The noise was constant. Cars rushing by, engines roaring, voices blurred – the pulse of downtown Ogden never stops. After her former husband's suicide, Amber Zaugg, founder of Atlas Tea Company, felt stranded in the noise in her own hometown.
“In those devastating moments,” she says, “my children and I found it so difficult to navigate. The outside world felt so loud and inhospitable. We needed to be reassured and find a safe place that we didn't even know existed.”
Still, Amber found solace in the ancient ritual of making tea. His comforting warmth helped her slow down and see more clearly. And the idea for a teahouse was born – a refuge where not only her family, but everyone could feel less alone.
“I knew the teahouse had to be on a main corridor,” says Amber. “Not on the edge of chaos, but right in the middle of it.”
In the fall of 2024, Amber and her children Emma and Chandler opened Atlas Tea Company on Washington Boulevard, known as “Vard.”
As you enter Atlas, the noise quiets down. The hustle and bustle of the street disappears. And in its relaxing expanse you can finally breathe deeply.
Working with an interior design team, Emma, a visual artist and graphic designer, helped design the space. The colors sage green, ivory and chestnut calm you. Lights float from the raised ceiling while singing bowls rest in the background. The scent of tea envelopes you. And the music is just part of it.
“I remember sitting with my mother and listening to piano pieces,” says Emma. “And I just knew it was what we needed. The simplicity, clarity and beauty of the notes match what we feel when we're here.”
Emma's art is purposeful. Her ink illustrations adorn every tea packaging and aspect of Atlas – a tribute to the herbs, spices and fruits that have nourished life for centuries. Their logo weighs a globe in a cup and expresses what it means to empower all people.
For client Ash Zephyr, Atlas brings belonging and renewal. “Drinking tea here is a spiritual experience,” he shares. “It's an oasis of familiarity, of family, in a foreign desert. I can be still and feel a sense of well-being. It's healing.”
For Ash and so many others, Atlas is about caring for people and community.
At a recent meeting, Chandler read from his literary work: Into the rest. Before he began, he talked about what drew him to writing.
“None of us were there when my father died,” Chandler says. “But I visited him earlier that day to say goodbye. When we got the call, I felt the breath leave my body. I felt like I was gone too.”
Into the rest chronicles a young girl's journey in search of peace while struggling with the loss of her father. With love and friendship by her side, she feels his presence again – and begins to feel less lost in her grief.
As Chandler read, Atlas' ethos came into focus: that we zoom outWhen we expand our perspective and share our fears and insecurities, we can see more, hear more, understand more and love more – ourselves and each other. We begin to realize that we matter.
Together, the Zauggs are building a teahouse that feels deeply human – where everyone can find a sense of relaxation and their own connection to tea.
“For me, tea is an invitation to listen,” says customer Celeste Francis Campbell. “If you sit with tea long enough, it will tell its story and inspire you to return to yourself.”
And in every story, tea conveys the essence of the cultures and landscapes from which it comes. Through tastings, Atlas brings this world of tea home.
Perhaps try a ruby red Turkish pomegranate rose, traditionally served in tulip-shaped glasses as a symbol of abundance and good fortune. Or sip Argentina's rich, minty yerba mate, served from a gourd through a silver bombilla – a centuries-old gesture of hospitality and friendship. And oolongs from the steep mountains of Asia with notes of wisteria, peach and blackberry sage give every cup harmony and fullness of life.
“As the conversation and the tea flow, you feel such a vibrant connection – with the tea and with everyone around you,” says Arabella Zephyr, Ash’s wife. “It’s a joy.”
And that is the spirit of Atlas: a place where tea becomes a companion – through grief and healing, through joy and everyday life – where belonging deepens with every gathering and every act of caring.
It's been almost a year since Atlas Tea opened. The noise on the Vard is still unrelenting, but for Amber it feels different now. “Healing isn’t about escaping the noise,” she says quietly. “It’s about creating a home in it.”
Feature image by Emma Zaugg.