Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 11, 2026

1. Who we are

lastea.com is a personal tea knowledge website operated by Desmond Lau. You can contact us at desmond@lastea.com for any privacy-related questions.

2. What personal data we collect

We collect the minimum data needed to run the site. Specifically:

  • Usage data — IP address, country, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, pages visited, time on site. Collected via Google Analytics (through Google Tag Manager).
  • Email address — only when you subscribe to our newsletter (processed by MailerLite).
  • Comment data — only when you leave a comment on an article (processed by Disqus).

We do not require user accounts and do not collect payment information on this site.

3. Third-party services we use

We share data with the following third parties, each acting as a data processor under their own privacy terms:

These providers may process your data in the United States or the European Union.

4. Cookies and consent

This site uses cookies for the following purposes:

  • Strictly Necessary — site functionality (always active).
  • Functional — remembers your preferences.
  • Performance — measures site speed and errors.
  • Analytics — Google Analytics tracking (described above).
  • Advertisement — Google AdSense personalized and non-personalized ads.

For visitors in the European Union: we display a consent banner on your first visit. Non-essential cookies are not set until you choose Accept, Reject, or adjust your preferences. Your choice is stored for up to 6 months, after which we will ask again.

For visitors outside the European Union: we set analytics and advertising cookies by default. You can change your preferences at any time using the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA): you may opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information using the "Do Not Sell or Share" link in the consent banner, or by visiting "Cookie Settings" in the footer.

Most modern browsers (current and previous two major versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge) allow you to refuse or delete cookies through their privacy settings. Please refer to your browser's official documentation for instructions.

5. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights over your personal data:

  • Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
  • Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate data.
  • Deletion — ask us to delete your data.
  • Withdraw consent — change your cookie preferences at any time via "Cookie Settings" in the footer.
  • Do Not Sell or Share (California residents) — opt out of personal information sales/sharing via the consent banner or footer link.

To exercise any of these rights, email desmond@lastea.com. We will respond within 30 days.

6. How long we keep your data

  • Google Analytics — 14 months (Google's default retention).
  • MailerLite — until you unsubscribe.
  • Disqus comments — retained by Disqus according to their retention policy.
  • Server logs — not retained by us (site is statically generated and served by Cloudflare).

7. Data security

This site is served over HTTPS via Cloudflare's global edge network. We do not store passwords or payment information locally. No method of transmission over the internet, however, is 100% secure.

8. International data transfers

Some of our third-party providers (Google, Cloudflare, Disqus, MailerLite) may process your data in the United States. When you use this site from outside the US, your data may be transferred to and processed in the US.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we will make a reasonable effort to notify visitors through the site.

10. Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact desmond@lastea.com.