Top 7 Closed Tea Companies that SHOULD Make a Comeback!

Hello hello!!

Over the past decade, I've seen many tea companies come and go. Some of these tea companies start out strong and slowly fizzle out over time. Or, sometimes, these companies never really had a strong start to begin with and fought the good fight before closing up shop.

However, over the years, there have been some tea companies that have made such a strong impression that I believe they deserve another chance to shine.

Below are my top 7 closed tea companies that should make a comeback!

• Teavana

Teavanna was a staple for many tea drinkers in North America. In many cases, Teavana was the reason why so many people got into tea. However, Starbucks infamously acquired Teavana on December 31, 2012. The acquisition was an all-cash transaction for $620 million. In 2017, Starbucks announced it would close all Teavana locations by 2018. While you can buy some Teavana blends online through Starbucks, this is one tea company that needs to make a comeback, and quickly.

• Dachi Tea Company

Dachi Tea Company was a US-based tea company that launched around the end of 2014, and shortly after, launched a Kickstarter. Their Kickstarter was so successful that they managed to be picked up by the local news with a lot of media coverage, including being featured by Kickstarter itself. They specialized in Taiwanese teas, and to date, I'd argue they have the best product photography out of any tea company in existence. Despite my bold claim, Dachi managed to build itself up to be the premier tea company. However, in 2020, they quietly went offline and haven't given an update since. Whatever happened to them will be a mystery to me.

• Satanic Tea Company

The 2020 Global Pandemic brought down many long-standing tea companies. However, because of the pandemic, we also got many new tea companies in return. One of the most creative tea companies to come out of 2020 is the Satanic Tea Company. While taking aim at the goth/metal audience, the Satanic Tea Company's marketing was almost satirical. This fun and innovative tea company stopped operation, and now tours as a metal band under the same name.

• Grand Crew

Grand Crew began as a small passion project around 2020 and originated in Taiwan. This small tea company sourced some of the best Taiwanese teas I've ever had, and had incredible packaging and marketing. They even made a debut at World Tea Expo in 2022. So, why did this company fail? Personally, I believe this tea company needed better marketing and press. While the name and social media still exist for this company, they desperately need to come back for a round 2 and stick around permanently.

• Steeped Tea App

Steeped Tea successfully launched their app and gained a lot of press. 3 German guys worked for over a year to develop an app, and after launching, found a lot of newfound success. They even launched a tea subscription service, which served a wide variety of teas. Despite hitting everything out of the park, front-runner Tristan backed away from the project, and the app and monthly subscription slowly faded away.

• Totealy Tea

Totealy Teas launched in 2018, and slowly started to build an audience. They primarily sold Chinese tea, including releasing various puer tea-cake pressings. However, after gaining traction, they cleared their social media and left a single vague description in their bio: [on pause].

Despite the vagueness, one can only hope that their pause will end sooner rather than later. Just not for eternity...

• Story of my Tea

Story of my Tea is a Houston tea company that launched in 2016 and started out strong. They had memorable marketing and even gained a larger audience for their 'blind' tea tasting samplers. These blind tastings were the best loose-leaf blind tasting sets I've ever partaken in. After gaining a loyal following, they stopped posting in mid-2019 and have disappeared since. Whatever their reason is, they need to come back.

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Did you recognize any of the companies above? Join the discussion HERE on Instagram and let me know who YOU think should make a comeback!

~ Cody

aka The Oolong Drunk

"Blissfully Tea Drunk..."