Steven Smith Teamaker is an American craft tea brand founded in Portland, Oregon in 2009 by Steven Smith — who had previously co-founded both Stash Tea and Tazo Tea, the Portland tea brand acquired by Starbucks in 1999 — bringing decades of tea blending mastery to a new venture that would represent his finest work before his death in 2015. The brand’s defining aesthetic is the numbered blend — each tea in the portfolio assigned a number that functions as an identity distinct from its descriptive name, creating a sense of the range as a composed collection rather than a product catalogue, and reflecting the philosophy of a craftsman who understood that tea blending is an art discipline as much as a commercial activity. Steven Smith Teamaker teas are among the most highly regarded craft blends in the American specialty tea market, celebrated by both tea enthusiasts and food writers for the quality of the sourcing, the sophistication of the blending, and the integrity of a brand built by someone who had already achieved commercial success in the tea industry and chose to spend his final years making the best teas he could rather than the most profitable ones.
In-Depth Explanation
Steven Smith’s career arc is one of the most interesting in American tea history: a craftsman who built two significant brands (Stash Tea, Tazo Tea), then left the commercial mainstream behind after the Tazo-Starbucks acquisition to eventually create a third, more intentional enterprise — one that prioritised quality over scale and the craft of blending over the demands of mass distribution.
Steven Smith’s Career: Stash Tea to Tazo to Teamaker
Steven Smith began his tea career with Stash Tea, which he co-founded in 1972 in Portland, Oregon — one of the early American specialty tea companies that helped establish Portland as a tea industry city. Smith later co-founded Tazo Tea in 1994, also in Portland, creating a brand with a mystical, story-driven aesthetic that became extremely successful and was acquired by Starbucks in 1999 for approximately 8.1 million dollars.
After the Starbucks acquisition, Smith eventually launched Steven Smith Teamaker in 2009 with a more personal, craft-focused vision: a small-batch premium tea brand that would draw on his decades of blending experience to create teas of the highest possible quality, presented with an artisanal aesthetic that was the opposite of the mass-distribution Tazo-Starbucks commercial context.
Smith passed away in 2015, but the company he built continues under the stewardship of his family and the team he assembled, maintaining the quality standards and blending philosophy he established.
The Numbered Blend Aesthetic
The most immediately distinctive feature of Steven Smith Teamaker is the numbered blend system — each tea in the range assigned a number (No 1 Fez, No 2 Meadow, No 11 Bungalow, and so on) that functions alongside the descriptive name as the product’s primary identity. This numbering reflects a particular blending philosophy: the idea that blends in a portfolio are related, that they form a collection with internal logic, and that the craftsman’s hand is what unifies them rather than category or origin alone.
The numbers also imply that the range is curated — that not everything makes the cut, that each numbered blend has earned its place through quality rather than simply being added to increase range breadth. This scarcity and selectivity signal is part of what makes the brand feel like the work of a serious craftsman rather than a commercial operation.
Quality and Legacy
Steven Smith Teamaker’s teas are frequently cited by American tea enthusiasts as among the finest commercially available blends in the country. The sourcing is careful — Smith’s decades of supplier relationships gave him access to exceptional materials — and the blending philosophy prioritises flavour coherence and quality character over novelty or trend-following.
The brand’s legacy quality is reinforced by Smith’s biography: knowing that these are the teas created by someone with a lifetime of experience who had already built two successful brands, who had the commercial credibility to take on any project he chose, and who chose to make the best teas he could rather than the most commercially scalable ones gives the portfolio an integrity that is rare in any food category.
History
- 1972: Steven Smith co-founds Stash Tea in Portland, Oregon; early American specialty tea.
- 1994: Smith co-founds Tazo Tea in Portland; mystical story-driven brand grows significantly.
- 1999: Starbucks acquires Tazo Tea for approximately $8.1 million.
- 2009: Steven Smith Teamaker founded in Portland; numbered blend portfolio established; craft small-batch premium positioning.
- 2015: Steven Smith passes away; company continues under family and team stewardship, maintaining quality standards.
- Present: One of the most respected craft tea brands in the United States; numbered blend portfolio; Portland, Oregon operation.
Social Media Sentiment
- American specialty tea community: Very high regard — Steven Smith Teamaker is consistently cited as one of the best American tea brands by knowledgeable tea enthusiasts. The quality of the blends, the Smith biography, and the numbered collection aesthetic create strong brand loyalty.
- Food and beverage media: Frequently featured in American food media as a premium tea brand and as an example of craft beverage excellence; the Portland origin and the Tazo-Starbucks backstory make it a compelling narrative for food journalists.
- Gift buyers: Widely recommended as a premium gift for tea enthusiasts who have good taste; the distinctive packaging and numbered blend system make the products feel considered and intelligent as gifts.
- Memoriam: Steven Smith’s death in 2015 prompted significant reflection in the American tea community about his contribution; the brand continues to carry his legacy consciously.
Last updated: 2026-06
Related Terms
See Also
Research
- Steven Smith Teamaker: founding (2009), the numbered blend system, and Steven Smith’s career from Stash Tea to Tazo Tea.
Summary: Documents Steven Smith’s tea career — co-founding Stash Tea (1972, Portland), co-founding Tazo Tea (1994, Portland), the Starbucks acquisition of Tazo in 1999, and the eventual founding of Steven Smith Teamaker in 2009 as a craft premium tea brand prioritising quality and blending integrity over commercial scale. Examines the numbered blend system as an aesthetic and philosophical expression of Smith’s approach to tea blending as an art discipline.
- The Tazo-Starbucks acquisition and the path to Steven Smith Teamaker.
Summary: Covers the arc from Tazo Tea’s founding in Portland in 1994 through the Starbucks acquisition in 1999 for approximately $8.1 million, the implications of that acquisition for the brand’s direction, and the eventual founding of Steven Smith Teamaker as a post-commercial-success craft project — examining what it means for a brand to be built not for exit or scale but for the quality of what it makes.
- Steven Smith Teamaker quality sourcing and blending philosophy: craft methods and the American specialty tea market.
Summary: Examines the sourcing approach and blending philosophy underlying the Steven Smith Teamaker portfolio — the supplier relationships accumulated over decades that gave Smith access to exceptional materials, the philosophy of flavour coherence and quality character over novelty or trend-following, and the critical reception of the blends in the American specialty tea community as examples of what craft tea blending can achieve at the highest level.
- Steven Smith’s legacy: the continuation of Steven Smith Teamaker after his death in 2015.
Summary: Covers Steven Smith’s death in 2015 and the question of how a personality-led craft brand maintains its identity and quality standards after the death of its founder — the arrangements made for family and team stewardship of the company, the way the numbered blend portfolio creates a defined quality standard to maintain, and the significance of Smith’s biography to the brand’s ongoing cultural meaning in the American specialty tea community.