FAQ

If you are looking for Rishi Tea & Botanicals we encourage you to check the tea aisle of your local grocery store or ask for it at your local coffee shop. Our products can often be found at Whole Foods, Cost Plus World Market, Wegmans, The Fresh Market, Sprouts, Publix and many other local grocers.

If you are interested in seeing Rishi offerings in a market, cafe, or store near you, please share with your local merchant!

Rishi is an online and wholesale retailer. You can place your order directly from our online store or find us at select markets, retail stores, cafes, restaurants and hotels.

Simply log into your wholesale account, browse your curated catalog, add items to your cart, and check out. The experience is designed to mirror how you already think about replenishing inventory via our order@rishi-tea.com email box—just faster and hopefully more intuitive. Existing customers, check out our visual guide here!

If an item is unavailable, it will not be possible to add it to an order. Instead, there will be an option to sign up for a notification that will send you an email alert when the item is back in stock.

Yes, we’ll continue to support email order processing. Over time, we encourage all partners to move to the online platform to benefit from faster processing, improved accuracy, and better visibility. Orders submitted on our wholesale site will be auto-routed directly to our fulfillment team, which moves orders through the process more quickly. Orders emailed to our order@rishi-tea.com take on average 1 business day to be manually entered into our system.

Minimums remain consistent with our current wholesale guidelines. We process orders for tea needs of $250 or greater, with complimentary Fed Ex Ground shipping for orders at $450. If you have tighter backroom storage, or need tea orders below our standard minimum, please reach out to order@rishi-tea.com and we’ll work to connect you to a local distribution partner who may be able to better accommodate your order size.

Yes, the default screen is in tile view, however, you can also click on “quick add” on the top left to view our products in list form for faster ordering and scrolling. Once you have an established order history on the wholesale website, you can also view a previous order to re-order even faster.  

Absolutely. Your sales representative remains a key partner and is always available to support assortment planning and ordering. You can contact us at order@rishi-tea.com.

No, you do not need to “create a new account” on the wholesale site, that functionality is for prospective wholesale partners finding Rishi for the first time. As an established wholesale partner already, your account will be activated using the primary email address we have on file. If you’d like to add additional authorized users to your account, please email us a request at order@rishi-tea.com. Each unique email address can only be tied to one wholesale account.

You can add a shipping address to your account from the checkout screen (either as a one time address, or a permanent additional address). For any other account updates, please reach out to our team for assistance at order@rishi-tea.com.

Yes. We can set up multiple users under your account to support your team’s ordering needs, just send us an email to order@rishi-tea.com to add an authorized email and user to your online account. Please note that each unique email address may only be tied to one unique wholesale account.

We are building more advanced permissions functionality. For now, all users have similar access levels. Let us know which features you might like restricted for a particular user.

Fret not, we do not have passwords to memorize to access the site. Instead, a unique authorization code will be generated and emailed to you each time you access the site.

Please check your junk email to see if the passcode was sent there. If you have additional access challenges, kindly email us at order@rishi-tea.com.

Yes. Your wholesale pricing and terms remain unchanged. The platform simply makes them more transparent and accessible.

Once logged in, all pricing displayed is specific to your account with wholesale discounts applied—no need to reference separate price sheets or emails.

We support standard payment methods, with the credit card on file being automatically processed behind the scenes when your order ships. If you need to add or make changes to the credit card on file, please email our team at order@rishi-tea.com and we’ll be happy to assist. We offer net 30 invoicing for customers with an approved credit application. Please let us know if you’d like to apply.

Right now, orders will be charged automatically, or invoices will be generated when the order is fulfilled and shipped. At a future date, if we bring payment management onto the wholesale site, then orders will be charged at checkout instead.

This is an auto-message built into shopify, and we are unfortunately not able to delete this pop up message. At a future state, we may migrate payment processing directly over to the site, however at this time payments will be processed beyond the scenes in our ERP, where your payment information is securely stored. If you need to edit this information or add a new default card to your file, kindly reach out to our team at order@rishi-tea.com.

