Jessie Dean, founder of Asheville Tea Company, grew up in the Southeastern U.S., where she’s been drinking iced sweet tea – popular in the region – for about as long as she can remember. “I always loved the smell of brewed tea leaves,” she says, “and I remember my grandmother pouring hot freshly brewed tea right over ice cubes in our glasses at lunchtime, garnishing with lemon slices or fresh mint. Our classic lunch was a glass of iced tea with tomato sandwiches.”
As Dean grew up, she began to travel to different places around the world, and she really became intrigued by the ways in which tea was an integral part of so many people’s lives. “I especially enjoyed trying different types of tea or herbal tea that were grown in various regions that held a sort of ‘terroir’ and sense of place,” she explains. “Drinking Yerba Mate in Argentina or coca tea in Peru, for example, were such unique experiences.”
According to Dean, in the Southeastern U.S., there are so many incredible herbs being grown by the region’s farmers, and so many botanical traditions, that she believed could be better celebrated. And so, she launched Asheville Tea Company.
Today, Asheville Tea Company has a mission to source as many ingredients as possible from growers in the Southeast, as well as sustainable tea producers from other regions. The company pours great care into its teacups – from choosing the freshest ingredients to handcrafting unique recipes that highlight the personality of the local community and region.
World Tea News chats with Dean to learn more about Asheville Tea Company.
Question: Thanks for your time! First off, what do you love the most about tea?
Answer: Great question! What I love most about tea is that it is such an opportunity to learn. Tea leaves – Camellia sinensis leaves – alone have so many varying flavor profiles, growing regions and production methods. It is a lot like getting into wine, being able to taste different types of tea and understand how their flavor profiles relate to their growing region and production method. I feel like herbs and herbal tea can be the same, in that herbs grown in various regions of the world offer their own sense of place or terroir. This feels like an almost endless variation of ways to enjoy and learn about tea and herbs, and I love diving into that.
Question: What can you tell us about Asheville Tea Company?
Answer: Asheville Tea Company creates farm to teacup teas for a taste of the mountains. Our goal is to work with growers in the Southeast for the majority of our ingredients because we believe that this creates the most flavorful cup of tea – no need for any additives or flavorings like many teas on the market – and supports our community and helps us play a part in supporting regenerative agricultural practices. We also like to really have fun with this and try to highlight ingredients and blends that are unique and inspired by our region.
Question: What challenges and hurdles did you encounter when you launched the business?
Answer: When we started Asheville Tea Company, I think the first challenge was figuring out what actually could be grown in our area, and how to create recipes that incorporate those botanicals. Luckily, we are able to work with amazing farmers growing incredible herbs! A challenge with that still, though, is figuring out how to scale our business while staying true to the values of regional sourcing. It is an exciting time as we grow, and we are learning a lot.
I think our other current challenge is learning where our business can have real impact, such as providing better support for growers and defining how we can have a positive impact on the environment and on communities. We are very much focused on this piece and it is a work in progress.
Question: What advice do you have for others who want to start a tea business?
Answer: I think that my biggest piece of advice for starting a business in general is to seek outside resources and mentorship. I have learned so much by joining a Mastermind group in our area, participating in programs that help local businesses get started and scale, and seeking business coaching. I would highly recommend all of these things because growing a business – though exciting and fun – can also be super challenging. So, having groups of people to support you along the way and help you learn is so essential.
Question: What sets Asheville Tea Company apart from other tea companies?
Answer: What makes us unique is our focus on regional sourcing for many of our botanicals, as well as the fact that we don’t use any additives in our teas. So many teas on the market consist of lower-grade leaves blended using natural or artificial flavorings, and we really wanted the herbs and botanicals we use to be able to speak for themselves!
Question: Can you tell us about the tea or tea products your company offers?
Answer: We currently offer a main line of 10 tea blends in retail boxes of biodegradable tea bags, single-serve overwrapped tea bags and bulk loose leaf, including Chamomile Lavender [blended with Southeast-grown Tulsi and Anise Hyssop], Pisgah Breakfast [an organic black tea blended with Southeast-grown Yaupon, which is our only native North American caffeinated plant] and Elderflower Mint [a calming and healthful blend featuring Southeast-grown spearmint, elderflower, oatstraw and echinacea].
