Eli Tea Bar

What Eli Tea Bar does

Eli Tea Bar is a privately held specialty tea café and e-commerce retailer founded in 2013 by Elias Majid while he was a Nutrition & Food Science student at Wayne State University. The company operates two physical tea bars — a flagship at 108 S Old Woodward Ave in Birmingham, Michigan (serving 70+ loose-leaf varieties) and a second location at 5507 N Clark St in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood — and sells direct-to-consumer through a Shopify storefront with USPS domestic and select international shipping, plus mobile ordering via ToastTab and third-party delivery on Grubhub (Birmingham) and UberEats (Chicago).

The core product is a curated catalog of more than 90 loose-leaf teas and herbal infusions across Black, Green, Herbal, Oolong, Chai, White, and Matcha categories, complemented by bubble tea, kombucha on tap, tea lattes, and proprietary house blends such as Apple Ginger Spice, Mint Matcha, and Brulee Puerh. Sourcing is differentiated by a documented "earth, time, skill, user" philosophy and direct import of premium Japanese teas through a Michigan-Shiga Sister State partnership with Shiga Prefecture, alongside American-grown herbals from Colorado, Oregon, and Michigan. Revenue mechanics span retail beverage and merchandise sales (one-time unit pricing with tiered weight bands ranging roughly $10-$120 per pound of tea and $13-$40 for teaware), B2B wholesale supply to restaurants, hotels, and events, and lifestyle adjacencies including teaware, matcha bowl kits, hot chocolate mixes, incense, and apparel.

Customer segmentation is hybrid: primary tea enthusiasts and connoisseurs (students to specialty buyers), with secondary segments of social/community seekers (drawn by late-night programming at Chicago), health-conscious consumers, and foodservice/hospitality businesses purchasing wholesale. Marketing is grounded in Instagram (@eliteabar), a monthly email newsletter, recurring in-store events (Trivia Tuesdays, Art Meetup Thursdays, open mic, book clubs, tea tastings), and earned media coverage in Eater, The Guardian, Detroit Metro Times, HOUR Detroit, and Japanese outlets. Founder-owner Elias Majid retains direct operational control, and the business is a founding member of FoodLab Detroit, with no parent company, venture investment, or acquisitions disclosed.

Name

Eli Tea Bar

Legal name

Eli Tea Bar

Website

https://eliteabar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eli Tea Bar, founded in 2013 by Elias Majid, operates two specialty tea cafés (Birmingham, MI and Chicago, IL) and a Shopify e-commerce store selling 90+ loose-leaf teas, bubble tea, kombucha on tap, matcha, and teaware to tea enthusiasts, students, and foodservice wholesale buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Tea Café and Retail

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Tea Shops (Loose-Leaf, Tea Bars) (THAFAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Bubble Tea (Boba) Shops (THAFAKAC), Milk Tea & Flavored Tea Beverage Shops (Non-Boba) (THAFAKAI), Specialty Coffee Adjacent Beverage Bars (Chai, Cacao, Alternative Lattes) (THAFAKAH), Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Tea (CRADAHAD)

Keywords

• Specialty loose leaf tea
• Tea bar café
• Bubble tea retail
• Matcha and chai
• Wholesale tea supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Tea Products: Sale of loose leaf teas, tea blends, and tea accessories through e-commerce and in-store purchases. Products sold in various sizes from 2oz to full pounds with tiered pricing.
2. In-Store Beverage Sales: On-site preparation and sale of hot tea, iced tea, tea lattes, bubble tea, and kombucha on tap. Over 100 tea varieties brewed to order.
3. Wholesale/Restaurant Supply: Bulk tea sales to restaurants, hotels, and special events at discounted prices with customizable options. Target B2B customers include foodservice establishments seeking quality tea programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Eli Tea Bar operates specialty tea cafés in Birmingham, MI and Chicago, IL, selling over 100 loose leaf teas, house-blended chai, ceremonial matcha, bubble tea, kombucha on tap, and tea lattes for on-premise consumption and takeaway. The company also runs an e-commerce storefront shipping teas, teaware, apparel, and accessories, and supplies bulk tea wholesale to restaurants, hotels, and events.

