Baltimore Tea Startup Makes Entrepreneur 360 List

Baltimore-based tea startup Zest Tea was recently recognized by Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur 360. Small businesses were identified for the list based on four metrics: impact, innovation, growth, and leadership. Zest Tea, founded in 2013 by James Fayal and Rickey Ishida, made #315 on the list. Over the last year, the company has expanded from one to four employees and moved from Philadelphia to Baltimore, a city seeing growth in the tech sector and home to many new entrepreneurial ventures. With its four blends of caffeine-infused teas, Zest Tea markets itself as a coffee alternative. Each cup of its teas boasts 140 or 150 mg of caffeine—“about the same as a cup of coffee!” according to its website. Flavors are Blue Lady Black, Cinnamon Apple Black, Earl Grey Black, and Pomegranate Mojito Green. The product is sold as sachets and loose, and the company also sells tea infusers and filters. It sells direct to consumers via its website, and also to wholesale. Zest Tea previously won Best New Product at the 2015 World Tea Expo. Sources: Entrepreneur, Technical.ly Baltimore, Zest Tea