Numi Organic Tea is a family-run tea brand founded in 1999 in a small Oakland apartment by siblings Ahmed Rahim and Reem Hassani. The name comes from “numi,” a dried-lime drink (Arabic for citrus) they drank as children growing up in Iraq. It blends organic, fair-trade teas from 100% real ingredients with no artificial flavors. In 2006 it became a founding B Corp (B Impact score 120.3), and in 2010 was recognized as the largest buyer of Fair Trade Certified tea in the U.S. For regions fair trade doesn't reach, it created its own “Verified Fair Labor” certification. It has invested over $1M in fair-trade premiums in tea-growing communities (affecting 14,370 people), supporting roads, stoves, mosquito nets, schools, scholarships, maternity pay, on-site healthcare, and life insurance. The Numi Foundation's “Together for H2OPE” (since 2016) brings wells and clean water to over 10,000 farmers in India, Madagascar, and South Africa. It is thorough on the environment too, with biodegradable tea bags, boxes of 85% recycled content, and plant-based packaging.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Numi Organic Tea: Beyond a cup of tea, to the farmers, water, and soil. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
The Dazhangshan tea cooperative in Wuyuan, China — China's first organic tea cooperative and its largest fair-trade one. For farmers long bought down cheaply, Numi became their biggest partner. Farmers themselves choose how to use the fair-trade premium, improving their lives while growing more tea. Numi's fair-trade premiums total over $1M cumulatively, supporting roads, schools, maternity pay, on-site healthcare, and life insurance in growing regions, reaching 14,370 people. Source nature: independent (Fair Trade USA) plus partner.
Source nature: Fair Trade USA / Numi / Dazhangshan / P2 independent (Fair Trade USA) / partner. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- A founding B Corp with a B Impact score of 120.3 (median 50.9). In 2010 it was recognized as the largest buyer of Fair Trade Certified tea in the U.S., and it created its own third-party-verified “Verified Fair Labor” certification (2007) for regions fair trade doesn't reach.P1 third-party certification (B Corp / Fair Trade) / B Lab / Fair Trade USA
- The Numi Foundation's “Together for H2OPE” (since 2016) has built wells and sanitation in tea regions of India, Madagascar, and South Africa, bringing clean-water systems to over 10,000 farmers and their families. Over $1M in cumulative fair-trade premiums has affected 14,370 people. In its home city of Oakland it also supports environmental education for 18,000 low-income children across 75 schools.P3 major media / foundation disclosure / Family Business Magazine / Numi Foundation
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- Independent verification of premiums and people affected
- The relationship with minority shareholder J.M. Smucker (control stays with the family)
- Tracking long-term outcomes
- Regenerative organic agriculture, plant-based compostable packaging, carbon neutrality, and expanding Together for H2OPE.
A second look
The core + is fairness for tea smallholders and workers (people) and organic, water, and climate (nature), backed by Fair Trade USA, B Corp, Forbes, and others. That said, premiums and people-affected figures rest mainly on the company's and certifiers' disclosure, and third-party verification of long-term outcomes is still developing. Prices target relatively affluent consumers. J.M. Smucker is a minority shareholder, but family ownership and control continue.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top