Tamera G. Rice – who recently presented at the World Tea Conference + Expo, held June 28-30, 2021, in Las Vegas – is the CEO and president of Hemp Sail / SLV Hemp Distribution. She helps companies (including tea businesses) find reliable and compliant hemp-derived ingredients, and she assist farms and manufacturers in preparing for market requirements.
Rice’s recent educational sessions at World Tea focused on “Cannabinoids CBD, CBN and CBG Applications” and “Hemp Trends in the Tea Industry.” The popular presentations covered topics such as using raw hemp flower and leaves, water-soluble additives for tea and coffeehouses, increasing profits with CBD, how to choose the right products to create a CBD tea product, and compliance challenges to watch out for, among other areas.
Rice has been a hemp ingredients supplier/pioneer since 2017. She has more than 20 years of sales and distribution experience, and she was the first certified-organic licensed hemp handler in Colorado. She was also the first licensed hemp handler to register with the Colorado Secretary of State Office. In addition, she serves on several committees related to CBD/hemp standards and practices.
World Tea News chat with Rice to learn more about CBD and hemp and what the tea industry needs to know.
Question: First off, can you tell us a little about your business and how it can help the tea industry in terms of CBD and hemp?
Answer: We are devoted to providing compliant products and have been from the beginning. Hemp Sail / SLV Hemp Distribution was the first certified organic hemp handler in Colorado and the first hemp distributor to register with the Colorado Secretary of State.
We have always stayed ahead of the compliance curve – and it shows in our actions. Our mission is to sell compliant and consistent hemp derived products. Every product sold is third-party, full panel tested. Farms and manufacturers are screened, visited and Hemp Sail approved with standards that are not required yet by regulators. We just do it because we know it is the right thing to do and the market will demand it soon.
Question: What was the attendee response to your sessions at the World Tea Conference + Expo?
Answer: The quality of responses from the conference was great! The following week, we received emails and we are sending out samples to some of the largest tea manufacturers. Attendees were very interested in the raw hemp products, which is exciting.
Question: What’s the main message you want to share with the tea industry about CBD and hemp?
Answer: I am very honored and humbled to market in the tea industry. I am sure when many tea professionals heard about “cannabinoid benefits: relief, sleep, relax, energize” they may have thought…“Oh really? What a good idea!” However, the main quality that sets cannabis apart from all other plants is the production of cannabinoids, the phytochemicals that interact so effectively with the human endocannabinoid system, which regulates homeostasis affecting physiological processes such as appetite, pain, mood and memory.
The tea industry, like no other industry, is positioned to be very successful using hemp derived products for two reasons:
1. You already have the clientele. For over 1,000 years, the tea industry has already been blending tea to help people sleep, focus, become energized… this is your wheel house! Nighttime teas are already being used, and adding the sleep-inducing cannabinoid CBN just makes it better. A sport tea, already used by athletes, adding the energizing cannabinoid CBG would improve the efficacy and profitability of the tea.
2. Price. The tea industry has the ability to provide a cup of tea with 20 MG of CBD for less than .10 market price. The least expensive way to be able to ingest cannabinoids!
Question: Many in the tea industry are already exploring CBD and hemp What would you like to share with those businesses, or what advice can you offer them to help them succeed?
Answer: CBD is derived from hemp, as well as many other wonderful cannabinoids. Take the time to get to know the other cannabinoids.
Buyer beware, there are many inconsistent, non-compliant products being sold. Know what region the hemp was grown, ask for the full panel tests. Reasons for each test:
Potency – Ask for current post harvest tests to ensure the THC level is <.3 THC. Do not just take the supplier’s pre-harvest test because the hemp may have been allowed to mature after the final test and could be over .3 THC.
Heavy metals and pesticides – Hemp is best at pulling heavy metals and pesticides out of soil, insure it is not in the hemp you are buying.
Microbial – When storing hemp in some humid regions and some storage methods, it can easily cause mold. Mold is the No. 1 contaminant of hemp.
Know your extracts:
- Extract / Crude
- Full Spectrum (Less than .3 THC)
- Broad Spectrum (Non-detect THC)
- Isolates (CBD, CBG, CBN etc…) - Test for solvents
- Broad Spectrum Distillate, (2) Full Spectrum
- Distillates, (2) Full Spectrum Extracts / Crude
Question: For tea companies that are just now beginning to investigate CBD and hemp, what advice do you have for them? What first steps should they take?
Answer: Choose a market you want to sell into and create a tea for that market. Educate yourself on the cannabinoids and learn the benefits of each in order to formulate the tea you know your client will love.
For raw materials, I recommend a Certified Organic hemp supplier. Certified Organic is even better, or at least have Good Agriculture Collection. Farms practicing organic practices should be able to prove it to you. Ask to see where they store their chemicals.
Extract manufacturers should be cGMP at a minimum, registered with your states Department of Public Health and Environment.
Find a good lab. We use Botanacor for full panel testing and Alkemist for potency and identity testing.
Infuse with dry or liquid water-soluble broad spectrum or full spectrum. This improves efficacy and it is easier to use then distillates. If you use water soluble products made from isolate, ensure it is solventless. Have it tested to be sure.
