Our Story

Joshua Kaiser with Tea Pickers

20 Years of Rishi

We are celebrating 20 years in business and I want to personally extend my sincere gratitude for your role in our story...

Date:

April 16, 2018

Author:

Joshua Kaiser

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Dear Friends of Rishi,

We are celebrating 20 years in business and I want to personally extend my sincere gratitude for your role in our story.

From a young age I became ignited with the creativity that flows from the culinary arts, herbology, and world travel. In college, I voraciously studied the teas and herbs of the world, formulating botanical blends and even herb-infused mixology drinks for friends. In my early 20’s, I traveled deeply in the Caribbean and across Southeast Asia to expand my repertoire of ingredients and to pursue a deeper experiential knowledge of their ancient food traditions. In 1997, I made the decision to turn these passions into a business. I built a company with the aim of connecting like minds to the diverse origins I would explore, and to make that connection tangible in delicious, organic drinks bestowing tea’s traditional promise of health, vitality and balance.

As we completed our 20th year in 2017, we reflect on the unimaginably rich experiences and enduring friendships we’ve made with so many inspiring people, from farmers and producers, to coffee roasters and small business owners, to Michelin-starred chefs, craft spirits distillers and sommeliers. To this day, it is just as rewarding as back then to see so many like-minded, creative individuals catch a passion and embark on a devoted study of tea and botanicals.

We spent some time these last few months reflecting on all of this and creating a new visual brand identity that would commemorate our 20 year milestone and celebrate the pillars of our craft. We are thrilled to present our new brand mark with fresh updates to typography and color palettes you see here, which goes live today on our digital platforms and on loose leaf packaging that will transition throughout the spring.

Our new plucking hand mark is inspired by the artistic depictions of Rishis beholding plants at the Wat Pho botanical school in Thailand, one of the original inspirations for our brand name. We are proud to include our founding year. A celestial orb nods to our embracing of the dynamism of Nature and its humbling mastery over the harvest.

Selector

We are a team that I developed and continue to lead and mentor, which travels to the most remote regions of the world to source teas and botanicals of rarefied quality and provenance. Our selection sets the standard.

Importer

We are a pioneer of verified organic tea and botanicals which we import on a direct trade basis with growers and specialist producers. Our supply chain and enduring relationships are our core strengths.

Maker

We make artful botanical products inspired by equal parts ancient herbal tradition and modern culinary innovation. By sharing our passion for herbal and culinary arts, we aim to be a wellspring of inspiration for your tea life.

We hope you enjoy our new look as much as we do. Thank you dearly for your partnership over our first twenty years. Here’s to the next!

Joshua Kaiser
CEO & President
Rishi Tea & Botanicals

Rishi Milestones, 1997 – 2017

  • Rishi is the first direct trade primary importer of many EU certified organic teas and botanicals never before sold in the USA, before there was the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standard, and among the first tea companies in the USA to achieve the USDA NOP organic certified status when the NOP was first established by the USDA in October 2002
  • First direct trade importer of EU certified organic Pu’er Tea and EU certified organic White Tea into the USA in 1999
  • First to introduce organic Schisandra Berry into herbal tea blends in the USA in 1998
  • Rishi Pioneered the organic Japanese tea market in the USA with the esteemed Nishi family of Kagoshima since 2004 and we continue to be a major importer of the Nishi family’s top teas in the USA
  • Rishi is the largest importer of certified organic teas from the Golden Triangle area of northern Thailand in the world market and maintains a strong network for research and development of Southeast Asian teas
  • Rishi is the largest importer of certified organic specialty Green, White, Black and Pu’er teas from Yunnan, China in the USA
  • Rishi clears hundreds of tons of certified organic specialty teas and botanicals from across the world and connects with hundreds of farming families
  • First to introduce Turmeric in loose leaf herbal teas in the USA
  • First to introduce Matcha Stick Packs in the USA
  • Expanded into a 50,000 sq. ft. facility in 2014, designed by us for immaculate food safety and quality control; earned SQF Level II global food safety manufacturing standard in 2016
  • Rishi crafted brewed Sparkling Botanicals earned the FABI Food and Beverage Innovator award in 2017