Spilling the (National Hot) Tea on My Favorite Black-Owned Brands.

Did you know that National Hot Tea Day is January 12th? Celebrate by sipping one of these Black-owned brands.

For those of you who are new to me, and all things Black Food Fridays, here are a few things you need to know about me:

1. I think toilet paper is a scam. I’m not saying there’s not a place for toilet paper. I’m saying that toilet paper, alone, is not sufficient. Imagine falling to the ground and your hand found its way onto a pile of dog shit. You wouldn’t just use a dry piece of paper to wipe your hands and call it a day, right? NO! You’d want to wash your hands. Why don’t we do that with our butts?! Because BIG TOILET PAPER has convinced the citizens of the United States that bidets are an unnecessary expense. I, obviously, do not agree. But even if you don’t have access to a bidet, I think you should spend the extra 3 minutes to wash your ass, post poop!

2. I don’t have a favorite professional sports team. As someone who has played football from elementary school through college, you’d think I’d have at least ONE favorite football team. But as I’ve gotten older and had the pleasure of working as a community organizer, I can no longer separate the game from the capitalism of it all. I’m not anti-sports; I 100% watch sports! I just find that I have more concern and sympathy for the players and coaches (aka “The Labor Force”) than I do the teams. Why? Because professional sport teams are just corporate entities whose business is nothing more than a vehicle for advertisements. Full stop. And yeah, the players—well, some of the players—are paid well but the majority of the money goes to mostly old white dudes who couldn’t shoot a jump shot, run a go-route, or hit a fastball if their lives depended on it. Also, professional sports (in the United States) with their “salary caps”, “revenue sharing”, and push for draft parody is the definition of socialism. But asking for that same kind of treatment in the real world is a “liberal” concept? Miss me with that.

3. I’m a legitimate groupie for loose leaf tea. I grew up, and still live in, the American South. For the first 35 years of my life, “tea” meant “sweet tea”. But when the pandemic struck I learned about (and fell in love with) the magical properties of loose leaf tea. Shout out to Ashford Tea Company, a Black-owned tea shop based in Savannah (GA), for putting me on game, because I’ve been hooked ever since.

With National Hot Tea Day coming up (January 12th), I thought it would be a great time to introduce you to a few Black-owned tea brands that I really rock with! In addition, I hope this spurs you to both purchase some tea AND drop a few brand suggestions in the comments.

» KJ «

A (Tea) Party In the USA.

According to the Tea Council of the U.S.A. (which is a mouthful to say & they really should consider a rebrand), tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. As it relates to American consumption, in 2023 we collectively drank close to 4 billion gallons of the stuff. And who is punishing all this tea? The Tea Council’s 2023-24 report stated that the South and Northeast have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers.

Now from a production standpoint, tea is grown in over 30 countries countries, with the leading tea-producing countries being China (2.4 million metic tons) and India (900k metric tons). Third on the list, believe it or not, is Kenya with 305k metric tons! Speaking of Kenya, did you know that it produces the most black tea in the world? So the act of drinking black tea, especially if it’s sourced from the Motherland, is actually one of the Blackest things you can do! Keep that in mind the next time someone tries to take your #BlackCard because you don’t know how to play Spades!

Black-Owned Recommendations.

Before you go any further, as a reminder, I’m listing MY personal favorites. If you do not see a brand you like, please don’t comment “You forgot such and such”. Trust me, I didn’t forget them. It’s either a brand I have not heard of or it’s not one of the brands I drink on the regular. That’s why I asked, at the beginning of all this, for this to be an interactive activity. Share a few brands in the comments so we all can learn. Ok, as for my go-to joints, they are as follows:

• ASHFORD TEA CO. — This aforementioned brand is ran by Wayne Ashford, a tea shop veteran with decades of experience and knowledge. Some of my favorites include a VERY RARE Kenya Purple tea, Gullah Largo (a red Rooibos tea), and a Mango Oolong tea.

• BROOKLYN TEA — Any time I’m in New York City, I try to make it my business to visit this husband and wife owned shop (they have a retail shop in Atlanta as well). I like their Black Rose (black tea base with sprinkles of rose petals), Elderberry, and Hibiscus teas.

• CALABASH TEA — Owned by fifth-generation Master Herbalist, Sunyatta Amen and based out of DC, her tea blends are both unique in both make-up and name. For instance, I’m drinking her Elephant Walk tea while writing this. I also like the Fat Black Pussycat and the Panther Par-Tea.

• ADJOURN TEAHOUSE — I own plenty of this Black-woman owned tea brand. Currently in my rotation are the Afro Blue and the Kinfolk. I should mention that these teas are sold out at the moment but you can try the LoveFreeze which was inspired by a song produced by the founder’s sister.

• MINTY BONG WATER — I don’t know how he became so popular but, sometime between when I was first introduced to him (about two years ago) and now, his Instagram account reached one million followers! I’m drinking a tea he gifted me that’s mango based but not the mango hibiscus joint that is listed in his shop. But because what I have is so good, I feel comfortable recommending you try anything from his shop!

And here are a few spots who make teas that I enjoy but I don’t currently have in my rotation.

• JUST ADD HONEY TEA COMPANY — Their shop is located off the walkable Atlanta Beltway. When I’m in the A, if I can’t make it to Brooklyn Tea, then I definitely hit this spot up.

• CUPLES TEA — Every time I’m in Baltimore—and I literally mean EVERY. SINGLE. TIME—I take the trip to Howard Street to sip some tea and lounge in their space. Right next door is their book and vinyl record shop, so sometimes I buy a pot of tea and take it next door!

While it may be too late to purchase any of these teas to celebrate National Hot Tea Day, if you’re into loose leaf, I encourage you to support regardless. Please, drop your suggestions in the comments and let’s make the act of spilling the tea, a literal event! By the way, not much in the way of Black Food News this week, so I’m skipping that section. And as for the last bite…consider today’s edition as your first official low-ticket warning of the year!

I mentioned this a while back but we’re getting low on tickets for the dinner I’m hosting for Charleston Wine + Food Festival on March 6, 2025—we’re down to the final 25 tickets! And before you ask: YES, I have a will-call list and NO, you can’t get on it (those tickets went to family). I have some very talented chefs getting busy on my behalf and as we get closer to the event, I’ll introduce you to the talented individuals who are lending me their culinary talents to make this event happen.

BUY | BITE THE POWER for CHARLESTON WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL tickets.