Kia Ora! Talofa Lava! Hello! Ni Hao! Thank you for visiting my website! My name's Aymie Lim and I am the business owner of this online specialty tea shop. I was born and raised in Singapore. I migrated to the beautiful country of New Zealand in December 2008. If you are interested to read up a little about the origin of my business and how it was first started in 2009 with my late husband, I invite you to please have a read below.
Through all the life experiences that I have lived through, I have developed a strong passion for connecting with people like you. Join me as I explore and share snippets of my life's journey while sharing my love for tea with you. It is my goal to have a community of like-minded people come together to support and encourage each other to live the best life that we can, and to live life to the fullest.
I have a very strong passion for tea and truly believe in the goodness of tea in support of our health and wellness. I also see tea drinking as part of our lifestyle. I do not regard tea as just a beverage or commodity. I believe that tea is an essential part of every culture and that we have so much to appreciate about each other's culture through tea drinking.
In my other profession, I am also a college teacher who is very passionate about supporting our young people in their learning as well as their life's journey. I bring this passion to serve and to teach to my business as well. I look forward to sharing what I have learned with you.
I would love to have you join me via social media or my blog post. Thank you once again for visiting.
Appreciating Tea, Exploring Life.
TEAze your Senses, Live Life to the Fullest.
Ngā mihi,
Aymie
Our Company
Divine KapiTea is made up of passionate and dedicated people whose mission is to bring to you a delightful tea drinking experience. We are a boutique online specialty tea business focusing on providing quality products as well as promoting health and wellness. Learn more about our vision, mission, core values and find out what drives our organisation culture!
Vision Statement
To operate a service oriented online and wholesale business, offering a variety of premium teas and tea accessories throughout New Zealand.
Mission Statement
This will be achieved by providing quality tea products at affordable prices, outstanding customer service & delivery, and focusing on our customer needs and market trends.
Core Values
Divine KapiTea believes in providing exceptional customer service and delivery, always maintaining our respect for the individuals, customers, suppliers and employees. We embrace values such as honesty, trustworthiness, dependability, innovative practice and open mindedness. Going the extra mile for our customers will be part of our fabric to ensure that people have a great experience with our company.
Organisational Culture
Divine KapiTea’s approach is one of constant and never ending improvement in personal development, customer service, product knowledge, understanding of global trends and business processes. We will create a fun and exciting work place based on trust, support for each other and a strong team spirit.
Since everything we do in business is about people, we must improve and develop through people management programs, consistent staff training, and team building programs to enhance our people relationship skills. This will ensure that we are a people-focused company that develop better individuals within our company and our community.
Our Beginnings
RAY OF HOPE AND SUNSHINE
I dedicate this business to my beloved late husband, Ray. He's the founder and business partner of Divine KapiTea, and the loving father of our 2 beautiful children. He'll forever be loved, cherished and remembered as a very kind and passionate tea connoisseur, a man of great ideas and a big heart to serve, and a man with a zest for living life to the fullest. May the love of Ray lives on as we endeavour to finish his unfinished dreams.
Greatly missed by all who knew him... Forever a void in our hearts
22/9/1960 - 17/12/2013
Ray & Aymie with their 2 boys who grew up in the Tea Shop
February 2013
How we first started
Divine KapiTea was started in 2009 as a small family run tea business based in Porirua, Wellington. The business was run by Ray and Aymie David. Ray was a local lad from Titahi Bay and his wife Aymie was a Singaporean who has made New Zealand her new home.
Having been introduced to the divine taste and goodness of tea, as well as the beauty and wonders of true tea experiences in Singapore, Ray and Aymie became true tea converts and tea lovers. When they decided to have a “mid-life” career change from an IT professional (Ray) and a teacher (Aymie), the tea business was without question the ideal choice!
When they first started, the home basement was their storage space and the shopping mall kiosk, food shows and events, as well as business social clubs were their retail spaces. They found their very own tea blender from Sri Lanka and together with a business partner in Singapore, launched their first tea brand under “Victoria’s Favourites”.
Our First Retail Outlets
When the opportunity arose, they started their first retail outlet in North City Shopping Centre in Aug 2010, followed by another outlet in Lambton Quay in November 2010. Running the retail outlets provided them with great opportunities for enjoyable and rewarding customer interactions, and allowed them to provide customers with outstanding service and retail experiences with a difference.
Our New Vision
In 2011, nearly 2 years after starting their first retail outlet, in between having a baby who grew up in the tea shop and another little bub on the way, Ray and Aymie had a new vision of a new tea brand with a distinctive New Zealand image and a strong local as well as overseas appeal. Hence the birth of the new tea brand “KapiTea”, named after the beautiful coastal region of Kapiti and linked with the idea of a divine “Cup of Tea”.
Relocation
In April 2012, in conjunction with the launch of the new brand “KapiTea”, Ray and Aymie decided to relocate their retail shop to the beautiful Kapiti Coast. This is the region where Ray used to spend his childhood days in the 1970s at his dad’s seaside bach. The beautiful and tranquil setting now serves as the base for their retail shop.
Ray and Aymie created a very cosy and exquisite space at their retail shop located at the tranquil Lindale Shopping Village in Kapiti Coast. They provided outstanding and memorable retail experiences to so many. A year later, they expanded their retail shop to include a Yum Cha/High Tea restaurant. They continued to provide tea appreciation ceremony as part of the drink drinking experience. It was a dream come true for them to be able to bring tea appreciation to a new level.
A Tragic Loss
Very sadly, the universe has other plans. Just as the retail and restaurant business was taking off, Ray made his transition from this world very suddenly in December 2013. It was a devestating loss for the family and the business. Aymie kept the retail business and restaurant going for a number of years. It was both challenging and fulfilling at the same time to keep the dream going.
Eventually, Aymie made the hard call and made the tough decision to close the retail shop and the restaurant. She returned to her original calling and went back to teaching. However, her passion towards the tea business remains strong. She remodelled the business and is now focused on serving her customers through her online store and wholesale business. Her goal is to remain connected to her customers through her online presence on social media as when as the occasion trade shows and market fairs.
Please continue to join us on the next chapter of our tea journey. Blessings to all as we venture through life! Appreciating Tea, Exploring Life. TEAze your Senses, Live Life to the Fullest.
Kapiti News
16 May 2012
Ray sharing the health benefits of tea and tips on tea brewing.
Kapi Mana 2009
Ray & Aymie visiting Gayan the Master Tea Blender (and his wife) in Sri Lanka.
July 2010
One of our booths in the trade shows during our first year of business (2009).
Ray with Prime Minister John Key (2009), with our very first range of teas under the "Victoria's Favourites" brand.