JOSH CAPLAN, founder, Tea of the People: ‘If you could create any tea that you wanted, what would you make?’
We kick off our gallery with Josh Caplan, the 20-something founder of Toronto-based start-up Tea of the People, which has recently launched a range of barrel-aged teas.
Caplan - who funded his business from the profits of a real estate deal he struck in Phoenix at the tender age of 22 - explains: “My starting point was, if I could create any tea that I wanted, what would I make?
“I’d want real fruit pieces, not artificial fruit flavors. I’d also want the most antioxidant-rich tea, something that tasted incredible. So I went to France, bought some charred white oak wood barrels and started barrel-aging tea...”
While barrel-aged tea is still a relatively novel concept - the most high-profile proponent is the uber-premium Rare Tea Cellar in Chicago - the fact that AriZona Beverages recently launched ‘Oak Reserve ’ (a ready-to-drink tea brewed with American oak chips) suggests it’s also got mainstream appeal, says Caplan, who is selling his tea online, but has also struck deals with bricks and mortar retailers including Loblaws.
Click HERE to read our interview with Caplan.