Jennifer Martinez: Founder of Elevation Tea Company

Episode 874

On today’s episode, we welcome Jennifer Martinez, Founder of Elevation Tea Company — a premium tea brand sourcing rare, organic and small-batch teas from underrepresented regions around the world. Inspired by Northern California wine country and her background in UX and graphic design, Jennifer has built a brand that treats tea not just as a beverage, but as an elevated tasting experience rooted in origin, flavor, aroma and ritual.
In this episode, we speak about tea sourcing from regions including Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya and Nepal, working with small-scale farmers, and how terroir impacts what ends up in the cup. We also discuss the launch of Elevation Tea Company’s Rare Tea Tasting Kit, how tea can offer a wine-like experience without alcohol, and why consumers are increasingly looking for more intentional wellness rituals.
A must-listen for founders, operators, tea lovers and anyone interested in premium beverages, wellness, sourcing, brand experience and how everyday rituals are being reimagined.

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up. That I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be. We just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don’t get knocked out. Knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control. Control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go! Let’s go! Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin Show. What if tea became the new wine experience minus the alcohol? Today, I’m joined by Jennifer Martinez, founder of Elevation Tea Company, a premium tea brand sourcing rare, organic, small batch teas from underrepresented regions from around the world, and they’re not just selling tea. The brand is creating a more intentional tasting experience-one built around origin and flavor aroma. So so good from incredible places like Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nepal. So the company’s new rare tea testing kit really takes that idea even further. I can’t wait to talk with Jennifer about what it takes to build a premium tea brand in today’s Consumer market, and really more than anything, what her journey has been like in building this incredible company as a founder. So, Elevation Tea Company has really done it, and the products and the teas, of course, are excellent. So, I’m so excited to have Jennifer with us here today. So welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Oh,

Jennifer Martinez 2:06
thank you so much for having me. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to share my journey and the journey of the company with you.

Kara Goldin 2:14
Very excited. So for listeners who may not know Elevation Tea Company yet, how do you describe the brand and what makes it unique?

Jennifer Martinez 2:24
You know, what makes us unique is I we are by nature a loose leaf tea company. I think there’s you know loose leaf tea companies all over the place. We stand out in the fact that we are representing these kind of farmer stories and the struggle that comes along with, you know, growing tea in these places that wasn’t necessarily meant for growing these tea leaves. We like to take those stories and bring them to people, you know, here in the United States, sharing, you know, just the the nuances of the tea, like you mentioned, the different terra and the way that the climates play into everything, and so we really like to emphasize that perhaps growing up near the wine country is why I’m more prone to kind of that approach. But you know, that’s really what makes us stand out is these these personal relationships that I built with these farmers, and really taking these places that are underrepresented and not in your traditional tea map, right outside of China and India, where people are mostly used to seeing tea come from, and stepping out of those boundaries, and that’s really what we’re here to do. All of our flavoring is organic. All of our tea that we use for blends is the same rare tea that we have for sell in traditional style leaves.

Kara Goldin 3:53
What is the most unique tea that you have, and can you share a little bit about the backstory on it and why you think it’s so so special?

Jennifer Martinez 4:02
Gosh, yeah. Oh man, I’m a I’m a tea geek, so that’s going to be a hard one to narrow down. You know, I think probably my most unique one is going to fall down to one from Colombia. So it’s a Colombian tea, and it’s called Andean needle. So I know there’s some people that are more familiar with a Japanese style tea called hojicha, which is kind of like this roasted black tea concept, and you get this little kind of brings out the caramelization things like that. Well, in Colombia, they’re doing their own version of this. Their their tea master Claudio, he came up with this idea of let’s take the tea leaf, right? And I mean, it’s so meticulous. They are getting just the mid veins and the parts of the stem inside of the tea leaf. So those tiny little pieces, and they’re only using those in a black tea that they roast. So just being the nature. Of it being from Colombia, growing in those soils that are already rich with cacao and cane sugar, those natural you know flavors come through once they start roasting it, and in the end, your cup has this beautiful you know chocolatey caramel date kind of flavor profile. So I think that’s probably the the most unique that we’re going to get with with tea here.

