Photo courtesy OverAchieving Tea
History: Chase Cookston Austin struggled with finding a source of healthy, sustained energy. The Alabama native experimented with energy drinks, coffee, pre-workout and other caffeinated beverages, but they left him jittery and prone to end-of-day crashes. While researching herbalism, natural remedies, tonics and side-effect free energy, he stumbled upon yerba maté, a plant that has been cultivated and steeped in tea for centuries in South America. In 2020, Austin founded OverAchieving Tea, a company specializing in yerba maté tea that’s blended with organic ingredients.
Specialties: A popular offering is Skinny Mate, which is brewed with coconut and vanilla beans. Austin says, “It’s made for people who drink energy drinks or heavy coffee and espresso drinkers that want to make the yerba maté switch but want to feel that same kick.”
Production: OverAchieving Tea is brewed in Virginia Beach using high alkaline water. The blends are canned in Richmond to be sold at farmers markets across the East Coast. “The success of my mission has come from aging our yerba maté, which gets rid of the bitterness and makes it really smooth,” Austin explains.
Buy: Available at RVA Big Market and the South of the James Market, and online at overachievingtea.com.
