Experience has always remained at the core of DAVIDsTEA since David Segal, a self-proclaimed tea connoisseur, opened his first lifestyle retailer in Toronto back in 2008.
The company was a game changer at the time: tea, despite being a traditional drink celebrated over centuries-old rituals across Asia, and the second-most-consumed beverage after water, was still in the early innings of mass adoption in North America. Segal carved out a sweet spot of what he previously described as “nose-to-cup transfer” that ensures the consistency between the scent and flavor of their products.
After launching roughly 160 DAVIDsTEA stores before taking the company public in 2015, Segal was itching to bring his favorite collection of globally sourced tea closer to the consumer, which later fueled the birth of his new venture: Firebelly, a premium loose leaf tea and steepware brand that elevates the drinking experience with better health benefits and mobility.
“Firebelly is really an opportunity for me to curate a collection of tea I drink each and every day for the consumer,” Segal recently told me during an exclusive interview. “We don’t use any artificial flavoring in our tea; just really high quality, certified organic ingredients like Madagascar vanilla” to develop complexity in the cup through slowly dissipated flavors…
