This Isn’t the Beginning, But It’s a Good Place to Start.

Brandon Kendall

15 May 2025 — 3 min read

The Red Snoot, "Finder" from Lilo and Stitch, experiment 158

Good Morning Folks 👋 - I’m the Red Snoot.

The name? It came from Lilo & Stitch — one of Stitch’s cousins, Experiment 158. Finder. That’s what they called him. He has a strong ability to locate things based on that sniffer of his. All someone had to do was say what they were looking for and he'd immediately find it and start honking 😂

Funnily enough, my mom’s nickname growing up was also “Finder,” because she could always locate things I never could. And maybe now it fits me too — because as I write this, I realize I’ve become pretty darn good at digging up lost, eclectic, and esoteric knowledge. I particularly enjoy doing so with the world of tea.

I’ve always had a knack for picking things up quickly — whether it’s information, tools, or connections. When I’m curious about something, I tend to go all in: meet the people, follow the threads, and let the journey pull me deeper. It’s never about owning — just about being part of it.

So yeah. I guess I’m a Finder...in a sense.

I’m here to be something of an archivist.
You could also say: scribe, chronicler, librarian, lorekeeper. I like them all.

My role in the tea community isn’t to perform mastery or be recognized and praised by others — it’s to uncover, distill, preserve, and bridge.

To maintain the scroll for those who study, and loose it for those who want to.

This blog is the inevitable intersection of passion and necessity. It reflects the heart of the tea community I co-started with my dear friend Andrew (Liquid Proust) — a Discord server (invite at the bottom) that’s grown into a 2,000+ international member network of collectors, explorers, fanatics, and wanderers. I've slept on his couch, helped pack samples for the pu'er beginner project, and had some good conversations about life and meaning with him over some very wonderful teas.

He was even in my wedding, this stuff runs deep.

That spirit lives here, too — and while I love Andrew and consider him one of my most most valued friends in the tea world and in life, I didn't want to copy the values we have written on "The Tea Table".

The guiding values for this project are very much in step with the server's and Andrew's missions, but I’ve tweaked them slightly for this particular application.

I have three, they are:

🕊 1) Unity – unus, unitas

Let’s not divide or quarrel over nuance or stir debate for its own sake.
Seek harmony where you can. You won’t agree with everyone — that’s fine. But steep in peace, not pride. Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Sit with things before you teach them. Stay humble. Stay open.

🫱 2) Community – communitas, communis

The leaf belongs to no one person or faction, neither does its wisdom, its history, or its perspective. No one speaks for it entirely, but we all contribute to its story.
I'll share what I know and ask what I don't. I encourage you to do the same.
You don’t need credentials to be here — just curiosity and a pot that makes you feel something. Or a gaiwan, same leaf, different lens 😄

⚓ 3) Opportunity – opportunitatem

From the Latin: “coming toward a port.”
If you’re ready to dock somewhere with real access — not just to good tea, but to its stories, culture, memories, and knowledge...
Without the fluff, the gatekeeping, or the snark...
Then welcome. You’ve found the right port.

If you’ve been seeking a tea world that isn’t steeped in ego, drama, secrecy, or posturing:

Welcome to Tea and Clay.
You’re free to stick your snoot into just about any subject you like. I'll do my best to provide well-aggregated, community-driven, "canonically-sourced" information (more on that one later 😉).
At the very least, I can aim to provide a palatable nudge in the right direction 🙂

Ask, engage, inquire, contribute. I shall begin the record.