Please note that promo codes designed for end-consumers on our main rishi-tea.com site are not eligible to be added to our wholesale orders for further discounts. However, from time to time, we may generate and communicate unique for wholesale customer promotions for select items. If your promo code is intended to be for wholesale customers and you are still having trouble, please email us at order@rishi-tea.com.

As a Safe Quality Foods (SQF) facility, we are unable to accept returns or exchanges, and we do not honor refunds if the issue is a matter of personal taste preference.

We do honor replacements or website credit for quality issues. If you feel the quality of our products is less than expected, please contact our customer service within 30 days of your order date. We will need the lot code and photos of the issue to process your inquiry.

Yes! We do ship Canadian orders via Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) shipping through FedEx. Duties and fees are collecting during checkout.

At this time, we do not ship internationally outside of the U.S. or Canada.

If you are interested in Rishi products outside of North America, please contact us and we will evaluate the possibility of international shipping.

A shipping confirmation will be sent to your email when your order ships. This email includes either a FedEx or USPS tracking number. 

You can also follow your order through your account on our wholesale website, you can find tracking information under “My Account” > “Order History”.

Orders sent via FedEx can be tracked with the tracking number provided in your shipping confirmation email here- FedEx Tracking

Orders sent via USPS can be tracked with the tracking number provided in your shipping confirmation email here- USPS Tracking

Strange Routing
With FedEx Economy shipments, you may follow your package updates and notice that it has gone a strange way, or seemingly away from your address during its journey.

These packages must be sorted through certain facilities, and this may be why you see a strange direction on your tracking details. This process may also add additional transit days to your order. Be assured once sorted, it will arrive soon.

Pending Status
When packages enter high volume facilities, FedEx automatically updates the expected delivery date to pending. Once your package enters a lower volume facility, a new expected delivery date will be generated.

Extended Transit Times
We do our best to provide estimated times in transit, but please note transit time vary by carrier and distance, delivery may be extended past estimated days in transit. Please allow ample time for your order to arrive.

At this time, standard shipping timelines apply, and we process all orders from time of order checkout in a first come, first fulfilled manner. For orders for urgent needs, kindly review expedited delivery options at checkout. Please note, that we may still take 2 business days to process the order, but we will ship the order based on the shipping method elected at checkout (Ground, 2-day or overnight).

For future orders, you can schedule re-occurring orders (subscriptions) to automatically send either: Weekly, bi-weekly, Monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly.

Yes, orders placed on the wholesale site will be automatically routed to our fulfillment team and processed in the order in which they were received. This will save on average 1-business day of processing time, compared to our team manually reviewing, entering, and confirming your order from order@rishi-tea.com. Our team is fantastic; however, mistakes can happen on occasion with manual intervention. Therefore, orders placed on the wholesale site will likely be more accurate as well.

Standard fulfillment timelines remain consistent, with most orders processed within two business days. You’ll receive confirmation and tracking once your order ships. Our default shipping method is Fed Ex Ground, and delivery timelines generally follow Fed Ex Ground Shipping Estimates, shipped from Milwaukee, WI. If you would like an order to arrive sooner, kindly review Fed Ex 2 Day, or Overnight rates at the time of order checkout.

In effort to get our customers their orders as fast as possible, your order is immediately sent to our fulfillment team and we are unable to make changes to the order details, including address changes, item changes, and cancellation requests. 

We work hard to ensure orders are filled correctly and completely, and all items are packaged carefully to prevent breakage. If you experience any problem with your order, please contact our customer service team for assistance. We’re happy to rectify any problems to ensure your satisfaction.

Rishi Tea & Botanicals is dedicated to sourcing only the highest quality products and your experience is important to us. If you feel the quality of our products is less than expected, please contact our customer service within 30 days of your order date. We do not honor returns, exchanges or refunds if the issue is a matter of personal taste but do honor replacements for quality issues.   We reserve the right to evaluate situations on a case by case basis as other restrictions may apply.