Product overview

Eli Tea Bar is a modern tea café and specialty shop operating flagship stores in Birmingham, MI and Chicago, IL. The company offers over 90 types of loose leaf teas and herbal infusions sourced from around the world, featuring core products across tea categories (Black, Green, Herbal, Oolong, Chai, White, Matcha) alongside bubble tea, kombucha on tap, and tea-based medicinal apothecaries. The product portfolio includes tea samplers and bundles (3 Tea Sampler, 3 Chai Combo), hot chocolate mixes, teaware accessories, apparel, and specialty items like incense. Tea is sold in-store, online via their Shopify e-commerce platform, and through delivery integrations with Toast Tab, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Loose Leaf Tea Collection Loose leaf teas across categories (Black, Green, Herbal, Oolong, Chai, White, Matcha, American-grown) sourced globally and from U.S. growers, sold by weight in sizes from 2oz to full pounds for at-home brewing by individual consumers.
• Ceremonial-Grade Matcha Stone-ground Japanese ceremonial-grade matcha including Maruyasu, Hika, and Hon-Ai varieties, plus flavored matchas such as Mint Matcha, for traditional preparation and modern beverage use by tea enthusiasts.
• Bubble Tea Handcrafted bubble tea made from fresh milk, boiled Indian-style tea, and tapioca pearls, available with oat milk and coconut milk options, served in-café and via mobile pickup.
• Kombucha on Tap Raw kombucha brewed on premises and served on tap at both café locations for walk-in and mobile-order customers.
• Teaware and Accessories Tea brewing accessories including the EZ Brew Gravity Tea Pot ($29.99), Japanese Clay Kyusu teapots, Matcha Bowl Kit ($39.99), bamboo matcha whisks ($12.99), and decorative tea cups and saucers, sold to consumers for at-home preparation.
• Tea Sampler and Chai Combo Bundles Bundle offerings including the 3 Tea Sampler (Herbal, Green Tea, or Black Tea varieties, $15.99) and the 3 Chai Combo (Rooibos, Indian, and Thai Chai in quarter-pound tins, $49.99), sold as discounted bundles to individual consumers.
• Hot Chocolate Powder Mix Natural hot chocolate mixes in Classic, Smoked, and Lavender varieties, packaged in 14oz glass jars for at-home preparation by individual consumers.
• Branded Apparel Branded clothing items including the Rainbow Pom Pom Winter Hat with 6-color embroidery, sold online through the Shopify storefront.
• Medicinal Brews and Tea Apothecaries Tea-based homeopathic blends and functional supplements created using evidence-based medicine and peer-reviewed scientific studies, marketed to health-conscious consumers seeking functional herbal teas.
• Incense Various incense sticks sourced from around the world, including Fragrance Memories and Japonism Scent Discovery, sold as complementary lifestyle merchandise alongside tea products.
• Wholesale Tea Supply Bulk tea sales to restaurants, hotels, and special events at discounted prices with customizable options and tea tasting sessions, targeted at foodservice establishments seeking quality tea programs with ethical sourcing.
• In-Café Beverage Service and Mobile Ordering On-site preparation and service of over 100 hot, iced, and specialty tea beverages, tea lattes, bubble tea, and kombucha at both café locations, with ToastTab mobile ordering available for in-store pickup.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 types of tea and herbal infusions offered
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Shiga Prefectural Government (Michigan-Shiga Sister State Program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership through the Michigan-Shiga Sister State Program to establish new channels of tea sourcing from Shiga prefecture, Japan. Owner Elias Majid visited in May 2018 to learn from Japanese tea farmers about their process, distribution, and care-taking of various types of tea. The partnership enables direct import of premium Japanese teas including Matcha from Shiga. Featured in two Japanese publications (Chunichi and Kyoto) in September 2018.
• FoodLab DetroitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEli Tea is a founding member of FoodLab Detroit, committed to bettering bottom lines of people, planet, and profit as the company grows. FoodLab Detroit is a community of food entrepreneurs in Detroit.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Verdant Tea: Direct-trade loose-leaf tea company with strong farmer-relationship sourcing and DTC e-commerce. Comparable to Eli Tea's ethical sourcing and Shiga-style direct farmer partnerships.
• Tea Spot: Specialty tea company with loose-leaf retail, handcrafted whole-leaf teas, and a wholesale foodservice program. Directly comparable to Eli Tea's three-channel model at slightly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Teavana (Starbucks): Premium tea brand owned by Starbucks, offering loose-leaf and RTD tea across Starbucks retail locations. Competes in specialty loose-leaf retail and café-anchored tea consumption.
• Kung Fu Tea: Large bubble tea chain with multi-unit retail locations. Comparable to Eli Tea's bubble tea offering but at much larger scale and with different positioning (mass-market vs. specialty).

Direct peers

• Argo Tea: Specialty tea café chain founded in Chicago serving loose-leaf teas, chai, tea lattes, and bubble tea with packaged retail goods. Closest Midwest geographic and format peer to Eli Tea's Chicago location.
• Steven Smith Teamaker: Craft tea company selling premium loose-leaf teas through DTC, foodservice wholesale, and select retail. Similar premium positioning and small-batch/blend ethos to Eli Tea.
• DAVIDsTEA: Specialty loose-leaf tea retailer operating its own e-commerce store and a multi-unit café/retail footprint across North America. Closely comparable to Eli Tea's DTC + physical store + wholesale model, but at meaningfully larger scale.
• Republic of Tea: Specialty tea brand selling loose-leaf and bagged teas via DTC, wholesale, and foodservice channels. Comparable product mix (black, green, herbal, chai) and direct ethical-sourcing positioning.
• Adagio Teas: Online specialty loose-leaf tea retailer with broad SKU depth and a customizable blending program. Directly comparable to Eli Tea's e-commerce channel and 100+ SKU philosophy.
• Harney & Sons: Premium loose-leaf tea company with its own retail tea rooms, wholesale hospitality channel, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Comparable to Eli Tea across all three revenue streams and in positioning on premium/specialty loose-leaf.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/eliteabar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elitea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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 Eli Tea Bar