Twisted Tea Maker Boston Beer Co. Launches Cannabis Drink TeaPot

The Boston Beer Company, Inc.—the company behind hard drinks such as Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Twisted Tea Original Hard Iced Tea—today announced the launch of TeaPot, a new line of cannabis-infused iced teas.

According to a May 23 press release, TeaPot is the company’s first infused beverage offering and will be available to the public in select Canadian provinces beginning in July.

The brand’s first release is a Good Day Iced Tea, made with real lemon black tea and infused with Pedro’s Sweet Sativa, a cultivar grown in Strathroy, Ontario in Canada by licensed producer Entourage Health Corp. Each can contains 5mg of THC, ideal for daytime or nighttime use.

Given the popularity of hard iced tea drinks, ciders, and other variations, the forward-thinking move mirrors a seismic shift in social drinking.

“TeaPot is meant to be very inviting as a brand,” Director, Head of Cannabis at The Boston Beer Company Paul Weaver, told High Times. “Cannabis beverages are the most social form of cannabis consumption. And it’s really about bucking the trends as a solitary stoner—you no longer have to leave outside and come back to join the party.”

Weaver says that while there is a great deal of current hype around full-spectrum terp profiles and effects—notably in the flower space—the herbal taste is not necessarily what beverage makers are after.

“It’s a nice balance between black tea and lemon and a little bit of sweetness with virtually no cannabis taste or aroma,” Weaver said, adding “we know how to make a really great tasting iced tea.” Leaving out the cannabis aroma makes it ideal for a layer of discreteness.

The expansion into the cannabis area shows “the continued progress of Boston Beer’s product development capabilities,” Weaver continued. “Our CEO, Dave Burwick likes to kind of challenge us to be the most innovative beverage company in the world, which is kind of a lofty ambition. But for him that means not only how we took craft beer and then evolved with the hard cider with the Angry Orchard brand or evolved into flavored malt beverages with Twisted Tea, and hard seltzers.”

The TeaPot Strain, Pedro’s Sweet Sativa

Pedro’s Sweet Sativa is a sativa-dominant hybrid, rich in terps like its dominant beta-caryophyllene, pinene, and reportedly smells sweet with undertones of spice. There are also notes of myrcene, according to Leafly. The cultivar is a cross of a Dominican sativa, White Russian, and an unknown indica to boost its THC potential.

“You can get Pedro’s in carts, you can get pre-rolls … you can get whole flower Pedro’s,” Weaver said. “Pedro’s is like a Canadian legend in terms of the strain. It was around from the early days of medical cannabis. And I remember when legalization occurred, you know, wherever that is now three or four years ago, it was [one of] the first strains that people sought out by name, because it has such a rich history. It’s a very uplifting strain. It’s a strain that is notorious for its sativa qualities, if you believe in those qualities, and for us, you know our partner is the exclusive grower of Pedro’s Sweet Sativa. And so it was kind of a no-brainer for us to pick what we felt was their crown jewel strain, and infuse it into a daytime iced tea.”

According to Headset retail data, since 2020, Canada’s infused beverage market share soared by nearly 850%—making it approximately twice the size of the U.S. cannabis beverage market thanks to fewer restrictions at the federal level.

“Our goal is to be the most innovative consumer-focused beverage company on the planet,” said Dave Burwick, CEO of The Boston Beer Company. “While beer is our middle name, we’ve also introduced successful hard teas, hard ciders, hard seltzers, and canned cocktails. We’re encouraged by the continued growth of the cannabis beverage category and we believe it’s one of the next innovation frontiers. As we await further progress on U.S. regulations, we’ll continue to develop an exciting product pipeline in the federally regulated market of Canada.”

According to VinePair, part of Boston Beer Company’s success is its ability to adapt, expanding to craft brews and hard iced teas and ciders. Twisted Tea’s unparalleled success flourished during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of this of course was due to an unexpected chain of events.

In 2020, Twisted Tea stock surged in popularity despite being in one of the most volatile markets in history. A man named Barry Allen became a viral phenomenon after knocking out a racist, drunk man who was out of control and practically asking for it. Allen, father of five, became known as “TeaKO” or the “Twisted Tea Guy,” who did what many people would call handling the situation. However, Boston Beer Company did not sponsor the man, nor is there any connection to him, according to Allen’s wife. In other words, it was just a man who happened to be wielding a Twisted Tea can.

Visit TeaPot’s website to learn more about where to find the drink in upcoming months.