By Craig Kaminer

From my earliest memories, I have always loved tea. Whenever I was sick, my mom made me Lipton Tea with lemon and honey. As I got older, I discovered Earl Grey, Constant Comment and in college Red Zinger on a cold afternoon at Drake’s in Ann Arbor. In those days, the assortment was limited, but I always found the teas comforting, soothing, and much more appealing than average coffee. When I lived in Italy, I discovered really good coffee, and for years drank that as my regular go-to brew.

By the late 90’s, I was lured into a Teavana store at Saint Louis Galleria, sampled some teas, talked to a very knowledgeable barista, and left with more than $100 of loose tea and accessories. From that point forward, tea has been a regular part of my of daily ritual including a special kettle which brews the water to the ideal temperature (based on the tea variety), multiple teapots for steeping and serving the tea, contraptions to steep loose tea and catch the leaves before they enter the cup, special airtight canisters for storing the tea and, of course, dozens of varieties from speciality shops to my favorites from The Republic of Tea. 

Recently, I remembered meeting Ron Rubin who is the owner and now Executive Chairman of The Republic of Tea in St. Louis and decided to see if he is still involved in the business. As luck would have it, Ron is still one of the owners while his son Todd B. Rubin, 42, runs the company which is still privately owned with a significant presence in St. Louis, as well as southern Illinois, and their marketing and sales headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

So with a hot cup of The Republic of Tea’s Ginger Peach black tea subtly sweetened with a teaspoon of agave, I googled my way to the marketing team to set up a time to meet and interview Todd when he was next in St. Louis. After answering a lot of questions about the focus and intent of my story, Todd agreed to sit down with me in November.

The story really starts with the co-founders of retailer Banana Republic, Mel and Patricia Ziegler, and their partner Bill Rosensweig, who had a passion for tea and wrote a business book together titled The Republic of Tea in 1992. Ron Rubin who is a voracious reader of business books, got excited by the future of tea, started a dialogue with the original owners, and eventually bought the business when it was 22 months old, just as they were considering selling the company to Celestial Seasonings. At the time, Ron owned a multi-generational beverage distribution company specializing in spirits, wine, and water as a master distributor of Clearly Canadian. When The Republic of Tea started some 30 years ago there wasn’t a national specialty tea company or brand in the US sourcing tea from the top growing regions of the world, predominantly China, Japan, Sri Lanka, India, and Taiwan. Today, The Republic of Tea has over 350 varieties which are sold at over 1500 specialty and natural retail locations (Whole Foods Markets and Straub’s locally) and via ecommerce direct from the company and with a presence on Amazon. They prefer not to have a large presence in the big grocery stores where their products are just one of many brands of tea.

The company has always been known for their unique blends, flavor profiles, and both loose and their signature round tea bags which sit perfectly in a mug. They are also packaged in airtight canisters which contain 36 or 50 teabags vs. other brands which typically have 16-20 bags so the tea remains fresh longer and is stored in the same way all connoisseurs of tea store theirs.

So much of the tea drinking experience is through education, trial and innovation. When I first started drinking tea, I would drink the tea that I bought the way that it instructed. Now, at the advice of some tea masters, I mix different teas. My go-to is mixing rooibos, which is much like a good black tea, but without any of the caffeine or bitterness, and with all sorts of sweeter teas and ingredients, including ginger peach, citrus fruit, berries, vanilla, chocolate, apple, warming spices and caramel.

If you want to learn more about the many teas, The Republic of Tea hosts tastings – much like a wine tasting – both at retail locations in various cities and online via YouTube. The republicoftea.com website is a great resource for not only their teas, but videos, accessories and gifts for the tea lover in your life.

Much of the pleasure derived from tea, in my experience, is based on the preparation, the temperature of the water, the time it steeps, the way it is served, the tea cups, and of course the environment. What started out as an occasional beverage for some, now is growing quickly in popularity because the growth of functional health and wellness regimens. If consumed without additives such as artificial sweeteners, tea is the perfect beverage, hot or cold, as part of your daily ritual. If you rely on caffeine to keep you going, don’t worry, many teas have an ample supply.

Today The Republic of Tea has 138 Ministers (employees), and the business continues to grow despite the competition. With sugary drinks on the decline, tea and other functional health drinks are on the rise. With a storied past and book about its beginnings, a fabulous website, and stimulating catalog, the study of The Republic of Tea is captivating. 

