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Compressing a fruit slurry between two metal plates under thousands of pounds of hydraulic pressure while simultaneously removing heat to preserve taste is known as cold-press juicing.

In 2013 the process revolutionized the juice category by eliminating the need for heat pasteurization or high-pressure processing. Vegetable and fruit juices, previously stabilized with preservatives, colored with chemicals and loaded with added sugar and artificial ingredients could be made shelf-stable and sold as 100% juice.

More critically, juice drinkers thrilled with the taste were willing to pay $4 per glass at pioneering juice bars like Liquiteria or $6 to $12 for a 12-ounce bottle in convenience outlets. Today the category generates an estimated $3.4 billion in sales. A similar process success story is happening in tea.

Jim Lamancusa, founder of Cusa Tea in Boulder, Colo., patented a process that also begins with a slurry, but in this instance the organic tea is combined with fruit. “We put them into room temperature water and pressurize the water to around 500 psi,” Lamancusa explains. “This encourages the tea and fruit to steep at a low water temperature. We continuously test the tea and typically after around 8 hours, it has steeped to perfection,” he said.

“We don’t need to add any flavorings, aromas, or colors because the product is essentially steeped and complete. We then strain out the tea and fruit to prevent it from over-steeping. Once we have the tea liquid, we move it into a vacuum dehydrator that slowly removes the H2O from the tea over the course of 14 hours. This is the perfect process for dehydration because it avoids the high heat used in spray drying instant teas or the extreme cold used in freeze drying. Vacuum dehydration gently removes the water and reduces the tea to a fine powder or crystals, he said. “The tea is so starved for moisture that it instantly rehydrates when mixed into water,” he says.

In November Cusa announced a partnership with the Vitamin Shoppe to launch a caffeine-free herbal line. There is no sugar, additives, fillers, or preservatives and they dissolve instantly in 12-14 oz. of water, he said.

“We now have a great lineup that focuses on overall wellness, immune support, restorative sleep, and more. They also solve the wasted time issue that most herbal tea companies have with their 12-15 minute steeping time to get the effects of the herbs. We can do the same thing in seconds,” said Lamancusa.

Learn more: www. cusatea.com