Kara Goldin 5:27
You launched the company after a career in fintech and graphic design. So, what made you decide I’m going to go and launch a company and actually a company in the T space,

Jennifer Martinez 5:42
yeah, yeah, not the most natural transition, right? But yeah, I was working with a fintech company doing UX design, and I think it was really just about I kept seeing other people’s you know dreams come to life through design, watching other you know companies have brand really bring to life what they were, you know, dreaming of, you know, for years. And I thought, what would happen if I applied, you know, my skills to something of my own? I’ve always had that kind of entrepreneur, you know, spirit in me. So I, I thought, like, let’s give this a shot. At the time, my most recent obsession was loose leaf tea, and so this was like the time where like the Tivanas were still in the mall, and I really just thought, let’s combine the two, let’s see what happens, and that’s how Elevation Tea was formed. And I think it’s it’s changed a lot and evolved since then. But that was that was really my unnatural but natural transition from UX design into the tea space.

Kara Goldin 6:53
So you have teas from places like Colombia and Kenya and Tanzania and Nepal. How did you find these teas, and what was the what was the process of actually not only finding them but ultimately picking the ones that you did?

Jennifer Martinez 7:14
Yeah, so the very first one that I started importing directly from was my Kenya tea farm to Moy Teas, and that happened because the supplier that I was using for my Kenya tea was that I didn’t have access to them anymore, so they stopped carrying the product, and it was such a the purple tea alone from Kenya was so important to the business at the time because back then, you know, we were really more of a drink company, so that was one of the things that changed along the way. And we were using this purple tea in our drinks. I mean, we were going through about 60 gallons a week of it, so I couldn’t lose access to that. It was then that I actually started to hunt down and dig, and they’re not easy to find, you know. So I found the farm, reached out to the owner, and expressed that, you know, I know, you know, you don’t normally, you know, import directly to, you know, in smaller size batches, but you know, even though I was ordering what to me was large at the time, it was still considered smaller. You know, to import, but they worked with me. That was our entry into importing directly. After that, you know, I think it’s just a lot of being very relentless and and maybe even a little bit annoying at times, you know. I would just see maybe like a post on Instagram from somebody, you know, in another country, in in Argentina or Peru, talking about this new tea that they are trying from a farm in, you know, Peru, and you know, hunting down. I mean, I must have, you know, messaged about 10 people trying to get to how do I find this farmer, and we are we actually found them. So we will be the first company in the United States to introduce Peruvian tea grown right next to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, so that one took a lot of effort. But I mean, each one of them, the story, it kind of goes the same way, where it’s just you know you see something and and you just keep digging and digging until you figure out where it’s coming from.

Kara Goldin 9:35
For the average consumer who doesn’t know anything about tea, what do you look for when you’re sourcing a tea, but also consuming a tea?

Jennifer Martinez 9:46
Oh yeah, organic is number one. So that is by far the most important thing. And when you brew that cup of tea, and I don’t think a lot of people realize that that is the very first. Time you’re washing that tea, right? So if there’s pesticides all over it, you’re brewing that right into that cup of tea, and then you’re consuming it. So that is the most important part for me. And you know, secondary to that, if you’re looking for an elevated tea experience, you know, go beyond that and really look for teas that have stories behind them. You know, be able to use that that morning brew or that afternoon pick me up as also a time to kind of reflect and connect not only to the the earth that it was grown in, but also to these farmers in these different countries, where you know we we kind of lose that the human connection at times. So find that really something that’s going to really spark that creative part of you, and and give that time of reflection.

Kara Goldin 10:55
So when you look at like misconceptions about tea beyond organic, you know, it’s gone are the days where it’s just about Lipton tea on on the shelf and a basic tea. But there’s so much to choose from when you think about maybe a first entree into tea. What what do you think people should try if maybe they’re not a tea drinker.

