For most of us tea evokes images of a warm, comforting cup to soothe you; or a refreshing, iced pick me up. You'd be less likely to think of a cocktail or a canned drink, right? Local entrepreneurs and tea enthusiasts Jennie Ripps and Maria Littlefield are changing all of that. They founded Owl’s Brew with a vision of creating freshly brewed, bubbly and boozy, organic teas.
Greenwich resident and co-founder, Ripps is a tea sommelier who has crafted iced tea and tea cocktails programs for restaurants including Momofuku, Sweetgreen, Soho House and Edition hotels. Owl’s Brew is a result of a lifelong passion and respect for ingredients that come from the earth, and not from a lab. She believes there is a "natural progression" from refreshing iced tea to spiked, iced, sparkling tea. Plus, hard tea boasts a "more robust flavor," according to Ripps. Tea is hydrating and has a lot of unique antioxidants, so there's a little baseline of benefit, even when alcohol is added. Those benefits are part of why Ripps and Littlefield started Owl's Brew. "The reason we started making cocktails with tea is if you fresh brew the tea, (then you) get something back," Littlefield said.
On a mission to make the most refreshing, and delicious boozy beverages in the world, Owl’s Brew products are brewed from whole leaf tea and botanicals. Owl’s Brew’s Boozy Tea comes in an array of flavors like Matcha, Chamomile & Pineapple, English Breakfast Tea, Lemon & Lime, Darjeeling Tea & Hibiscus Flowers, and White Tea, Raspberry & Watermelon, as well as a new flavor, Jasmine, Blueberry & Lemon, which launched this spring.
Owl’s Brew’s hand-crafted, freshly brewed Boozy Tea is available at Whole Foods in Greenwich, Total Wine in Norwalk, as well as across the country in other major retailers like Trader Joe’s, Total Wine, GoPuff, and more.
For more information visit www.theowlsbrew.com, and follow along on Instagram, @theowlsbrew #drinkwise.