Imperial Peach Tea feels like RoyalTEA with Steven Smith Teamaker Partnership
They say you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. We kept that in mind as we humbly reached out to ask our tea idols, Steven Smith Teamaker if they’d like to partner with Portland Cider Co. on our brand-new Imperial Peach Tea release. Happily, they not only took our call, but they were also excited to work with us to create this first-of-its-kind beverage!
This cider release has been many months in the making, and we knew early on we needed a quality black tea to add the perfect finish. Whenever the opportunity presents itself to team up with another Oregon-based business, we’re always excited, but Steven Smith was our first choice for a tea partner for our Imperial Peach Tea.
Steven Smith’s status as tea master was well-earned, having founded both Stash and Tazo before he refined his vision for how to make and sell the world’s best tea and turned it into Smith Teamaker in 2009. His legacy lives on in his devoted and knowledgeable tea department led by tea master Ravi Kroesen, and the quality of their white, black, green and herbal teas is simply unmatched.
At Smith, they handcraft tiny batches of exquisite full-leaf tea and botanicals, blended and packaged right here in Portland, OR by a team of tea artisans. Their attention to detail is unmatched.
They source their tea from friends in North and South India, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, and Japan. They have been working with many of their partners since the inception of Steven Smith Teamaker. Steve’s relationships were developed over decades in the industry and these partnerships have allowed them to carry on his legacy in every tea blend.
Similarly to Portland Cider, when Smith Teamaker looks for new partners, they base their assessment on the quality of ingredients and relationships – both with their communities and with their team.
That’s the kind of TLC that we look for in our partners and every ingredient that goes into our award-winning cider. To craft Imperial Peach Tea, our new friends over at Smith Teamaker worked with our cider makers to sample & discuss which of their incredible teas would be best-suited to our peachy plans. When we sampled the Assam black tea, we knew we had a winner.
The stone fruit notes and maltiness were the perfect pairing for our Washington peaches and Northwest apples. And this Assam has a solid presence that holds up well to the Imperial Peach Tea Cider’s hefty 9.5% ABV, giving it a nice off-dry finish.
Our head cider maker, Deron, figured out the perfect cider-to-tea ratio to craft the very best Imperial Peach Tea, and the rest is history. So many lessons learned with this batch--including a reminder that Portland is filled with world-class food and beverage artisans.
We’re looking forward to many more collaborations and future Imperial Seasonal releases! What do you want to see next?
Portland Cider Company is committed to making the best cider in the Pacific Northwest - it’s in our roots! Portland Cider Co. was started in 2013 with the mission of bringing together cider rooted in the English tradition with a little Portland personality and culture. Combine those things, and you’ve got the Portland Cider Company.