Tazo Tea

Tazo was founded in 1994 by Steven Smith in Portland, Oregon. Smith, a veteran of the tea industry who also co-founded Stash Tea, built Tazo with a distinct 'New Age' brand identity, famously labeling products as 'blessed by a tea shaman.' The brand gained significant scale after being acquired by Starbucks in 1999 for $8.1 million, becoming the primary tea brand served in Starbucks cafes globally for nearly two decades.

In 2017, Starbucks sold Tazo to Unilever for $384 million as part of a strategy to focus exclusively on its Teavana brand. Ownership shifted again in 2022 when Unilever sold the majority of its tea business (then known as ekaterra) to the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Today, Tazo is a primary brand under the resulting company, Lipton Teas and Infusions. While the brand is headquartered in Kent, Washington, its ingredients are sourced globally from over 29 countries—including regions in Africa and South Asia—and blended or packaged primarily in North American facilities.