While Ron transitioned from the family wine and spirits business to tea, Todd grew up in a soft drink family. He remembers dressing up as a Clearly Canadian bottle for Halloween one year and has attended the Fancy Food Show every year since 1998. Todd was born in Mt. Vernon, Illinois and moved to Clayton, MO when he was 14 years old for the schools and connection to a larger community. He studied architecture at Syracuse University, but after practicing (architecture) for a few years was attracted to the family business. With his good looks, passion for the product, and his love of talking to the customers, Todd is a natural spokesman for the brand that helped raise him.

The offices are heavily influenced by tea culture: bamboo floors, lanterns, a warm color palette, and the careful placement of furniture. Even the desks have rearview mirrors so no one gets startled if you quietly approach from behind. As an architect, Todd is passionate about the feng shui design and dabbles in the design of the offices whenever he can.

Now Todd is adding his own touches to an already robust line of premium teas and herbs with partnerships with celebrities and pop culture like the hit series Bridgerton. With flavors like Newton Ginger Biscuit Tea (which includes a corgi on the label), Queen’s Cake Vanilla Fruit Tea, and Anthony & Kate’s Spiced Chai, you can get your daily tea fix while following along with the royal narrative and best sipped when spirited scheming and taming wicked rogues are on the agenda. This chai is best prepared in the traditional method — accompanied by warm milk, a touch of honey and an abundance of irresistible passion.

Todd likes Lucky Irish Breakfast black tea in the morning, Brain Boost (which is part of the SuperGreen tea collection) in the afternoon, Blueberry Lavender iced tea throughout the day, and the delicious organic Vietnamese Cinnamon to give his body and mind a natural boost. This premium cassia cinnamon from Vietnam has a sweet, full flavor that is perfect served hot or over ice.

Tea is easy enough to make if you follow the directions carefully. According to Todd, the most common mistakes include using the wrong water temperature (usually too hot), steeping time (too long), or not enough tea for the portion of water (too diluted and tasteless).  

So with Ron and Todd spending more time in Northern California, what role does St. Louis play in the brand? Surprisingly, St. Louis is the e-commerce center which was moved here from the San Francisco Bay Area because of its central location, hard-working team, deep relationships, and access to talent. While San Francisco is known for its high-tech, The Republic of Tea chooses not to compete for talent there with the likes of Google and Meta, and has built a world class team at the intersection of Manchester Rd and 270.

Todd emphasizes the key to the success of the brand is its focus on specialty retailers, deep relationships and measured growth. Many of the first employees are still with the company after 30 years and have grown with the brand such as the Minister of Creativity who started as the intern for Patricia Ziegler.

From its original founding based on a business book, The Republic of Tea has clever names for its employees, retailers, suppliers and consumers such as: Ministers, Embassies, Ambassadors and Citizens. And whenever the team is faced with challenges, it always looks to the original book for inspiration and the ethos of the brand.

Todd emphasized, “we really believe in educating our Ministers (employees). And so we actually do tea trips to origin countries each year for our Ministers as an incentive and educational opportunity. I think we've done 18 trips to the countries of origin. Our last trip was to Japan and we went to Sri Lanka the year prior. We're planning to go to Japan next spring now that Japan's back open and Japan is where we source matcha from as well as delicious premium sencha green teas.”

Recently, the biggest challenges to the business are supply chain issues, climate change, and political unrest in Sri Lanka. With the tea being hand-harvested, the shrinking population of tea farmers and increasing demand for tea also requires the close attention of the team.

It stands to reason that someone in the wine and spirits business would see the attraction of tea. Each has a different flavor profile, and consumers of tea have different preferences. While you may settle on a handful of teas that you drink regularly, there is always a new one to try and many ways to cook with it.

Todd encourages customers to share their ideas and preferences with The Republic of Tea. In fact, he regularly reads the comments and often responds directly. Don’t be surprised if you get an email from him on weekends when he regularly reads customer comments and responds over a cup of tea. As Todd focuses on The Republic of Tea, Ron now focuses on the vineyard he founded 12 years ago in Sonoma, CA: Ron Rubin Winery.  

The story continues to mature much like the tea and wine the Rubins harvest year after year.