We also offer seasonal blends that we rotate throughout the year, like our fall blend Spiced Apple Butter featuring N.C.-grown dried apples and Winter Wonderland featuring N.C.-grown Fraser Fir.
We sell our products online and we also wholesale to restaurants, retail stores, regional grocery stores and other locations.
Question: What can you tell us about the farmers and tea estates that your business works with?
Answer: We work with some amazing farmers here in our area! Our website lists all of the farmers that grow many of our herbs and botanicals, and it is a lot of fun to be able to collaborate with growers in the region to find unique ingredients. For example, one of the farms that we work closely with, Rayburn Farms, grows lime basil, ginger and mojito mint that we incorporate into different blends. We have been working with them since we started the business, and it has been such a joy to grow our businesses together.
Question: Are your customers primarily in the United States? And what creative things have you done to promote your business and build your customer base?
Answer: Our customers are primarily in the United States, and particularly in the Southeast – though we do sell nationwide online. In terms of promoting our business, we have focused a great deal on social media and newsletter marketing, as well as joining area tailgate markets to connect with customers in our area. One thing that has been a fun way to promote our business is that we do a lot of collaborative co-branded projects with other local business, like a tea soda created by Booneshine Brewery in our area, an Arnold Palmer created by Devil’s Foot Beverage [a local beverage maker], tea cocktails and tea beers created by area breweries, restaurants and mixologists, and unique kombucha or jun brews, like the Tulsi Rose Jun created by Shanti Elixirs using our Tulsi Rose custom blend. That has been such a fun way to collaborate with our community and to help each other grow.
Question: How would you describe the U.S. tea market right now?
Answer: I would say that the U.S. tea market is definitely growing and has a lot of room for growth and innovation. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this industry as we learn more about ways in which our business can have an impact. My hope is that we can be a part of ushering in a “third wave” for tea, much like the coffee industry, where creating a connection from grower to consumer, from seed to sip as we like to say, is a central focus. That means we can trace where our ingredients come from, we highlight true flavor from those botanicals, and we do all we can to produce our products not only in a sustainable way but in a way that supports regenerative agricultural practices.
And I feel that shift happening, with many amazing companies focusing on sourcing ingredients in a way that has a positive impact on communities and on the environment.
Question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your business? And have you seen more customers discover tea during the pandemic?
Answer: COVID-19 has certainly impacted our business, like most businesses, in this past year. Some of that has been difficult – such as seeing a big drop in our foodservice channel sales – but some of it has also been a great opportunity for us to share our products in new ways. Our online sales have increased dramatically, while wholesale sales in some channels saw a drop – particularly in the summer of last year. One thing that has been successful for us has been a focus on gifting, as tea is such a wonderful way to connect with loved ones, even if from afar.
And I also do think that many people have discovered a love for tea and herbal tea during this time, as a way to find a break in the day, a moment for self-care, a way to cultivate calm or relieve stress, or a way to power up. During a time when so many of us have been spending a lot of time at home, possibly working from home too, like me – also facilitating virtual school for our kids – tea has been a wonderful way to cultivate routine and daily cadence, when so many of our previous daily routines were shifted.
Question: Thanks again for your time! Last question: What do you want potential retailers or wholesale purchasers to know about Asheville Tea Company? And do you offer any support to retailers who want to sell your products
Answer: We would love to create relationships with retailers and wholesale purchasers! We do wholesale our line of retail products, as well as our bulk loose leaf and bulk overwrapped tea bags, and we would love to connect with hotels, retailers, grocery stores, specialty shops and other locations. We do like to offer support as well, such as demos and tastings or collaborative events for locations near our hometown of Asheville, N.C. – outside of COVID times – and collaborative social media marketing as well.
To learn more about Asheville Tea Company and its products, visit AshevilleTeaCompany.com.