What's hitting the shelves? New beverage launches

Summer functional iced teas

New Jersey organic tea brand HRBVOR has launched its new organic lineup of functional iced teas for summer 2023. 

The iced teas (pictured above) are cold infused with 'hand-picked recovery, nootropic, and nervine herbs designed to deliver clean energy, sustained concentration, stress-relief, and centered calmness throughout the day.'

The teas come in 12oz glass bottles for still tea and BPA-free 8oz cans for sparkling teas. The designs are meant to capture the essence of a Caribbean garden where freshly picked herbs are artfully infused to create teas bursting with exotic flavors and packed with health benefits. 

HRBVOR was founded by Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey resident and St. Martin native Zahira Marmar. As a child in the Caribbean, Zahira spent hours with her parents growing a myriad of herbs like sage, lemongrass, and rosemary. Later, as a mother of three, Zahira home brewed herbal teas for her children to take to school, as an alternative to unhealthy sugary drinks - leading to the creation of HRBVOR.

“By offering teas packed with phytonutrients, HRBVOR is an antidote to sugary and artificial beverages and the alarming rise in health issues associated with them,” says the brand. “Zahira's own journey from her small island home in the Caribbean to New Jersey inspired her to share her creations with others, particularly fellow parents seeking better choices for their families. All products are newly certified Organic and Kosher and remain Paleo-friendly with just a touch of real honey accounting for less than 30 calories per serving.”

The new products are: 

• · REVIVE iced tea: White Peony, Hibiscus, Moringa Lemongrass, and Peppermint for clean energy to bounce back from fatigue. 
• · FOCUS iced tea: Tulsi, Guayusa, Rosemary, Sage, and Sweet Basil for sustained concentration for marathon meetings and deskwork. 
• · CALM iced tea: Chamomile, Scullcap, Lemongrass, Lemonbalm, Passion Flower, and Butterfly Pea for stress-relief and centered calmness. 

HRBVOR functional teas are available online and via specialty stores such as The Goodsmart and Eli Zabar’s. 

Mediterranean-inspired gin 

Irini Tzortzoglou, the Greek chef and 2019 winner of TV show Masterchef in the UK, has launched a new Mediterranean-inspired gin with Shed One micro gin distillery in Ulverston on the edge of the Lake District.

Tzortzoglou and Shed One co-owner and founder Zoe Arnold-Bennett joined forces to source, try, test, and taste, a range of botanicals selected to evoke the flavours and aromas of the chef’s homeland of Crete.

“The all-female led creation is a fitting homage to the strong women who have influenced Irini’s path into professional cooking,” says a press release for the new launch. “Yiayia, which translates as ‘grandmother’, is a term of endearment and respect and conjures memories of comfort, love, and food to Irini.

“Yiayia Gin features vine, fig, olive, and lemon leaves, rose pelargonium, seaweed, mushroom, and oregano, for a savoury, rather than sweet emphasis that pairs well with the classic juniper. A great sipping gin, it is well balanced with a nice rich and lighter breadth of herby, countryside, savoury and citrus flavours with a smooth mouth feel and finish. As a classic serve with tonic, the richer savoury is still present but it opens up a little more with the top notes coming through to give a longer lasting finish with citrus.”

The 42% ABV gin has a RRP of £34.95 for a 50cl bottle.

Starbucks launches more at-home capsules with Nespresso

Two of Starbucks’ café flavors are now available at home with the debut of Starbucks Vanilla Flavored Coffee by Nespresso for Vertuo and Starbucks Caramel Flavored Coffee by Nespresso ​for Vertuo, which are set to arrive at grocery stores starting this month.

• Starbucks Vanilla Flavored Coffee by Nespresso for Vertuo: ‘Sweet vanilla and decadent shortbread notes come together beautifully with one of our lightest roasts. Made with natural flavors, it's a delightful cup – perfectly balanced and velvety smooth.’
• Starbucks Caramel Flavored Coffee by Nespresso for Vertuo: ‘Luxurious caramel notes create smooth, balanced flavor with a buttery richness. Made with natural flavors, it's just the right coffee for moments of everyday indulgence.’

The capsules are available online and where groceries are sold, including Target, Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons-Safeway, Meijer, Raley’s, Wegmans, Harris Teeter, HEB, Amazon and more. 

Oat milk lattes

New brand Narra has launched its flagship line of Asian-inspired ready-to-drink, dairy-free, naturally caffeinated oat milk lattes with no added sugar and no artificial ingredients.

The brother and sister duo are introducing flavors from their childhood to the US latte aisle.

Inspired by merienda — the Filipino tradition of taking a midday break to sip, snack and recharge — the brand unveils three ‘culturally-driven lattes perfect for the midday pick-me-up’: Roasted Oolong, Black Tea, and Strawberry Matcha. Sitting rather in the tea space than the coffee space, the brand has brewed up its line of oat milk tea lattes for a natural caffeine boost with ‘the untapped potential and incredible benefits of tea’.

