Tea Wholesale • Tea Imports • Private Label

Empire Tea Services LLC

For over 45 years, I have lived and breathed tea — not as a merchant, but as a producer.

Who We Are

I managed a 1,250-acre estate in Sri Lanka's Nuwara Eliya region, overseeing a million pounds of tea a year, before directing an entire government corporation of 12 estates.

I have walked tea fields in Kenya, India, China, and Bangladesh. When I moved to the United States in 1989 and founded Empire Tea Services, I brought that knowledge with me — and it shapes every tea we carry.

Empire Tea Services is built on real tea-growing experience, global sourcing knowledge, and a commitment to helping businesses offer fresh, carefully selected teas with confidence.

Our mission has always been simple: provide exceptional teas without overwhelming customers with endless options or unnecessary complexity.

What We Offer

Our wholesale operation supplies tea shops, coffee shops, and gourmet food stores across the USA, from our warehouse in Columbus, Indiana.

Rather than overwhelming you with 500 options, we carry fewer than 200 carefully selected teas — which means we can guarantee freshness and stand behind every single one.

Many of our teas are micro-blended in-house in small batches under 10 lbs. These aren't novelty blends — they've been refined over years and earned their place in our catalog.

We have excelled in our Private Label branding program and conduct tea education programs for budding tea entrepreneurs. Our main focus is wholesale, and we take pride in building lasting relationships with the businesses we supply.

Our Promise

Every accessory, teapot, and book we carry has been personally tested and approved — I won't put my name on anything I wouldn't use myself.

If you're new to tea, that's exactly who we're here for: we'll cut through the jargon, help you experiment, and make sure you leave with something you'll actually love.

Tea has centuries of history and an extraordinary range of flavors — and we think finding yours should be enjoyable, not intimidating.

From varietals and herbals to flavored teas, hot or iced — for young and old. We carry a wide range of tea accessories, books, and teapots to complete the experience.