The early days of non-alc saw distilled beverages and one-for-one alcohol replacements. Think Seedlip, Lyre’s, and Ritual. These brands—still growing rapidly today—laid the foundation for an explosion of innovation in the category. In recent years, more unique offerings have hit the market, like functional non-alc wines, THC beverages, and ocean-based beverages.
What else is brewing? Tea-based beverages are on the rise, thanks in large part to tea’s natural tannins. Tannins add a certain bite and fullness to drinks, similar to what you sense with wine. They make tea an ideal base for non-alcoholic drinks that aim for complexity and mouthfeel. Plus, the caffeine in many teas is a functional ingredient that consumers understand and appreciate. Unlike some functional ingredients that attract skepticism, we all know that caffeine works.
Unified Ferments and Copenhagen Sparkling Tea are two brands leading this tea-based trend in America and Europe. Both are best-sellers at Spirited Away, America’s first booze-free bottle shop. Unified Ferments stands out for its focus on complex, single-origin tea fermentations. “The tea helps keep us inside of a tradition in a sense,” co-founder and CEO Young Stowe noted in our recent interview. “So much sophistication and effort has gone into creating the bases of our products that we feel a real obligation to honor that effort.” But, fermentation is where the magic happens: they use fermentation “to intermediate as subtly and with as much nuance as possible.”
Copenhagen Sparkling Tea was developed by the award-winning sommelier Jacob Kocemba. Denmark is a beacon of food and beverage innovation, and Copenhagen Sparkling Tea was indeed born from its restaurant scene. When Kocemba couldn’t find a matching wine for a dessert—despite a cellar of more than 1,700 wines—the solution came in a homemade tea extract. The new drink became a favorite among guests.
Farther east, Hong Kong’s budding non-alc scene centers on tea. Here, innovative brands like Mindful Sparks and bars like Tell Camellia showcase its potential. Mindful Sparks offers a wide range of premium sparkling teas, including a peach bergamot variant that blew me away. Tell Camellia, which offers innovative tea-based cocktails, also has a robust non-alcoholic menu. It features Lyre’s and tea concoctions that lend a satisfying mouthfeel to the non-alcoholic spirits.
While tea makes sense in Asia, it’s even starting to permeate a seemingly unrelated space: THC beverages. Backyard Tea Makers just launched a line of THC-infused teas, blending tea’s complex flavors with the relaxing properties of THC. Real tea is the star here; the team doesn’t use concentrates. Rather, each of its three flavors—Black & Lemon, Peaches N’ Tea, and Raspberry—is based on four-hour cold steeped Keemun Black Tea. While some THC beverages focus on function over flavor, Backyard is committed to delivering a buzz with a product that tastes incredible.
Offering complex flavors and satisfying mouthfeel, tea-based beverages are becoming an increasingly popular choice for those seeking sophisticated alcohol alternatives. As they continue to evolve, one thing is clear: the future of non-alcoholic beverages is not just about replicating traditional drinks. It’s also about crafting unique and enjoyable experiences in their own right.
