Stash Tea Company is a privately owned specialty tea and herbal tea company formerly headquartered in Tigard, a suburb of Portland in Oregon, USA. In the summer of 2022, Stash Tea Company closed their headquarters office with an announced relocation to downtown Portland, Oregon’s historic Galleria building. This move was to be completed by the end of 2022. However, as of February 2024 no new physical location for their retail store nor offices has been opened, with no further information regarding an alternative location or date.

History

Stash Tea was founded by Steve Lee, Dave Leger, and Steven Smith (who also co-founded Steven Smith Teamaker and founded Tazo) in 1972. The company originally operated from an old Victorian style house in Portland, supplying loose herbal teas and bulk herbs to natural food stores. Stash Tea broadened its focus to include bagged teas, and a full line of traditional, specialty blend herbal teas for fine restaurants. According to the company, Stash Tea derives its name from tea folklore: tea was once a valuable commodity, traditionally transported by clipper ships. A ship’s captain was typically presented with the finest teas for his personal use, which was regarded as his "stash". (However, the earliest use of "stash" as a noun recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary dates to 1914, deriving from criminal argot, and "stash" was a common term in American slang for a cache or quantity of marijuana or other drugs in the 1960s and after. ) In 1993, Stash was acquired by Yamamotoyama Tea Company.

Products

The company offers specialty teas and tea products.

Store

In 2005, Stash Tea opened a retail store in the Bridgeport Village shopping complex in Tigard, Oregon. This location was closed in summer 2022, with an announced relocation to downtown Portland, Oregon. However, as of February 2024, no new location has been opened and no information has been released regarding alternative plans.