Equitea was founded in 2022 and is making its grand return to Charm City with an exciting matcha-themed pop-up in Remington. The pop-up will take place at the old JBGB’s building (2600 N. Howard Street) from February 22 to March 22, operating Tuesday – Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Baltimore’s first dedicated matcha experience

This pop-up will be the first of its kind in Baltimore City, offering a wide range of high-quality matcha-based drinks designed to suit every palate. Visitors can enjoy: 

During its 30-day pop-up experience in Baltimore, Equitea will offer a wide range of high-quality matcha-based drinks designed to suit every palate. (Courtesy photo)
  • Matcha Lattes
  • Hojicha Lattes
  • Dirty Matchas
  • Matcha Americanos
  • Matcha Sodas
  • Golden Milk Lattes
  • Matcha Flights
  • Matcha Wellness Shots
  • Hot Chocolate

Equitea, known for its premium canned teas, and partnership with Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow — currently sold in over 600 stores across 28 states — moved its business to Los Angeles in 2023 but is now bringing its roots back to Baltimore. This pop-up serves as a homecoming celebration, anchoring the brand once again in the city where it all started. 

Quentin Vennie, founder of Equitea, left, and actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow. A few years ago, Paltrow shared Equitea as one of her favorite tea brands, saying she has one every day to “get her through… .” (Courtesy photo)

Local collaboration and community focus

Equitea is teaming up with Doppio’s and other local pastry chefs to offer fresh pastries and baked goods, and on weekends, the pop-up will feature small bites and food pairings from Baltimore-based chefs. This initiative is more than just a tea shop — it’s a celebration of Baltimore’s vibrant food and beverage scene. 

Giving back to Baltimore

Equitea’s return to Baltimore is not just about business — it’s about community impact. Since November, Equitea’s founders, Quentin and Erin have been partnering with Baltimore non-profit, Love & Cornbread, providing over 10 gallons of small-batch, hand blended hot tea every Saturday to the Penn-North community, ensuring warmth and nourishment to those in need.

The Equitea matcha pop-up is an invitation for tea lovers, community members and Baltimore locals to experience a new way to enjoy matcha while celebrating a homegrown brand’s return. 

BRAND DETAILS:

What Equitea has been up to:

At present time, Equitea is sold in 600+ retail stores, including Spouts, Albertsons, JIMBO’s, Fruitful Yield and other independent natural grocery stores and cafés throughout the US. We are headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with national retail distribution.

Equitea was a BevNET Best of 2023 Award Winner for Best New Product, a 2023 Nexty Award Winner for Best New Beverage, was a part of 7/11’s Brands with Heart program and was honored as one of the Best Black Owned Food & Beverage companies by Ebony Magazine. The brand is aligned with beverage incubator L.A. Libations and Gwyneth Paltrow, who is an investor, advisor, and board member of the brand. Quentin is also the creator of Black Founders Club, a limited podcast series featured on Taste Radio that examines the state of Black food and beverage entrepreneurship within the CPG landscape.

Based in Baltimore, Equitea was founded by Quentin Vennie during his quest to find natural methods to quell his son’s ADHD diagnosis. (Courtesy photo)

EQUITEA’S STORY: based in Baltimore and founded by father Quentin Vennie during his quest to find natural methods to quell his son’s ADHD diagnosis. 

Equitea, is an all-natural, organic canned iced tea with botanical blends, Quentin’s son, Jayden, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7. Given his experiences dealing with his own mental health battles with tea, Quentin made the conscious decision to manage Jayden’s diagnosis holistically. Jayden’s neurologist suggested that he could drink green tea prior to any big test, because the caffeine and the L-theanine would give him a calm focus. Quentin researched the benefits of green tea, played with flavor profiles, and blended a palatable tea to Jayden’s taste: lemongrass and lavender.

We are not making any claims that tea helps with ADHD; however, Quentin wants to talk about his journey – Jaylen’s journey – to discuss a shared experience and how manageable anxiety can be.

By the end of that school year, he went from struggling in school to getting on the honor roll. Of course, it wasn’t just the tea that did it, but it provided some benefit for his son.

In 2020, Quentin and his wife started a tea company – applying what worked for their family and making them accessible to other families.