Runner's High Craft Brew Tea, photo courtesy of Rishi Tea
Rishi Tea recently debuted craft brew teas on tap in its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hometown to reach a new kind of customer.
The organic sparkling tap tea comes in two flavors: Runner’s High and Sparkling Turmeric. Both are unique blends with different purposes. Runner’s High contains green tea and yerba mate, as well as hibiscus flowers and schizandra berry. Sparkling Turmeric has a completely different array of ingredients. The natural remedies of Southeast Asia inspired the recipe for this blend, as it is consists of turmeric, saffron, lemongrass and kaffir lime. Neither blend uses added sugar.
Sparkeling Turmeric Craft Brew, photo courtesy of Rishi Tea
”Most of all, we see the rise of cold brew coffee on tap and its distribution model as a grand opportunity for Rishi to move beyond sourcing, importing, curating, and blending teas and botanicals,” Rishi Tea’s Founder and President Joshua Kaiser said. “Now we have the chance to design the final taste experience and actually brew what is in the consumer’s cup.”
Cold brew coffee and kombucha on tap also provided some of the inspiration for creating tea on tap. Offering these teas allows Rishi Tea to reach the consumer in environments like bars and gyms that are traditionally atypical for tea drinkers. Rishi provides its Craft Brews in 5-gallon recyclable kegs and the company’s one-way distribution model does not require a deposit or the return of the kegs, which enables them to supply their Craft Brew nationwide.
Rishi Tea has a plan in place to promote and distribute its Craft Brew tea nationally through this year and into the future.
Kaiser expects to see other companies follow suit in developing craft tea brews but he believes the quality of Rishi Tea’s products and formulations are inimitable. “Additionally, our direct trade ingredients are also so unique in source, cultivar selection, processing specification and quality standards that even if our ingredients lists are copied, the result will not be the same,” said Kaiser.
He described the advantage of Rishi Tea’s location near Lake Michigan and how it further augments the exclusivity of its craft brewed blends, “ … our region has a large percentage of the world’s cleanest fresh surface water that is noted in the annals of beer brewing history as some of the finest water for craft brewing. We think all these factors will make our craft brewed teas outstanding among tea brands.”
Rishi Craft Brews are available in 5-gallon recyclable kegs. With its one-way distribution model, Rishi requires no deposit and no return for kegs, allowing them to supply Craft Brew nationwide.
