09/16/2026
A dispatch from the Dr. himself!! Dearest Readers,
It was the sweltering autumn of 1912. I was bound for Uttar Pradesh, searching for the crispest spearmint known to man. Valentine sat perched atop my steamer trunk as our boat took us up the muddy, sacred waters of the Ganges toward the ancient city of Varanasi.
As our riverboat glided against the stone ghats under a heavy twilight sky, a sudden breeze drifted across the water. It carried the fragrance of a crisp mint tea so intoxicatingly sharp that it spoke to the grapefruit sitting heavy in my coat pocket.
We moored at the docks, where a weathered tea wallah stood amidst clouds of aromatic steam. He poured the infusion into a heavy, double-wrought iron vessel of extraordinary craftsmanship.
The tea steeped. One sip, and I was enraptured. I insisted on discovering the origin of this remarkable herb. The old man led us down a labyrinth of shadowy alleyways until we emerged into a hidden courtyard. There grew the most fragrant spearmint I had ever laid eyes on.
I compensated the gentleman handsomely for a pristine root clipping and the iron wrought vessel it came in. Together we drank our tea in serene, understanding silence.
I coddled that fragile botanical cutting across thousands of nautical miles, keeping it nourished through monsoons until we finally dropped anchor in New York Harbor. When the time came to pour the very first batch of Joy, I mixed and poured it directly into that heavy iron tea vessel I had carried home from the shores of the Ganges.
To honor the rugged, double-wrought iron container that birthed our iconic fragrance, enjoy 33% off all SoHo tins from 9/14 through 9/21.
