Before the Rise

Before we wrote a manifesto, we lived it.

In 2009, we began as Xtea Co., sourcing exceptional artisan teas from around the world. We were drawn to craftsmanship, to small producers, to integrity in every leaf.

In 2020, we moved east and became Queens Coast Trading Company on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. There, something shifted. Tea stopped being simply about sourcing — and became about belonging. About coastal identity. About community.

And then in 2025, the tide brought us to Saint John.

Not by accident.

This is the birthplace of Red Rose Tea — a city that once shipped tea across oceans. A harbour shaped by the immense power of the Bay of Fundy, where tides rise and fall with unmatched force.

Here, history and movement live side by side.

That is where Rising Tide Tea was born.

Our Manifesto speaks of honouring tradition while embracing renewal.
Of building community.
Of craftsmanship over convenience.
Of rising together.

Those aren’t marketing lines.

They are the natural outcome of this journey.

We have seen what happens when businesses forget their roots.
We have also seen what happens when communities decide to rise.

Saint John is rising.
And we chose to rise with it.

Rising Tide Tea is the next chapter — grounded in heritage, driven by purpose, and committed to creating something that lasts.

More than tea.
A return to craft.
A commitment to place.
A tide that lifts.

When the tide rises, we rise — together

The tide brought us here.
Purpose keeps us here.

What we believe — about craft, community, and rising together — is written plainly

This is our Manifesto