Asheville Tea Company releases new 2022 seasonals & brews up larger mission
Image: Asheville Tea Company
Asheville Tea Company is ready to ‘spill the tea’ on its new spring releases and the company’s greater mission behind every cup.
Bright, refreshing and rejuvenating; Blue Ridge Mountain Mint, Lavender Limoncello and Tulsi Rose are ready to bring the vibrant tastes of spring from the farm to the teacup.
“When we think of springtime in the mountains, to me it is all about renewal – both in our personal lives and throughout nature – so these blends are all very much inspired by the themes of rejuvenation,” said Jessie Dean, Asheville Tea Company’s founder.
Blue Ridge Mountain Mint is a bold blend of locally sourced herbs and botanicals including Mountain Mint, which is native to Western North Carolina. This blend brews blue, but steeps a fun secret when spritzed with lemon juice to reveal the colours of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Lush and lemony, the second spring seasonal is Lavender Limoncello. This Tuscan inspired blend features white peony tea, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon peel, lavender flower and calendula flower.
These two blends join Tulsi Rose, a floral and flirty blend with locally-sourced tulsi, hibiscus and sweet rose petals.
The packaging for the trio was also directly inspired from the vibrant colour palates of a spring sunset in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Coming out of winter, we really wanted to pull energising colors into our blends and packaging,” Dean said. “This speaks to the abundance of new growth, the fresh flavors of spring flowers and herbs and an overall sense of reawakening from winter into the bright colours of spring. It’s all about brightness in the way the teas brew and flavours that evoke a sense of spring.”
Each limited release blend will be available throughout the summer months and as a trio in the Spring Seasonal Gift Box.
But as the season of new growth begins, larger goals within this Asheville-based company are also beginning to take root.
This is a cup of tea on a mission and that mission is to intentionally redefine how we source and enjoy our tea.
By partnering directly with regional farmers, Asheville Tea Company sources 80% of its ingredients in the Southeast. A large majority of those farms are located within 50 miles of Asheville’s blending space.
Last year alone, Asheville Tea Company sourced nearly one tonne of regionally-grown herbs and botanicals. It’s a volume that Dean says helps to grow the company’s goal of creating a sustainable supply chain in the region, thus supporting regenerative agriculture and honouring the plants and the people who grow, blend and produce its products.
“We want to disrupt the supply chain – that’s truly our goal…after a cup of good tea of course,” Dean added. “We can change the way the tea industry approaches botanical sourcing by creating regional value chains that support farmers in the Southeast.”
By sourcing regionally, Asheville Tea Company is able to reduce its carbon footprint, while also supporting land and plant conservation and regenerative agricultural practices.
“It’s our mission as a business to impact the earth in positive ways,” Dean said. “We want to not only source sustainably, but also be earth-friendly with the way that we package our teas.”
Each Tea Box is 100% compostable, including the plant-based cellophane insert. Every tea bag is also plant-based, meaning no plastics are used.
Dean added that by blending with regionally grown herbs and botanicals, the true flavours of the plants are rich and vibrant.
“We only use real herbs and botanicals,” Dean said. “By using regionally grown ingredients, we provide vibrant flavours not found in many traditional tea-blending methods, which involve artificial flavourings and additives produced in flavour labs.”
While not all of the ingredients sourced for the teas are grown locally, Dean said that in working with its neighbours, the company is still able to lessen the carbon footprint in new, innovative ways.
One zesty community collaboration comes from a local source; lemon peel for blends like Lavender Limoncello are sourced from another Asheville-based beverage company – Devil’s Foot Beverage Co.
“It’s a collaboration that started a number of years ago when we realized the lemon peels from their juicing could be dried and used for our teas,” Dean said. “It’s an amazing way to collaborate locally and create sustainability with an ingredient that we can’t grow locally. Plus, when life gives you lemon peel, you absolutely make tea.”
Spring Seasonals and all of Asheville Tea Company’s blends are available online at www.ashevilleteacompany.com and at select grocery and retailers. Each blend will be available through summer and while supplies last.