Water Soluble Product Applications:
-Bottled Drinks
-Additives for drinks at tea and coffee houses
-Increases profit margins
-Available in liquid or powdered
-Single serving packet or bulk beverage powders
-Tinctures for individual use
-Spray on tea leaves
The other benefit of water-soluble additives is it can go a long way! This sample sample recipe makes 53 bottled tea servings (12 oz):
-12 oz Bottled Tea (Using our Hemp Sail Approved 20% CBD Cannabinoid
-Water Soluble Solution (you could also use CBG or CBN)
-12 oz Can, (53 cans * 20 mg) / 20% = 5.3 grams of Broad Spectrum
-Water Soluble Concentrate to 5 gallons
-5 Gallons is 640 oz to make 53 cans of 12 oz with 20 mg of active per can.
-1 Liter of Hemp Sail Approved Broad Spectrum 20% Actives is $650 / liter, this recipe was for 5.3 grams. You can do the math.
Align your cannabinoids for your target market:
-Sports: Professional athletes, weekend warriors (CBD, CBG)
-Baby Boomers: Aging gracefully. (CBD, CBN)
-Millennials: Stress, Focus, Energy (CBG, CBN etc.)
Question: What best practices can you share that might be important for a tea business to know up front?
Answer: Understand compliance issues and learn the industry terminology. Download the AHPA Hemp Industry Lexicon. Hire an experienced consultant to create your SOPs & Labels. Align the cannabinoids with your target market trends. If you make a “bedtime tea,” your clients will love a CBN additive.
Know the following:
-State and federal regulations
-Testing requirements for farms and manufacturing
-Life cycle of the product
-Cannabinoids available
Processing formats for tea – ensure the farm or supplier provides pre- and post-harvest full panel testing, because hemp pulls heavy metals and pesticides out of the ground so testing is critical. Many farmers allow their hemp to grow past the final tests, so the COA they give you may not reflect the actual potency of the product.
Learn the life cycle of the plant, “what tests happens when,” so you know the product you are buying is in fact a legal hemp and not an illegal product. Ask for the testing from the farm and check that the batch numbers on the tests line up with your product. Even if you are buying extracts, ask for testing from the hemp used to make the extract to ensure it came from a licensed hemp farm.
Ensure the tea has been decarboxylated, or do it yourself, for the best cannabinoid efficacy.
If you plan to use an isolate be sure to have a solvents test to ensure all the residual solvents are removed, it can be done but not many labs can do it.
Question: Are there any mistakes to avoid when it comes to creating a CBD or hemp tea product?
Answer: According to Asa Waldstein, principal of Supplement Advisory Group, it is common for enthusiastic herbal product manufacturers and marketers to talk about individual ingredient benefits as a way to share their excitement and promote their products. These well-intentioned discussions can easily cross the line into claims, thus increasing the chances of receiving an FDA warning letter or worse. I suggest weaving a culture of regulatory compliance into the fabric of the company. This allows for “off-limits” words, such as inflammation, to be removed from any marketing strategy long before they are posted.
Sourcing processed extracts to infuse into tea may be a mistake. The hemp industry will encourage you to buy the extracts and isolates, this works but you don’t have to; it adds to your tea costs.
Instead, consider sourcing the raw hemp leaves and buds of the plant as a tea. It does not need to be processed to be a great tea. The leaves and buds make a great tea by themselves with varying cannabinoid profiles to blend with your current blends or serve alone with a shot of lemon and honey.
The exception to this would be a water-soluble product, which increases the bioavailability of the cannabinoids. Many customers want their tea to “work” quickly. Adding water soluble into your product line – either as an additive to tea bags or bottled teas, or a beverage additive to improve efficacy and profitability – is an up-charge item.
Question: How can the tea industry go about choosing the right products and supplier to create a CBD or hemp tea product? What questions should they ask a potential supplier?
Answer: We learned our lesson on this one during some large hailstorms and during COVID-19. Find a hemp supplier who has history and experience in sourcing from multiple large and small farms and manufacturers from multiple regions. This is very important for consistency of product and supply chain redundancy. Hemp is an herbal ingredient, like an herb. You would call your herbal supplier, since they would have the most experience and sourcing capability.
Vertically integrated organizations do not guarantee consistent product. One hailstorm can take out an entire region of farms, and one bout of COVID-19 can shut down an entire manufacturer and extract facility for months.
Questions to ask a supplier: Do you know where this hemp was grown? Have you been there? How many farms do you source from? Are they licensed? Can I see the COAs? How was the hemp dried?
We created a Vendor Commitment to Compliance to encourage companies to ask questions to ensure the company they are buying from have compliant products. [You can reach out to Hemp Sail / SLV Hemp Distribution to request a copy.]
Question: Thanks for your time! Any final thoughts or advice for the tea industry?
Answer: Take advantage of your position as a leader in the “wellness industry.” Tea has been enhancing lives for thousands of years, and hemp derived cannabinoids have the potential to add more value to the wellness industry and tea professional can capitalize on it like no other industry.
To learn more about Hemp Sail / SLV Hemp Distribution, visit HempSail.net. To learn more about the World Tea Conference + Expo, visit WorldTeaExpo.com.