Please note, as an agricultural product, some seasonal variance is to be expected in the flavor profiles of tea. For this reason, we recommend purchasing smaller quantities such as our “Teaser” sample size, ensuring the tea is to your liking before committing to larger bags. For insight into the most recent crop tasting notes, our Customer Service team can help.

Available shipping options—including expedited methods—are presented at checkout, allowing you to choose based on your needs and zip code. FedEx is our preferred shipper for all contiguous US orders. We offer multiple FedEx options to ensure convenient delivery to a range of addresses. If you are unable to receive FedEx deliveries, contact us at Customer Service or 844-467-4744 to place your order.

Orders shipping to APO, AK, HI, AA, AP, AS, FM, GU, MH, MP, PW, PR, VI are shipped via US Postal Service. During checkout, USPS shipping will automatically apply to orders going to regions listed above.

If you purchased your tea from a third party such as Amazon or Wholefoods, please note we lack access to your purchase history with these retailers, we kindly ask you to contact the retailer at which you purchased the items for the resolution of all product-related issues. We apologize that we can’t assist you directly with these purchases.

Yes. Your order history is available for any orders entered on the site, and you can reorder in just a few clicks from your order history page by clicking “buy again” for each item on a previous order you’d like to order again, or if you need the entire order again, you can select “re-order” at the top of the order history page 

You can quickly recreate prior orders, making it easy to establish and repeat your core assortment. 

Not presently, but please let us know if this is a feature you’d like us to explore adding in the future.

Yes, to place a re-occurring order select “recurrent” at the checkout, to automatically repeat this order every week, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly.

Matcha costs have risen significantly in recent months due to declining supply and
surging demand. In response, we’re now offering In Conversion Matcha from Japanese farms transitioning to organic certification over a three-to-five-year period. With taste profiles comparable to our popular organic grades, this cost-effective option upholds the highest quality standards while investing in the future of organic tea in Japan.

Yes, all available wholesale products will be available. From time to time, we launch small lots or seasonal offerings for our consumer channels, which may not always be available on our wholesale site. If you’d like to order any of these items, please email us at orde@rishi-tea.com

Relevant certifications and product attributes are available directly on each product page.

Product pages will include detailed information to support your team and menu development. Full spec sheets may be added in the future, however, email us at order@rishi-tea.com for any additional information you may need.

We will continue to introduce new products and, at times, offer early access or exclusives through the platform.

Caffeine is one of three stimulating alkaloids found in tea, the others being theobromine and theophylline. Theobromine is a mild stimulant found in greater concentration in chocolate.

In general, a brewed cup of tea has about 1/3 to 1/2 the caffeine of a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee has about 100-120 mg per 8 ounces. Most teas fall between 20-50 mg per 8 ounces. Contrary to popular myth, this average is true regardless of the type of tea (green tea, black tea, etc). This makes sense when you consider that all true tea is made from a single plant species, Camellia sinensis.

The cultivar or “cultivated variety,” is one of the most significant factors determining how much caffeine might be available in any given tea. Broad-leaf variety teas grown in Yunnan and Southeast Asia contain more caffeine than small-leaf varieties. But with hundreds of cultivars in existence, the range varies greatly.

Caffeine is more readily extracted at higher temperatures, so brewing tea at a higher temperature or for a longer period of time will result in a higher concentration of caffeine in your cup. For this reason, cold brew teas can contain less caffeine.

The six tea types are differentiated by their processing steps. The techniques used to process fresh tea leaves– such as rolling, firing, oxidizing, or drying– do not alter caffeine on a molecular level, and thus they do not affect the amount of caffeine contained in the fresh leaf. Teas that undergo baking or roasting in their final stages, such as Houjicha or Iron Goddess of Mercy, may lose some caffeine by pyrolysis, where the caffeine molecule is literally baked out of the tea leaves. In general, the processing methods do not affect caffeine content so various types of tea can have similar levels of caffeine. 

A greater factor influencing the amount of caffeine potential in tea is the cultivar of the tea plant. The brewing technique also plays a large role in determining how much caffeine is extracted into the final cup. 

