Sweet Leaf Tea Company was founded in 1998 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith in Beaumont, Texas. Christopher wanted to make a bottled iced tea that tasted like homemade. He used his grandmother’s recipe for sweet tea brewed with cane sugar and a $10,000 loan to start his company. This pair of friends originally brewed their tea using large crawfish pots. They also employed the use of pillowcases, which worked as giant tea bags.
Nestle Waters of North America invested $15.6 million in the company in 2009. The company offers many types of flavored teas, sold in glass bottles, such as original sweet tea, citrus green tea, lemon, peach, mango, and pomegranate tea. Christopher has stepped down as CEO of the company in 2012. Also, since that time, the company has replaced brewed organic tea with tea concentrates.
Sweet Leaf Tea Company
Sweet Leaf Tea Company was founded in 1998 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith in Beaumont, Texas. Christopher wanted to make a bottled iced tea that tasted like homemade. He used his grandmother’s recipe for sweet tea brewed with cane sugar and a $10,000 loan to start his company. This pair of friends originally brewed their tea using large crawfish pots. They also employed the use of pillowcases, which worked as giant tea bags.
Nestle Waters of North America invested $15.6 million in the company in 2009. The company offers many types of flavored teas, sold in glass bottles, such as original sweet tea, citrus green tea, lemon, peach, mango, and pomegranate tea. Christopher has stepped down as CEO of the company in 2012. Also, since that time, the company has replaced brewed organic tea with tea concentrates.