Jennifer Martinez 11:23
Yeah, I think there’s like the two most common teas, and I’ll stick with like traditional teas instead of going outside to herbals. But yeah, the two most common are like you know what we would call like a breakfast style tea, right? So something kind of a more bold black tea for us. I think that the Columbian black tea, their their standard black tea. That’s incredible. Same natural notes of cacao in there, so that really kind of jump starts the morning. Very very easy drinking. So anything that’s kind of a bolder black tea is good. And then on the other part for like green teas, you know, we have these these gunpowder teas, which are very familiar, especially if you’ve ever, you know, dined at, you know, in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant and ordered a pot of green tea, so your gunpowder teas are going to be the closest related to what you would have experienced there. So those are very nice segways into the the tea world.

Kara Goldin 12:20
So you have you recently launched the rare tea tasting kit. Can you talk about that and what inspired you to launch that?

Jennifer Martinez 12:31
Yeah, no, that’s that’s my new favorite product. So you know, I think really the biggest part of that was a way to represent and be able to get people to try multiple different growing regions at once, while also bringing in a huge part of me. You know, I mentioned earlier. You know, growing up near the the Napa Valley, it’s like that was ingrained in us growing up. You know, it’s like that’s a part of life is being able to spot those flavor profiles, those aromas and really taking notes and and that wine tasting experience. I really wanted to bring that to tea. You know, we really haven’t seen that brought to the industry. There’s aroma wheels out there, but they’re not they’re not focusing on those flavor profiles that step outside of the traditional tea map as well, and so the rare tea tasting kit was really a way for me to be able to say, “Hey, look, there there is an alternative to you know wine drinking. Let’s do the same thing with tea, and let’s see, you know, if I give you you know two different black teas, what can you pull out that’s different between the two, just based on the tarar and the craftsmanship that’s brought to that tea?

Kara Goldin 13:48
So building a company is hard, right? Like it’s it’s much different than not to say that actually working at a company isn’t challenging at times, but building a company, the buck stops with you. And what would you say has been the most surprising pieces of building a company for you that maybe have been a bit challenging?

Jennifer Martinez 14:13
Yeah, I, I, all of it. But there’s just, I think sometimes, you know, when you’re faced with those crossroads and those challenges, and not knowing which way to go, it feels a lot worse than I think that people describe. You know, in entrepreneurship, it’s like you know there’s going to be hard times. You don’t really understand just how hard they’re they’re going to be, and you know, I think one of the examples is you know during this last couple years we we learned about import taxes and you know we’ve had a lot of things to navigate in the tea industry between COVID and you know tariffs and things like that and I don’t think a lot of people realize. Just how hard the tea industry was hit by that. So you know, we actually lost the largest third-party vendor in America was out out of Southern California. They went under due to these import taxes. So as a result, 1000s of smaller companies went out of business as well, but you know that was a really really challenging time. And I remember looking at some of the bigger players in the tea industry and and seeing their reaction to that and and the fear that was surrounding it. And it was at that moment that I really decided, hey, it’s time to really, really make that change and step away from you know the traditional team app and do this concept that I’ve had in me for years. And I I had to take that risk because if I didn’t, I I do think that I would have probably ended up like a lot of the other companies going under. So that’s where the the rare origins really really took hold, and where I started you know digging deep to find these underrepresented regions.

Kara Goldin 16:10
I love that so much. What is the number one skew that you have right now outside of the focus on the rare tea tasting kit? Is there one tea that really stands apart?

Jennifer Martinez 16:24
You know, right now, ever since we launched the California collection, the Sierra Sunrise has been the most popular. So that is a Nepal green tea that we blend with a little bit of organic peach flavor and then some orange and tangerine oils. So it’s just this really, really, really nice flavor, and I, you know, I think for anyone who, you know, grew up in Gen X or Millennial, I, I kind of tell them it has this little bit of this Boone’s Fuzzy Navel kind of flavor to it, and it’s, you know, that’s something that I think a lot of us can understand. So that one’s really popular.

Kara Goldin 17:02
I love it. How do terrier and origin impact the flavor of tea?

