A storm destroyed her tea factory. One Canadian friend kept the business alive 2,300 miles away

Jessie Dean, founder of Asheville Tea Company, stands among the ruins of her production facility and office along the Swannanoa River in Asheville on 31 October 2024. Photograph: Angela Wilhelm/Citizen Times/USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn Images

When Jessie Dean and Alexandra Sangster met in the summer of 2024, they made a pact. The two women both ran tea companies – Dean’s Asheville Tea Company in North Carolina and Sangster’s Sarjesa, more than 2,300 miles away in Calgary, Canada – and they pledged to support each other if their businesses ever needed it.

“The first time I spoke to her, I was like, ‘If something happens to your teabag machine, I’ll make your tea,’” Sangster said. “And if something happens to mine, you can make my tea.”