We worked with an independent lab to measure the caffeine content of our packaged teas. The teas were brewed according to our recommended brewing instructions for temperature and infusion time, and then the caffeine content of the infusion was measured. We found that most teas registered within three tiers: 

LOW: < 20 mg / 8oz cup 
MEDIUM: 20 – 40 mg / 8oz cup 
HIGH: > 40 mg / 8oz cup 

An average cup of coffee contains about 90 – 120 mg / 8oz cup.

A decent amount! After a first 4-5 minute infusion, most teas have only released 30-50% of their total caffeine. The tea leaves will release the remaining caffeine in subsequent infusions. 

There are some variables, of course. If a tea is made of very small leaves and leaf particles, more surface area is exposed to water, and more caffeine will come out in the cup. The water temperature also affects the extraction rate greatly. 

No. It takes several minutes to extract significant amounts of caffeine from the leaf. Using higher temperature water and a longer infusion time will yield more caffeine in the cup. By contrast, cooler water and short infusion times do not extract as much caffeine. 

Tea is known to create a more even, sustained lift compared to the buzz and crash of coffee. There are several reasons for this. 

First, the amount of caffeine in tea is about 1/3 to 1/2 that of coffee. The peak of the tea high does not spike as high as the coffee jolt. 

Secondly, there are other compounds in tea, such as l-theanine, that are attributed to relaxation.  L-theanine is thought to evoke a feeling of relaxation.   

Rishi tea bags are made from a plant-based material called polylactic acid (or PLA for short). PLA is an inert, DNA-free material that is produced by breaking down starches found in plant sources. Through this process, no plant DNA is left behind, making these hypoallergenic and allergen-free. PLA is NOT derived from petroleum and will not leak harmful plasticizers into your brew. True to our sourcing ethics and to help showcase Rishi’s high-quality teas and botanicals, this material is purposefully sourced to provide you and your family with the safest and most delicious cup of tea! 

Biodegradable: PLA tea bags are designed to biodegrade in a high heat, commercial quality composting systems. This means conditions need to achieve at least 120°F, and 80% relative humidity for a sustained amount of time (about 2 months). This material will not breakdown in your cup of tea, even if left for many hours or days. 

No glues, staples or metals: To help facilitate a biodegradable product, Rishi tea bags have a cotton string and printed-paper tag, only. This material is attached to the PLA mesh using ultrasonic+ high-heat vibrational energy. Pretty cool! 

Give me the data: We’re glad you asked! Many organic food advocates, bloggers, rival tea companies and other sources have made statements based on ideas and assumptions that silky tea bags contain petroleum-based plastic or nylon and are unsafe. We felt it was time to take responsibility and set the record straight for the tea industry with scientific data and authentic testing results for actual PLA mesh material used for our silky tea bags. 

We are confident our PLA tea bags are safe when enjoyed according to our brewing recommendations. We worked with an independent lab in Houston, one of the leading labs that tests for plastics in food products, to test both our PLA standard knit and special knit tea bag materials. We tested for BPA and commonly found plasticizers and phthalates that contaminate the global food supply. Our PLA mesh was tested using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), a technique that allowed the lab to analyze the chemical composition of PLA in its entirety. This testing method has a detectable limit of 2 ppm for most of the phthalates we looked for, and of 3 ppm for two of the phthalates. 

Both PLA special knit and standard knit materials passed with flying colors. None of the phthalates we tested for were detected, even in trace amounts. This indicates that the PLA mesh used in our tea bags is completely BPA-free and phthalate-free. The United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (USCPSC) specifies that food products are deemed safe when they test below 1,000 ppm for the plasticizers we checked. With results of no detection, PLA goes well beyond the conditions required to comply with USCPSC standards.

It should be noted that there are several data reports showing that the common petroleum-based nylon and polyester silky tea bags on the market leach plastics, but our PLA material for tea bags is a different material and is not petroleum based. PLA based tea bags should not be linked to reports or tests of unrelated materials.