“Merienda was something we looked forward to everyday, but became this dreaded midday slump as we became working professionals. We couldn’t find a perfectly balanced product that could get us through the day without having too much sugar or caffeine that comes with all the jitters,” says co-founder Victoria Reyes. “We hope to provide that joyous merienda feeling ​through our lattes, just like having that perfect midday escape to get you recharged and ready to finish the day strong while still getting you to bed on time.”

Narra’s flavors include:

● Roasted Oolong Milk Tea (50 mg caffeine): ‘Floral, slightly fruity taste of roasted oolong combined with rich oat milk to craft a not-too-sweet everyday escape.’

● Black Milk Tea Latte (60 mg caffeine): ‘Rich, malty notes of black tea balanced out with creamy oat milk to create a black tea-boosted latte that’s seriously light and refreshing.’

● Strawberry Matcha Latte (70 mg caffeine): ‘Sweet and slightly tart flavor of strawberries paired with the earthy, nutty, subtle notes of matcha.’

Mirror Margarita

Mirror Margarita – created by mixologist Deano Moncrieffe of UK agave bar Hacha – is launching into the off-trade in Sainsbury’s stores nationwide.

“The signature bar serve taken directly from Hacha’s cocktail menu now sold through national retailer Sainsbury’s means people can have award-winning mixology at home," says the brand.

"Mirror Margarita is made using 100% Premium Agave Blanco Cazcabel Tequila, expertly mixed with blended citrus oils and malic acid, produced naturally by the agave plant itself, for a perfectly balanced margarita (sweet yet sour), that heroes the flavours of agave, with grapefruit notes on the finish."

Mirror Margarita joins Sainsbury’s RTD category in a 500ml format, containing 5 serves per bottle, ABV 15%, RRP £25.00. Bottles should be kept cool, refrigerated once opened and will keep for up to 12 months.

Agave expert Deano Moncrieffe has spent more than a decade of experience working with luxury Tequila and Mezcal brands.  He co-founded Mirror Margarita with his partner Emma Murphy, the brand’s Creative Director and visionary, with 15 years’ experience in the drinks industry.

Moncrieffe says: ‘‘We have always believed there is a gap in the market for a premium RTD cocktail which is expert led, so people who are time poor but love good quality drinks can enjoy them without any fuss at home. What’s more we believe the new product will resonate with people who are already fans of Mexican spirits, but also the innovation behind the recipe with its crystal-clear appearance will intrigue new audiences.”

The listing in Sainsbury’s continues the brands’ long-standing ambitions to bring luxury agave-based spirits to a larger audience. The brand joins Sainsbury’s as part of its ‘Thrive Incubator Scheme’, in partnership with Foundervine and Mission Ventures created to support brands founded by black entrepreneurs.

The launch into retail adds to the brand’s distribution network, already with a strong ecommerce platform, sold directly from both Hacha Dalston and Brixton bars. The cocktail is also available wholesale in a 200ml (two serve) format in collaboration with Bermonds Locke.

Club Colombia

ABI Colombia's Bavaria Brewery has repackaged its flagship premium beers, Club Colombia.

The new packaging from Canpack features minimalist designs which draw on the rich cultural heritage of Colombia’s diverse people, carrying subtle patterns that pay tribute to highly skilled and iconic crafts typical of the country’s three regions.

The gold (dorado​) label references the filigree metal work produced in the city of Santa Cruz de Mompox, which turns the legendary gold into an even more valuable treasure. The red (roja​) label represents the hands that weave the caña flecha in the departments of Córdoba and Sucre and turn this material into the iconic vueltiao hat, a symbol of Colombian identity and Caribbean culture. And the black (negra​) label evokes the precise and complex designs in Tamo de Nariño that remind that mastery lies in patience, delicacy and attention to detail.

English wine​

Herefordshire (UK) vineyard, Radlow Hundred, has released its 2022 Vintages. The collection includes small-batch Rondo 2022, Solaris 2022 and Rosé 2022 and is the first year Radlow Hundred has released batches made solely with the vineyard’s grapes.

“As the demand for English still wine grows, Radlow Hundred is looking to the next chapter in the category with this latest release,” says the vineyard. “Our vineyard falls within the beautiful rolling landscape of Herefordshire, previously known as Radlow Hundred, an administrative area noted in the Doomsday Book. Each label represents a fondness for the farmscape’s history and surrounding community, from sunny days at the river Wye, to the long-awaited train finally arriving in Bromyard. 

“Working with grower Robert Hancocks, vines were carefully paired with the Herefordshire soil and are pruned by hand each winter. This led to the considered selection of two grapes - Rondo and Solaris - to craft exceptional still English wine, as a flourishing new focus for the category.”