Let’s be honest: over 90% of Americans are completely dependent on coffee. Totally bought into the belief that caffeine’s magical potion can solve almost all problems. Stayed up all night making mental budgets? Coffee won’t let your insomnia show. Stressed over crazy wedding planning? Take coffee. Need an emotional pick-me-up? Here’s some coffee, love!
But have you tried tea? And not just any tea. Flyest’s tea? This brand prides itself on producing the best kind of teas – tea that you can comfortably brew twice or thrice and still get the same effects as coffee but without the hormones-destroying caffeine. And let’s not even get into the cheeky name and body-building ingredients. Their products are everything!
Oh, and don’t you start picturing chicory-root-infused tea bags and all. Flyest despises tea bags (they have pesticides, toxins, and mold…sooo gross?). They also don’t subscribe to the misguided, whitewashed culture other tea companies shove down our throats in the name of “selfcare” and “anti-aging.”
The brand prioritizes herbal wellness and representation, meeting veteran tea steepers and newbie tea lovers right where they are. It’s a Black-owned business that cares about your health (wholeheartedly) and wants you to get in touch with your culture through a good cup of tea.
So, if you don’t mind, slide that hot cup of espresso to the side, and let’s learn more about Flyest and their spirit-lifting teas, shall we?
About Flyest
Much of what we know about health and wellness (selfcare and all) is closely tied to whiteness, making it exclusive and not 100% true or effective.
To challenge this mindset and replace stereotypical wellness practices with ones that are more inclusive, diverse, and 100% true, Shanae Jones launched Flyest.
Jones, the daughter and granddaughter of a British and Jamaican mother and grandma, learned about family, life, politics, and culture during daily teatimes with her kin. That’s where she developed her love for the drink.
From there, she went on to study plant medicine. It was during this time that she noticed how modern tea firms have zero connection to the true cultural and medicinal benefits of tea, including their African and Asian origins. Instead, tea is marketed as an exclusionary, whitewashed wellness solution with superficial promises about selfcare and anti-aging.
Recognizing the gap, Jones launched Flyest Tea Co. to elevate teatime with products that help modern tea drinkers create their own path to health, nourishment, peace, and happiness. She also wanted to offer Black folk products that link us to our identity, ancestry, and Hip-Hop culture.
Flyest Products
The company offers loose-leaf teas, customized honey, and tea accessories to transform your morning routine.
Their teas are made in-house in small batches with herbs and ingredients sourced from small herb farms and co-ops. The result? Good tea. Really soul-soothing, body-building, mood-elevating teas.
Ready to start sippin?
Read on to shop some of the brand’s best, energizing and south-soothing blends:
What The Flu? $21
Anyone who doesn’t love elderberries should teleport themselves to Mars or Jupiter because whaattt?? (JK). Apart from their incredible taste and aroma, elderberries have been shown to be perfect for fighting colds, corona, and every other upcoming flu.
The brand’s elderberry-ginger WTF tea is soul-soothing, purple, and the perfect drink to brew when you’ve had the sh*ttiest of days. And, wait for it…. you can brew the tea twice and even make your own syrup! Yup.
Just brew what the flu? in a pot, extract the herbs, stir in honey, and voila! You have some mind-blowing syrup.
- Ingredients: Dried elderberries, astragalus root, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric root.
- Servings: 10 single servings
- Caffeine Content: None honey. None at all
- Pairs Perfectly With: A cold slice of (your favorite) snack and co-workers who refuse to take the day off
Blow, $17
Looking to switch up your summertime drinks list? Get this tea pick ASAP!
With an impressive light taste and beautiful blue hue, Blow is bound to bring out your inner child and kick in the summer fever. Add some lemon squeeze or a teaspoon of honey for lil sum’n sum’n. Thank us later.
- Ingredients: Lemongrass, butterfly pea flowers, jasmine
- Servings: 10-12 single servings
- Caffeine Content: None – it’s all herbal
- Pairs Perfectly With: Shmoney honey/lemonades at your family’s summer cookout
Not Coffee, $15
Coffee lovers assemble!
Quitting coffee cold turkey is, honestly, unheard of. And those who’ve tried tell tales of ten-day withdrawal shakes and spirit-wrangling side effects.
So, what do you do when you’re tired of being the 93% statistic? When coffee starts behaving like your toxic ex?
You reach out for Drink Flyest’s Not Coffee Tea (two words no one ever thought would be used in one statement). This potent pick contains a blend of carob, chicory root, cinnamon, and vanilla that is full-bodied and eases into your zero-caffeine transition.
Oh, and did we mention it also features a taste (sweet, dark, chocolatey), smell, and color similar to a light roast coffee? Now you know. So, go ahead and trick yourself, sis…oops, we meant treat yourself!
- Ingredients: Roasted chicory root, cinnamon, nutmeg, carob, licorice root, vanilla, and allspice
- Servings: 2 ounces or 4 ounces of delicious tea
- Caffeine Content: Zero – these coffee substitute teas are completely herbal. Also, brewing Not Coffee for a longer time gives a stronger (very coffee-like) cup of tea
- Pairs Perfectly With: Baddie energy! Periodt!
Breathe, $16
Itchy, scratchy throats are no match for this spicy and warming herbal tea. And with zero caffeine content (none, nada, non-existent), you can be sure to kick that stuffy, clogged-up feeling you get in your head when the flu’s taken you hostage.
- Ingredients: Elderflower, mullein, marshmallow, stinging nettle, ginger root
- Servings: 10 single servings
- Caffeine content: aren’t we past this? Coffee is he who shan’t be mentioned here
- Pairs Well With: A “How Stella Got Her Groove Back: recap and a savory home-cooked meal
C.R.E.A.M, $14
If you spend your Sundays watching reruns of Queen Sugar and digging into creamy soups or ice creams, you’ll fall in love with this Drink Flyest classic. It contains peppermint and spearmint blends, making it crisp, cooling, and a cravings-fixer.
It’s also Shanae’s favorite, so you know it’s good!
- Ingredients: Peppermint and spearmint
- Servings: 10-12 single servings
- Caffeine Content: Uuuuhh, none!
- Pairs Perfectly With: Side-piece honey, marshmallows, cracking fireplace flames, a snuggy and laid-back attitude.
Sister Sister, $17
Nope. It’s not sponsored by Tia and Tamera Mowry. But it’s got the same warm and witty vibes as the sitcom.
The tea features a healthy blend of relaxing mints, mind-soothing rose petals, and vibes-eliciting cinnamon. It’s definitely the drink to get if you’re done with your shifty baby daddy, pressure-triggering mom, annoying cousins, and weird-a** bosses.
Just a few sips, and you’ll be in heaven or your dream destination, at least.
- Ingredients: Spearmint, rose petals, chamomile flowers, lavender, and cinnamon.
- Servings: 10-12 single servings
- Caffeine Content: Wdym? What’s coffee? We don’t do that here!
- Pairs Perfectly With: Butter cookies and hot tea at your favorite manicurist’s shop.
Yella, $21
Fancy some chai without caffeine? Yella’s going to be your new teabae. Named after its sunshine-y hue, the spicy, sweet, and tantalizing turmeric-ginger tea is everything you didn’t know you needed in a heart-calming tea.
And, like most Drink Flyest teas, Yella can be brewed twice, meaning you get more bang for your buck, boo!
- Ingredients: Turmeric, Ginger Root, Cardamom, Clove, Cinnamon, Fennel, Licorice, and Black Pepper
- Servings: 20 single servings
- Caffeine Content: None, boo – this is herbal tea!
- Pairs Perfectly With: Some cheesecake and anyone looking to sprinkle a lil sunshine in their life
