Last week, award-winning Vancouver-based beverage company Wize announced the North American debut of its new lineup of ready-to-drink iced teas made with coffee leaves.
Cultivated and crafted at a farm in the Nicaraguan cloud forest, the new product line (grapefruit, original, and mango) aims to offer a refreshing alternative to traditional iced tea options.
Unlike many of its caffeinated competitors, the use of coffee leaf enables Wize to pack each iced tea with antioxidants like mangiferin, chlorogenic acids, and EGCG, while offering a reduced amount of sugar, caffeine, and calories.
In addition to the multitude of health and nutritional benefits coffee leaf tea contains, the recipients of the 2015 World Tea Expo’s Best New Product are also focused on creating sustainability within the Nicaraguan coffee farmer community by reinvesting funds directly to the farmers themselves.
“The coffee crisis has been worsening for decades, and now with COVID peaking in Latin America, it’s getting even harder to survive in this industry. Half of the coffee farmers in our region are planning on migrating elsewhere and abandoning their crops because there are no other options," explains Enrique Ferrufino, Wize co-founder and farmer. "Thankfully, with our innovation, we can make coffee leaf tea in the off-season, and it helps keep people employed at a safe distance outdoors.”
The Wize Iced Tea lineup is available in packs of 12, 24, and 36, and can be purchased online from across the country.
