the lighter white, green, and yellow teas which must be replaced every year.  Let's refill the tea vault with the best tea on planet Earth!I plan to travel by Amtrak trains and depart near the end of May. From home bases with friends near San Francisco and LA, I will be visitng a select few tea importers who have previously supplied me with some of the finest teas available in North America. It willl be wonderful to meet some these tea gurus and try a wider variety of their products! I am also am delighted to be visiting my eldest son, Ocean, for the first time in Seattle. The bounty of tea from this journey will form the foundation to the next step, a Mobile Tea House campaign kicking off in June!The revised budget is as follows:
$1000, train tickets, lodging & other transportation (most nights will be spent with friends)
$500 - fundraising fees, ~3/4 to gofundme and card processor (I welcome ca$h donations, too)
$5000 - wholesale purchase of tea and tea supplies. Now that I have over $1000 towards my goal, the trip is on! If I don't reach the full $6500, then there will be less tea purchased on this trip. By my departure date, I also plan to raise $500 of my own funds to cover my food, medicine, and personal expenses.I need to begin fundraising as soon as possible in order to continue making arrangements for tea rendezvous and travel. I am reaching out for help in reviving the tea house because I lost my job last summer and in the lean months since I've been unable to fold earnings from tea sales back into the business. I am working on a wider public campaign for The Planet Tea House on a commercial fundraising site which will take more time to get up and running. That campaign will have multi-level rewards and incentives. I don't want you feel left out; you are also welcome to donate there and claim rewards. But please understand this first step on gofundme is crucial, and hopefully you know me well enough to recognize we will all share in the rewards if this journey comes to fruition.Please consider donating if you are able and if you wish to encourage the dream of a gathering place for tea and community connections. And please share with your friends. I will send updates as the campaign reaches new milestones. Thank you for considering my plea.
All my love,

Alan