Troy — Their website has an excerpt from the well-known Gospel story: “When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, ‘Zacchaeus, climb down from that tree and come here quickly, for today I must drink tea at your house.’”

Mathew and Rachel Martino, owners of Catholici-TEA, a local Macomb-based tea business, know that’s not how the story of Zacchaeus actually happened.

But they do know how to have lighthearted fun in spreading both their faith and their fondness for tea.

“We’re inspired by Pope Francis, who said to take that faith you have and put it in what you love,” said Mathew Martino, explaining that their business, which began in 2010, focuses largely on “how to blend the two — faith and tea — and at least have some fun.”

 



Mugs runneth over

With categories like “Holy See-lections,” “Blessed Black Teas” and “Heavenly Herbal Teas,” as well as having a “patron saint” for each tea, Catholici-TEA is not afraid to talk about faith in terms of business.

For example, “Cream Earl Grey” tea has St. Thomas More as a patron; while after-dinner “Northern Maple” tea has St. Marguerite d’Youville — a Canadian saint.

Rachel Martino’s personal favorite is their newly unveiled “Christmas Spice,” which is advertised as “a great add to your seasonal tea collection and makes a perfect gift or stocking stuffer for that special, tea-drinking someone on your CHRISTmas list.”

“Rooibos Chai” is Mathew Martino’s favorite, due to an intriguing story he learned.

Rooibos grows in the Cedarberg Mountains in South Africa, he said, and thrives in the harsh climate, which varies from 32 degrees to 118 degrees Fahrenheit and includes severe drought periods. The Rooibos bush survives when its root can grow deep enough in the ground to find water, a feat only accomplished after great struggles.

“I compare that to how our faith can be,” said Mathew Martino, explaining that in “working through struggles” the Christian faith becomes stronger.

A special aspect of Catholici-TEA is their significant supply of loose teas in addition to the more common tea bags. If a customer doesn’t have a tea infuser for the loose leaves, the Martinos offer the St. Gabriel the Archangel-shaped infuser.

“We sell a lot of those infusers consistently,” said Mathew Martino. “It keeps with the Catholic theme.”

The Martinos also made sure their tea suppliers follow ethical business practices, which is comparable to “fair trade with coffee,” said Mathew Martino.

 

Brewing an idea

The Martinos wanted to find the best way to get into the local community and tell fellow Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit about their small business.

“We could have invested $700 in parish bulletin advertisements,” said Mathew Martino. “But it was almost better to invest in social media.”

Making sure to have a user-friendly website (MyCatholicTea.com), they then branched out to the mediums of Twitter and Facebook to build up their online presence.

Mathew Martino shared the story of meeting fellow Catholic business entrepreneur and blogger Ryan Eggenberger, whom they encountered when Eggenberger initially followed them on Twitter.

“We connected despite the distance,” said Mathew Martino, who after having the chance to meet Eggenberger in person, was recently featured in an article on RyanEggenberger.com.

The Martinos regularly update both the Twitter and Facebook sites with information about their growing business and the Catholic faith — frequently including tea-related puns and trivia.

 

Prayer and service

Mathew Martino is a member of the Men of the Sacred Hearts, an apostolic organization of Catholic laymen who “enthrone” homes and businesses to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In May 2013, Catholici-TEA enthroned Christ in their business with assistance from the Men of the Sacred Hearts, making Christ the head of their company.

“Now Catholici-TEA is on the front lines of making Jesus Christ the core of what you do,” said Mathew Martino.

The Martinos have connected with Catholic businesses in the area, and their products can be found in three Metro Detroit stores: Celtic Cove Catholic Bookstore in Lake Orion, Faith@Work Catholic Books & Gifts in Troy, and Maria’s Catholic Supply House in Shelby Township.

The business also makes it a goal to offer prayer support to anyone who requests it. They invite people to submit prayer requests to their Facebook page, or if they prefer to submit confidential requests, email [email protected].

 

Running for the crown

Catholici-TEA’s logo was designed with a specific Bible verse in mind: 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, which reads, “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.”

The logo features a steaming cup of tea floating against a tea leaf, haloed with a “crown” of heavenly victory. A circle outlining the design is to represent “the universality of Catholicism encompassing everything” explained Mathew Martino.

Rachel Martino is happy with how much this faith-oriented tea business has helped the two of them grow closer “as a married couple and as parents.”

“When I take my business degree and faith life and try to blend the two, I never want to look like I’m ‘using’ the faith to promote my business,” said Mathew Martino. “The more we reach to build and deepen relationships the more successful we become … the more we serve others the more that comes back to us.”

“But these principles transcend tea,” he added. “They’re life principles rooted in the Gospel.”

 

Catholici-TEA: A healthy blend of faith and fun

To find out more about Mathew and Rachel Martino’s Catholic tea business, or to order tea and other merchandise, visit www.mycatholictea.com, or call 1-800-971-4561. For updates, follow them on Twitter @Catholici_T and like their Facebook page, “Catholici-TEA.”