Asheville Tea Company Announces Expansion into Whole Foods Market

ASHEVILLE, N.C.-- Attention all iced tea aficionados and backyard barbecuers, spring is heating up and one local NC-based company is ready to cool you down. 

Asheville Tea Company is excited to announce the release of their new Cold Brew iced teas in three vibrant flavors and fresh new packaging. 

“Growing up in the South, we enjoyed freshly brewed iced tea at every meal, usually with a spring of mint or a slice of lemon,” said Jessie Dean, Asheville Tea Company founder. “It will always remind me of sitting outside with our grandmother on a hot summer's day. A glass of iced tea in one hand and a tomato sandwich in the other.”

Cold Brews are available in three vibrant blends: Hibiscus Mojito, Blue Ridge Mountain Mint and Looking Glass, a classic black iced tea.

Each Cold Brew pouch contains three half-gallon brew bags meant for brewing by the pitcher, paired to perfection with your next cookout or relaxing in a rocking chair on a shady front porch. *Tomato sandwich sold separately.

Cold Brew Iced Teas are available on their website at www.ashevilleteacompany.com, at specialty retail shops and regional grocers including The Fresh Market and Ingles, as well as 46 Whole Foods Market locations throughout the Southeast starting May 2024. 

“We are beyond excited and grateful to be able to announce our expansion into Whole Foods Market,” said Dean. “It’s a big move for us as a company and I think speaks a lot to consumers wanting to elevate their tea options.”

Asheville Tea Company began brewing in 2016 with a bold mission to bring the farm-to-table movement from the table to the teacup. 

 “I wanted to start a business that was impactful, purpose driven, but also fun and fulfilling,” Dean said. “I am an avid tea lover and there are so many incredible farms right here in our neighborhood growing unique herbs.”

 Now in their eighth year of operation, Asheville Tea Company has grown from a farmer’s market startup to a name recognized throughout the Southeast with popular blends like Chamomile Lavender, Asheville Grey and Elderberry Yaupon, and seasonal releases like Blue Ridge Mountain Mint, Pumpkin Pie Chai and Snow Day. 

 “I remember our first year of business, I bought three pounds of yaupon from one of our suppliers and I remember thinking that I’ll never get through this…this yaupon is going to last me forever – for the rest of our business career,” Dean said.

 Lucky for us, it didn’t.

 In just a few short years, the company has grown from sourcing those three pounds to over 20,000 pounds of herbs and botanicals - and making nearly 4.5 million tea bags.

 “We have certainly grown a lot and I think it’s because we struck a chord with people,” Dean said. “Our customers want transparency with their food choices; they want to know that what they are drinking is made from real plants and not peppered with fake flavorings from a lab like many teas.”

 A lover of the creative process, Dean said that her blends are inspired by many things throughout Southern Appalachia from food and cocktails to flavor experiences and traditions. 

 Blends that convey a sense of place and nostalgia like Spiced Apple Butter are staples for Asheville Tea Company. This blend was lovingly inspired by the Valle Country Fair, an annual festival held in Dean’s hometown of Valle Crucis, NC that features the making of traditional apple butter. 

 “It’s really this visceral experience of this tradition that has always been a part of our lives that inspired that blend,” Dean said. “I remember being little and watching them make fresh apple butter all day in these huge cast iron pots with wooden spoons and it smelled so warm, like cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel. I really wanted to be able to create that flavor experience in a tea, and to relate to our customers around that note of nostalgia and tradition.”  

 But from their early beginnings, this was always more than a good cup of tea. Asheville Tea Company was on a mission to redefine how teas were sourced and enjoyed. 

 By partnering with small regional farms for herbs and botanicals, they support and grow local value chains by working directly with regional farmers utilizing sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. 

 Each Tea Box is also 100% compostable, including the plant-based cellophane insert. The Pyramid tea bags are produced in-house with a plant-based, compostable material - meaning no plastic. 

 “At the end of the day, we want to come away with a product that we are incredibly proud of,” said Dean; “A product that our customers can enjoy, knowing that when they brew a cup of tea from Asheville Tea Company, the herbs and botanicals in their cups have been grown, harvested and blended very intentionally on every step of that journey.” 

 It’s a journey that might be just the beginning for “the other craft brew.”