Jennifer Martinez 17:09
Oh God, it’s tremendously. I mean, you have these microclimates that are feeding into these teas, and you know, like you know, with my Kenya farm, they’re using sustainable practices, so they’re waiting and depending on, you know, the rain to come at a certain time, and that affects the flavor of the tea leaves, right? The way that the how many days of sun that they have, and so it affects it tremendously. And you can see that when you try teas from the different regions. I mean, they they couldn’t be more different from each other. So that’s that’s the main factor that plays into everything. And then the second part, of course, is the craftsmanship and the way that that tea master is processing those leaves. And you know, I think you can hand the same batch of tea leaves right to three different tea masters, and you’re going to get a completely different expression of that. So,

Kara Goldin 18:09
yeah, definitely, definitely. When you think about what you’ve built, I I’m sure there are you know really exciting days, and there’s also really challenging days that come about. Is there anything you do to make sure that you keep moving forward?

Jennifer Martinez 18:33
Yeah, you know, I think that’s really coming back to California and coming back home after you know starting our roots in Florida, it was a lot to do with that. I moved over near Lake Tahoe, and that is my safe space. That is my place to, you know, re-energize and those Sierra Mountains. That that’s where I go and kind of take time to reflect and you know unwind. Sometimes these things seem so beyond unmanageable, and when you get out into nature, they just all seem to kind of make sense.

Kara Goldin 19:09
Yeah, definitely. You are primarily available online right now, but you’re also looking at growing the company and looking at potential retail relationships, how do you think about that in terms of what decisions to make? I know you’re in the thick of all of that right now, so I’m just curious for any founder who’s listening out there who’s trying to figure it out too. Like, what would you say is is kind of the the questions you’re trying to answer internally, and and how do you gage when to move on those?

Jennifer Martinez 19:49
Yeah, I think that you know the biggest question has been, you know, how far out do I want to take a program like this, right? And also, what are people? Doing right now, and I think the biggest thing that I noticed, and just kind of a a soft launch to wholesale, is that people don’t want to step too far outside of what they’ve already been offering customers. So I think we naturally, as creatives and entrepreneurs, want to like reinvent the wheel, but just kind of sticking to what can I provide that is something that the customers are used to, but also that is a step up, right? And that tells a story. So that has been probably the biggest thing that I’ve observed is that it might be the most you know fun and exciting product to me, but to them, they have to be able to translate that story to that their customers. And if the customers aren’t familiar with it, then they can lose business over that.

Kara Goldin 20:52
Yeah, definitely. So when you look at what is making tea truly high quality, when you’re picking these teas, is there something that you go back to outside of the origin or the price or the taste that really kind of sets it apart? Maybe it’s the story behind the brand, but I’d love to hear something that you’ve you know really picked up on, no matter what region of the world seems to really kind of set the brand apart, and you talked a little bit about organic, but what else is there that really sets these teas apart?

Jennifer Martinez 21:33
Yeah, I think one of the most easiest ways to kind of look is that you know the size of the leaves. So if you’re getting specialty grade tea, you’re going to have a larger leaf. Now, some of ours are are the entire leaf just kind of you know rolled up. It doesn’t have to be that extreme, but you know, commodity tea, this mass produce you know stuff that we see all over the grocery stores, that is just cut up, you know, leftovers of these larger leaves that are out there. So look for that high grade stuff. Look for the the larger leaves. Look for if you’re shopping online or in a store, look at the package, and if you’re in the store, or look at the description and see do they can they trace the farm that it came from. If if they’re not tracing the farm that it came from, more than likely it came from you know 20 different farms, you know all their kind of crumbs, and they’re they’re blending that and giving it to their customers. So those are the biggest parts.

Kara Goldin 22:36
So interesting. So Jennifer, thank you so much for joining me today, and I love how you’re taking something people may think they already know about tea and helping them experience it in a completely different way. Elevation Tea Company is awesome. The quality is definitely there, and I love everything that you’ve done to really build out the company thus far, and I’m excited to see where you go. Everyone needs to try Elevation Tea Company and also the rare tea tasting kit that you have that you’ve launched recently. It’s really terrific. Thank you again for joining us today, and thank you, everyone, for listening. Until next time on the Kara Goldin Show.

Jennifer Martinez 23:27
Thank you so much, Kara.

Kara Goldin 23:29
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin Show. If you would, please give us a review, and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit. And of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. I would love to hear from you too, so feel free to DM me. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal best-selling book, Undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint: We are here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thanks for listening, and goodbye for now.

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