Joseph Wesley Black Tea and Anthology Coffee, a Detroit-based specialty coffee roaster, are partnering with Rip van Wafels in a move that should get the Detroit-based craft beverage companies some expanded exposure across the U.S.
San Francisco-based
Rip van Wafels makes small wafels designed to sit atop your coffee or teacup so that while the coffee or tea cools, the steam heats the filling and infuses the aroma of the coffee or tea into the wafel. It started a monthly subscription box earlier this year where it pairs its wafels with a different craft coffee and tea selection.
Joseph Wesley Black Tea and
Anthology Coffee are the selections for a Detroit-themed month of July.
"We'll see where it takes us," says Joe Uhl, founder of Joseph Wesley Black Tea. "We're happy that they recognize what we’re doing."
The partnership got its start in when Anthology Coffee founder Josh Longsdorf met Rip van Wafels' Marketing Manager Ruth La Roux at the
2014 Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Annual Exposition. They recognized each other's committment to the slow food movement and decided to create a partnership. Longsdorf brought in Joseph Wesley Black Tea to complete the partnership.
"We have been working with Josh," Uhl says. "I have a similar outlook on beverages as he does."
Joseph Wesley Black Tea and its team of three people celebrated its first year in business this summer. The slow-tea company specializes in selling high-end, hand-harvested teas. Joseph Wesley Black Tea just released a product line of hand-made teas in teabags. It is also aiming to begin bottling pre-made tea drinks later this year.
Source: Joe Uhl, founder of Joseph Wesley Black Tea
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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