The Republic of Tea is a privately owned American

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

company based in

Larkspur, California Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 13,064. Larkspur's Police Department is shared with that of the n ...

, that makes and sells more than 350 varieties of teas throughout North America. The Republic of Tea is known for packaging its loose teas and tea bags in tall, cylindrical tins. It was one of the first companies to offer varieties such as rooibos red tea, white tea, and tea seed oil to American consumers.

History

The company was founded in 1992 by

Mel Ziegler Mel Ziegler and his wife Patricia Ziegler were the American founders of Banana Republic. Along with William Rosenzweig, they also co-founded The Republic of Tea. They eventually sold both companies. Interview with Mel Ziegler. The Zieglers su ...

, Patricia Ziegler, and Bill Rosenzweig. The Zieglers are also known for co-founding

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

and ZoZa.com. In 1994, they sold the company to Ron Rubin, under whom The Republic of Tea has grown into a nationally recognized brand. Rubin's son Todd Rubin joined the company in 2007 and succeeded his father as president in 2015. Ron Rubin currently serves as The Republic of Tea's Executive Chairman and Minister of Tea. The Republic of Tea designates its employees as "ministers", its customers as "citizens", and its retail outlets as "embassies".

Practices

The Republic of Tea's products are distributed through speciality retailers including

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

and

Williams Sonoma Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956. History In 1947, Chuck Williams settled in Sonoma, California ...

. They do not intend to expand to mass market retailers such as

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. The company prides itself on maintaining slow but steady growth and operating without any debt. The company supports

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

. It sources several of its teas from biodynamic farms, a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts. It also produces Sonoma Teas, which are made from dried grape skins that would otherwise go to waste.{{Cite news, url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/01/456796760/cascara-tea-a-tasty-infusion-made-from-coffee-waste, title=Cascara 'Tea': A Tasty Infusion Made From Coffee Waste, last=Carpenter, first=Murray, date=2015-12-01, work=NPR.org, access-date=2018-10-04, language=en Both Ron and Todd Rubin have said that they are not interested in selling The Republic of Tea, despite a potential valuation as high as $125 million. Ron Rubin says he has always hoped his company would remain family-owned and private.

References

External links

Official website

Official distributor for Switzerland
Tea brands in the United States Tea companies of the United States Food and drink companies established in 1992 Companies based in California