REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Racer Tea owner Chad Webber has a short commute to his new tea bar, but it used to be even shorter when he sold his blends from around the world right from where he would sleep: in his van.

While he still lives in it, Webber’s success led him to opening an official storefront in Redondo Beach.

“[I] introduced them to this crazy concept of a motorcycle-themed café, but I was using tea and I just used what I had,” he said. “It was a van, a motorcycle attached to that van and a knowledge of making tea.”

Webber is from Colorado, where he was hit while riding a motorcycle — an incident that changed his life forever.

“I broke my neck, broke my back and broke my leg. And that is when I decided to try the whole crazy van life idea.”

Webber didn’t want to rely on “the system” anymore, so for four years, he drove around the country living off the grid — but needed to figure out how to make money. After a trip to Thailand and Vietnam, he learned the art of tea and became obsessed.

Webber’s travels then took him to Missouri, where he first set up shop right in front of his van brewing tea and making iced drinks with oat milk, such as the Japanese green tea with rice and brown sugar called The Mod.

“I realized when people in Missouri liked it, I knew that it would go big in California,” he said.

This is when Webber’s journey took him to sunny Southern California, where he grew a community around his van serving options with names like The Rocker, an earl gray with lavender and honey. He ingrained himself in local motorcycle groups and hosted sunset and tea in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People wanted to get out of their house after being locked inside. I was there serving tea to people as we watched the sunset next to the beach,” he said.

Webber’s new community allowed him to open a tea bar where he could expand his menu to serve toast made on local bread and acai bowls along with seasonal creations. Yes, there is coffee too, but special whipped coffee.

There are hot and iced options, some with a lot of caffeine like The Greaser — which is the most similar to coffee — and others with none at all. The blends come from around the world, but Webber won’t share his secrets. He just wants to change the perception of tea.

“The world of tea is large, and I wanted to help simplify it for people,” he said. “I felt people didn’t drink tea because there were way too many options out there. I simplified it by pulling some of the best tea from each category.”

Whether it’s hot or iced, try something new at Racer Tea located at 1611 S Catalina Ave. in Redondo Beach.