Reena Shah
chadotearoom.com I devanshahteafest.com
While Reena Shah grew up drinking chai prepared by her mother, her life in the business of tea began in 1991 when she and her late husband—notable tea industry figure Devan Shah (1962–2016)—were selling tea out of her parents’ garage. Reena and Devan worked together to open the first of the Chado tearooms in Los Angeles. Her work at the award-winning Chado, which stocks more than 300 premium loose-leaf teas, revolutionized the city’s tea culture. Reena has since expanded the business her business partner, Tek Mehreteab, adding locations in Hollywood, Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Torrance, California, and in India. Along with her role at Chado, Reena continues her husband’s legacy in the tea industry through International Tea Importers, which sells more than 600 kinds of teas, and the Los Angeles International Tea Festival, now known as the Devan Shah Tea Festival, renamed in his memory.
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