Teas on Draft

A Modern Tea Brewery

by Steven Mills

IN LIFE AND BUSINESS, TIMING IS CRUCIAL.

After overcoming a health crisis three years ago, Mike Powers knew it was time for a change. Mike, a native of the Boston area, has lived in Southern Louisiana for the past 30 years, including 13 years on the Northshore. He has worked in the franchise industry for over 20 years, growing businesses in the United States and abroad, and decided to leverage his experience and skillset into building a meaningful business in the next chapter of his life.

This summer, Mike is introducing Úr Teas, located between Home Goods and Dollar Tree in Mandeville. Úr Teas features a variety of fresh teas on draft that are specially brewed daily on site. The namesake, Úr, which means “fresh” in Irish-Gaelic, embodies everything the business stands for. The story of how the company started involves an encounter with the company’s mascot, a white squirrel, on the evening before a major surgery, validating Mike’s faith and belief that coincidences do not exist and proving it is never too late for a new adventure in life.

“I hadn’t been to the doctor in 15 years and had no idea that there was anything wrong on the inside,” says Mike. “I try to do a lot of preventative maintenance with diet and exercise so I can avoid doctors as much as possible. My wife, along with many others, kept telling me to make a routine appointment, and it began to feel like it maybe it was sign,” he explains. It wasn’t until he ran into a doctor at a tennis tournament that he finally decided to go.

When the results came back, Mike was referred to a specialist who ultimately diagnosed him with prostate cancer. Several searches directed him to world-renowned Dr. Patrick C. Walsh, a urologist at Johns Hopkins who developed “the anatomic approach to radical prostatectomy.”

When Mike called Dr. Walsh’s office, the receptionist explained that he did not accept new patients, but that didn’t stop Mike. He continued to tell her about the coincidences that had been occurring and everyone had been telling him to go get his blood checked. “She finally decided she would show Dr. Walsh my case and called back later to tell me that he wanted to take me on as a new patient.”

A month later, Mike and his wife, Donna, flew to Johns Hopkins to meet with Dr. Walsh. What was supposed to be an hour-long consultation, turned into a three-hour discussion about life. “Dr. Walsh sat me down and told me there’s no such thing as a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. You’re just a passenger on the bus, you’re not driving it.”

When Mike and his family returned for his surgery, they decided to visit the Washington, D.C., museums and the White House between tests. The reality started to hit his nerves the day before surgery, and Mike began to pray for a sign that he would be okay. While sitting on a bench outside of the White House with his wife, father and daughter Rita, his prayers were answered. “There were a lot of birds and squirrels everywhere. Out of nowhere, a white squirrel walked up and stopped right in front of us. It had a brown tail with a white body. It stood up on its hind legs and bounced, as if trying to get my attention, and somehow I knew that everything was going to be okay.”

Ten days after surgery, Dr. Walsh informed Mike that the cancer was much worse than they had anticipated, but they were able to remove it completely. “I made it by about two months,” says Mike. “It was full of aggressive cancer and was ready to burst. If I had waited three more months, it would’ve erupted, and my situation would have been a lot worse.” As soon as he was released from the hospital, he created White Squirrel LLC and dove headfirst into brainstorming a new business, allowing the white squirrel to guide him through the process.

After going through this life-saving procedure, Mike started thinking of ways he could create solutions to problems that could also change others’ lives through incorporating healthy lifestyle changes. “I have always been a tea drinker, but I don’t like adding sugar,” says Mike. “All of the bottled teas in the grocery stores are old and full of preservatives, which make them very acidic. The pH is terrible so that the drinks are shelf stable.” The problem he found with most shops that serve tea is that tea is an extra and not the main priority. “Too often tea is brewed like coffee. Coffee shops use coffee equipment to brew tea leaves, but that equipment is developed for beans and grounds. Tea leaves are dry and need to go through different processes.”

Richard, Blake and Mike Powers with Greg Carnovale share a toast with steins of tea.

Mike spent the two years following his surgery developing an eight-step, original tea-brewing process with temporary equipment in his garage and kitchen. The proprietary multi-step, slow process reduces the bitterness and dryness of tea leaves so it can be enjoyed without adding sugar or milk—zero sugar, preservatives or bite. “The idea was to create a line of better-for-you delicious teas that retain all of their wonderful flavor and benefits,” Mike explains. “I made six gallons of tea in my kitchen every day for two years, challenged traditional tea brewing methods, and then tested it on friends and family until I finally found the brewing sweet spot for each type of tea. Our process develops a naturally sweet, unsweet tea.” The soulful, urban vibe of his first brick and mortar store, complete with a fully retractable glass garage door in the front, is a welcomed addition to the northshore. All of the stainless-steel kettles and brewing equipment in the back of the store are exposed so people can see what goes into the process. According to Mike, “The shop was designed to be a place where people can explore the new realm of modern teas, and the reuse program was intended to influence other retailers to follow— and it all benefits the people, the community, and the environment.”

A circular bottling process was also implemented, only using glass bottles and stainless-steel containers to inspire others to stop using single-use plastic products. To pull this off, Mike used a significant amount of his initial investment to buy highquality cleaning and sanitizing equipment, ensuring customers that every bottle in the store is extremely clean. “Demand for our signature, smooth and fairly priced teas will provide us with a visible platform to demonstrate that reusable bottling programs are sustainable and can help curb our single-use plastic dependency. We will accomplish much more than just selling a new tea, and based on early feedback, it appears that a tsunami of lasting change towards reusable containers is coming. We are proud to be part of that initiative.” Following construction of his first brick-andmortar store with his 83-year-old father, Richard, Mike was ready to expand staffing beyond Donna and his children, Rita, Blake, and Brooke. He received a call from former Christ Episcopal School Athletic Director Greg Carnovale, whom he had met through his daughters sports at the school. Greg, a Covington local, felt it was time for a new adventure and was totally aligned with the company’s vision, and Mike hired him on the spot. He says, “It’s well known that Greg’s leadership, hard-work ethic and passion helped build one of the most successful student-athlete programs in the state of Louisiana. Now, his devotion to growing our mission at Úr Teas is second to none. Finding someone of Greg’s caliber at the right time was also no coincidence at all – it was meant to be.”

Donna, Rita, Brooke, Blake and Mike Powers.

Throughout his cancer journey, as well as the challenges they faced designing and launching a new business during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike credits the people who have supported them through the finish line to open their first location. “It’s one thing to talk about it and draw up ideas, but to actually execute a plan and then actually invest in building it is uncommon for good reason. Becoming an entrepreneur requires a lot of nerve and you have to be able to stomach the risks involved while constantly moving forward.” A second location for Úr Teas has already been secured, and construction is set to begin in August, followed by a robust franchise plan in 2022. Each location will incorporate the company’s mascot, the white squirrel, as a reminder that every day is truly a blessing.

“My personal journey over the last three years has taught me many new life lessons and that everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that we all have purpose in life and that mine was recently defined,” says Mike. “Introducing our unique business locally and having a platform to share the white squirrel testimony is very, very satisfying. We love what we are doing and look forward to promoting it every day! I was spared for a reason, and I’m not going to let that pass me by. Now I get to tell the story of the white squirrel, which is a story of hope and faith for all.”