TEA SHOPS
ATLAS TEA COMPANY
Zoom Out: The guiding ethos to well-being at Atlas Tea Company
By Tamara S. Wolfe | Photography by Dung Hoang
AMBER ZAUUG, FOUNDER OF ATLAS TEA COMPANY, remembers the day, five years ago, when her former husband ended his life after a long struggle with addiction. “He was the father of my two children and my partner for more than two decades,” she shares softly.
Amber had spent years as a therapist, helping others navigate their mental health. But in this loss, something shifted, as she found herself returning to one aching truth:
“Well-being felt so unreachable to him. It was too mysterious, too far away. Traditional therapy felt too clinical, too cold. I realized we needed a new path to healing. Something human. Something approachable.”
Tea became the catalyst — and Zoom Out, the guiding ethos.
“Tea, in its welcoming simplicity, allows us to be present, open up conversation, and share our stories,” Amber explains. “It allows us to step back from fear and widen the lens into our own truths. When we Zoom Out, we can begin to fully see, hear, understand and love ourselves and one another. We remember that every person matters. And there is always a way forward.”
In the fall of 2024, Amber opened Atlas Tea Company in historic downtown Ogden, with her daughter Emma and son Chandler beside her.
For Amber, the earliest essence of Atlas was cultivated in the quiet morning ritual of making ginger cardamom chai. It grounded her during a time of deep grief and reflection — and breathed life into what Atlas would become.
She had learned to make chai from her friend Adi, who grew up in India. And it was unlike anything she’d ever tasted. Assam black tea. Fresh grated ginger. Ground green cardamom. Milk. Sugar. Time. Attention. Fragrance that reaches the soul. “You can’t have enough ginger,” Amber smiles. “The scent, the spices, the warmth — it allows you to pause. It calms and restores you.”
Adi’s chai was a family tradition passed down from his grandmother to him, and then from him to Amber. In his childhood home, making chai was an act of love — a way of connecting and caring for one another. “When Adi would return to India, his dad would ask, ‘Are you ready for chai, son?’ And he would make him a cup,” shares Amber. That small, yet deeply felt gesture stayed with her — an embodiment of something both ancient and universal.
For centuries, tea has held a cherished place in cultures around the world. Whether in the serenity of Chinese tea ceremonies, the vivid joy of Turkish tea shared in open-air markets, or the reverent steeping of chai in Indian homes, tea has long gathered people in moments of shared humanity. Across generations and geographies, it offers comfort, renews harmony, and fosters belonging.
Amber felt this connection during her travels in Istanbul, Turkey — a vibrant region that helped inspire the name “Atlas.”
“It was one of the richest tea experiences of my life,” she says. “You walk through the gates of the Grand Bazaar, where servers carry trays of slim-waisted, tulip-shaped glasses — filled with tart, sweet, ruby-red apple and pomegranate tea. People sit together, take their time, and sip tea as cats curl up nearby and music floats through the air. There was such a sense of connection — tea became our shared language. Even in a foreign land, I found belonging.”
She pauses. “That’s what I want Atlas to offer — the sense that you deserve to exist, and to co-exist. That even in a complicated world, you can find calm, connection, and timelessness.”
That spirit is reflected in every aspect.
Amber imagined the Atlas space as a ship at sea, guided by the rhythm of the natural world. The Babcock Design team of Salt Lake City worked alongside Emma, a visual artist and graphic designer, to translate that idea into a setting that feels both expansive and safe. With earth tones, sage greens, and soft, floating lights, the design evokes a sense of both grounding and lift — a place where people can breathe again.
Emma’s hand-drawn ink illustrations grace the tea packaging and shape the aesthetic of Atlas. Each work is intentional — honoring the fruits, spices, and plants that nourish us through tea. “My mom’s approach to well-being inspires every piece of art I create,” Emma says.
Chandler, a writer, also brings his gentle strength and creativity to Atlas. He authored Into the Rest, a story about a young girl navigating grief. “It reveals how friendship and love help us through,” Chandler shares. “That’s the heart of Atlas.”
Together, the Zauggs have created a tea haven that is deeply human — a place where anyone can discover a favorite tea, a healing story, and always, a sense of community. A place that offers reassurance that you’re never alone.
Atlas hosts tea tastings that feature the foods and music of foreign lands, alongside readings from The Atlas of Well-Being (Amber’s book) and Into the Rest, with plans for sound healings that refresh the spirit. But perhaps most of all, Atlas offers an open seat and a cup of tea to anyone who walks through its doors.
Amber reflects: “By small and simple things, great things come to pass. Tea is a small beginning — an offering to the tender truth that every person deserves to exist, and to be well.”