About Us
We bought a building and moved to 1 Brooksite Dr Smithtown, NY 11787.
We're currently closed to the public for renovations. We anticipate being open in Winter/Spring 2025.
Our last day open in Huntington Village was March 30th, 2024. We want to thank everyone for our 6 years in Huntington. We met so many new people and had such a wonderful experience there. We're thrilled to be evolving and expanding with the purchase of our own building - it's a dream come true to be our own landlords!
Who are we? We are a small business with a big heart that loves to source incredible tea.
Established in 2010, the Clipper Ship Tea Company is a purveyor of 300 premium loose leaf teas that are sourced from our travels to tea countries of origin. We have navigated the world curating a selection of the finest teas available. Our tea collection consists of traditional teas and innovative blends. We offer loose tea, pyramid sachet teabags, and sampler boxes.
Melissa, the founder and operator of the Clipper Ship Tea Company, spent over a decade sailing around the world on sailboats and commercial ships in the Merchant Marines. During her travels around the world, she visited tea countries of origin such as India, Taiwan, Japan, Sri Lanka, and more. She made connections with tea growers and suppliers during her travels.
During her time off ships, Melissa studied at the Specialty Tea Institute (STI) to become a Certified Tea Specialist, also referred to as a tea sommelier. The STI is the educational arm of the Tea Association of the USA. In 2010, she decided to retire from sailing and anchor herself in her hometown by opening a retail tea shop in Northport on Long Island.
In November 2010, our first tea shop was opened on Main Street in Northport Village. In 2017, a fire in a neighboring bar destroyed the Northport tea shop. As much as we loved being located in Northport, we felt a fresh start was necessary after the fire.
In 2018, the Clipper Ship Tea Co. opened a new tea shop on Main Street in Huntington Village, a few miles from our original location. We operated out of that location in Huntington for six years from March 2018 until March 2024. In 2024 we learned that our landlord was not renewing our lease. So we decided to become our own landlords with the purchase of a building! We purchased 1 Brooksite Dr Smithtown, NY on May 30th, 2024. This is a large 6,000 square foot building that we look forward to growing our online, wholesale, and retail channels of our tea business.
We are proud that we ship online orders all over the USA. Each day our online business grows and we're honored to be shipping our tea to so many people. We have now shipped to 47 states in the USA - we're just missing West Virginia, Mississippi, and Hawaii.
Thank you for shopping small and supporting a big dream! Though we might not be the only tea you drink, we strive to be the best. We’re honored when Clipper Ship Tea Co. becomes part of your daily life. We hope our tea comforts you, makes you happy, wakes you up, helps you sleep, inspires you, motivates you, and restores you.