Cusa Tea

What Cusa Tea does

Cusa Tea & Coffee is a Boulder, Colorado-based private company that produces premium instant teas and coffees using a patented cold-brew extraction process combined with gentle vacuum dehydration. Founded in 2015 by Jim Lamancusa after a study-abroad experience in Hong Kong, the company operates a portfolio of 27 SKUs spanning green and black teas, caffeine-free herbal blends, and multiple coffee roasts/flavors, all formulated to dissolve instantly in hot or cold water without sugar, additives, or fillers. Production inputs are USDA Organic (tea) and Rainforest Alliance Certified (coffee), and every batch is triple-filtered and tested for pesticides, heavy metals, mold, and bacteria — results that Cusa publishes publicly.

Cusa generates revenue primarily through direct-to-consumer e-commerce on its Shopify-powered storefront, supplemented by a subscription auto-ship program offering a 10% recurring discount and wholesale distribution via the Faire marketplace and direct B2B accounts for retailers, offices, and event venues. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from $12.99 to $35.99 per product, with bulk formats (Pitcher Packs, 100-packs) for higher-volume use cases. The company raised a $2.5 million round in May 2019 led by Break Trail Ventures and remains founder-led with 1–10 employees. Strategic positioning targets active outdoor enthusiasts, busy professionals, and health-conscious consumers seeking premium-quality beverages that do not require brewing equipment.

Name

Cusa Tea

Legal name

Cusa Tea

Website

https://drinkcusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cusa Tea & Coffee is a Boulder, Colorado-based premium instant tea and coffee brand using patented cold-brew extraction and vacuum dehydration to produce organic, sugar-free beverages that dissolve in hot or cold water, sold primarily DTC and via subscription to active, health-conscious consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Premium Instant Tea and Coffee

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Instant Tea, Tea Extracts & Concentrates Manufacturing (AFAFADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instant Coffee & Coffee Extract Manufacturing (AFAFADAD), Coffee Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAC), Tea Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAG)

Keywords

• Instant tea products
• Instant coffee products
• Cold brew beverages
• Organic tea blends
• Subscription beverage service

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Sales: Primary revenue stream through drinkcusa.com. Customers purchase individual products, variety packs, or pitcher packs. One-time purchase and subscription options available. Subscription model offers 10% recurring discount.
2. Wholesale/ B2B Sales: Wholesale orders through Faire marketplace and direct wholesale accounts. Targets retailers, office breakrooms, coworking spaces, and event venues. Bulk 100-packs available for office/business settings.
3. Subscription/Auto-Ship Orders: Recurring subscription orders with 10% discount. Subscribers receive monthly deliveries with ability to modify flavors, frequency, or cancel anytime. Subscribers also receive new flavor samples added to orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cusa Tea & Coffee manufactures and sells premium instant teas and coffees that dissolve in seconds in hot or cold water, using a patented cold-brew extraction and gentle vacuum dehydration process. The company offers a portfolio of organic green and black teas, herbal teas, and specialty coffees sold directly to consumers via its e-commerce storefront and subscription service, with a secondary wholesale channel for offices, retailers, and events.

Product overview

Cusa Tea & Coffee is a premium instant beverage company offering a portfolio of small-batch, craft-brewed instant teas and coffees that dissolve in seconds in hot or cold water. The core product line consists of four coffee varieties (Light Roast, Medium Roast, Dark Roast, and Decaf), three flavored coffees (Mocha, Vanilla Dark Roast, and Dirty Chai), six unflavored and flavored green/black teas (Organic Green, English Breakfast, Mango Green, Peach Green, Jasmine Green, Mango Black, Peach Black, Lemon Black, and Earl Grey), and four caffeine-free herbal teas (Apple Spice, Deep Doze, Immune Boost, and Everyday Wellness). All products use a proprietary cold-brew and gentle vacuum dehydration process to preserve flavor. The company also offers subscription services, variety packs, pitcher packs for bulk purchasing, branded drinkware, apparel, and digital gift cards. The teas and coffees are USDA Organic certified and Rainforest Alliance certified respectively, with zero sugar, gluten-free, and vegan formulations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• English Breakfast Tea Organic green and black tea, silver medal winning, smooth earthy flavor suitable for morning or afternoon consumption. Dissolves instantly in hot or cold water.
• Organic Green Tea 100% organic green tea from high mountain tea farms with light, bright flavor. Silver medal winner, no sugar, additives, fillers, or preservatives.
• Mango Green Tea

Quantifiable outcome

• 144-456mg polyphenols per serving vs typical loose leaf tea's ~60mg per serving
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• FairecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale marketplace partner enabling small retailers to purchase Cusa products for resale. Orders can be placed through the Faire platform for wholesale pricing.
• USPSsupportingOthersPrimary domestic and international shipping carrier used for order fulfillment.
• UPSsupportingOthersSecondary shipping carrier for domestic and international order fulfillment.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the drinkcusa.com online store. Provides the online sales infrastructure for direct-to-consumer sales.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Waka Coffee: Waka Coffee sells instant and pour-over specialty coffee aimed at travelers, students, and outdoor enthusiasts. Directly comparable to Cusa in product format (instant premium coffee) and target use case (portable, on-the-go consumption).
• Sudden Coffee: Sudden Coffee offers freeze-dried single-origin specialty instant coffee through D2C subscriptions. Directly comparable as a premium craft instant coffee brand using single-origin beans and a subscription model targeting coffee enthusiasts.
• Pique Tea: Pique Tea makes fermented and cold-brewed instant tea crystals marketed for gut health and wellness via DTC subscriptions. Closely comparable to Cusa's tea line in format (instant crystals), premium positioning, and subscription-driven D2C model.
• Steeped Coffee: Steeped Coffee produces single-serve specialty instant coffee for offices, hotels, and consumers with a focus on premium, clean-label brewing. Directly comparable to Cusa as a premium instant coffee brand competing on quality and convenience in similar D2C and office channels.

Emerging players

• Cometeer: Cometeer ships flash-frozen concentrated coffee capsules that consumers dissolve at home, a higher-tech premium coffee product with D2C subscriptions. Comparable to Cusa as a technology-forward premium instant-coffee brand aimed at enthusiasts, though format and price point differ.

Broad incumbents

• Bigelow Tea: Bigelow Tea is a family-owned packaged tea company with broad retail distribution across black, green, and herbal varieties. Comparable as an established premium packaged-tea incumbent whose grocery presence defines the shelf space Cusa would need to compete for.
• Starbucks VIA Instant: Starbucks VIA is the mass-market premium instant coffee line from Starbucks, sold in grocery, online, and foodservice globally. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in premium instant coffee, with vastly larger distribution and marketing scale than Cusa.
• Nescafé (Nestlé): Nescafé is the global market leader in instant coffee across mainstream and premium tiers, owned by Nestlé. Directly competes with Cusa in the instant coffee category with vastly broader distribution and brand reach.
• Tazo Tea: Tazo Tea is a packaged tea brand selling bagged and bottled teas through grocery and foodservice. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the branded premium tea space that overlaps with Cusa's premium tea positioning.
• Celestial Seasonings: Celestial Seasonings is a mainstream herbal and specialty tea brand sold widely in grocery and mass retail. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the premium tea category with overlapping herbal tea offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.drinkcusa.com
• Pinterestpinterest.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.drinkcusa.com
• Xx.com/cusa_tea

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cusa Tea