Leaves of Change: Asheville Tea Company continues to rebuild after Hurricane Helene

Last October, a viral video showed a massive warehouse floating down the flooded French Broad River following Hurricane Helene. The 6,000 square-foot warehouse belonged to Asheville Tea Company, which had recently built its permanent home in the River Arts District. The business lost all its offices, equipment, inventory, and supplies because of the storm. But one year later, the business is still operating—and growing stronger.

“Helene was devastating,” says Jessie Dean, founder of Asheville Tea Company. “But I would say that the support from our community has been one of the main reasons that we have survived as a business.”

Asheville Tea Company first opened its doors in 2016, and over the last nine years, the business has sourced more than 10,000 pounds of local herbs for their tea blends. Prior to Helene, the company manufactured all their teas in-house in order to create more economic opportunity in the city. Alongside their emphasis on utilizing local resources, Asheville Tea Company’s packaging is compostable and made from plant-based materials.

Dean grew up in Western North Carolina, and saw the plentiful herbs and other grown foods that are available in the area. Her background in outdoor education and operations management intersected with her love of tea to form the business. “We launched Asheville Tea Company as a farm-to-teacup company to source as many herbs and botanicals as we can from local and regional farmers,” she explains. “I wanted to start something that was really meaningful, purpose-driven, and impactful for our community and for other communities while pulling through that thread of connection for people to place, to our natural environment, to plants, and to each other and to ourselves.”

Since Hurricane Helene, Asheville Tea Company has been partnering with another small tea business based in Canada, Sarjesa, to manufacture their teas. Asheville Tea Company offers over a dozen different blends online and in businesses around Western North Carolina, including a few seasonal favorites available this fall, which Dean says are among the most popular with their customers. One of Dean’s personal fall favorites is the Spiced Apple Butter Tea, which is inspired by her experiences watching locals make apple butter in cast iron vats by slow cooking apples and adding seasonings as the fruits roast.

“We have received so much support from individuals, here and all across the US, donating to us, sending letters of encouragement and support, and telling us about how our tea matters to them, which has been one of the most powerful parts of this too,” Dean says.