August 10, 2008
Posted: 03:50 PM ET
Arthur Ebeling, 23, is the CEO of Eastern Isles Teas and Tonics.
Arthur Ebeling, 23, is the CEO of Eastern Isles Teas and Tonics.

Arthur Ebeling wants to save the world one cup of tea at a time. It sounds cliché, but this 23-year-old wants to make a mark on entrepreneurship and the environment simultaneously. Like tea, his outlook is refreshing: “Young entrepreneurs are creating a new wave of business. We live in a truly global marketplace and that is a critical landscape for social change being partnered with business.”

Ebeling certainly knows his teas. He grew up making tea from spearmint he picked from his grandmother’s backyard. He even likes to explain the medicinal benefits of different leaves as outlined in the fabled Eastern Isles’ Lost Scrolls.

Ebeling started Eastern Isles Teas and Tonics as a college student two years ago (he’s graduating in the fall). It sells eight teas and donates one dollar from each sale to environmental causes. Ebeling is also working on a line of teas for kids to replace some soft drinks.

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Entrepreneurs


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Pablo Faja   August 13th, 2008 3:26 am ET

Question to ask: As a startup company, how did you get your name out there?

Derek   August 13th, 2008 10:25 am ET

23? He looks 30 in that pic. Sorry but I am not giving up my Diet Coke for any brand of tea. The only tea that tastes half way decent is Snapple’s Diet Peach Ice Tea.

Julie Franzese   August 13th, 2008 10:47 am ET

Arthur, TRU Jewellery is a venture of very similar nature. We’d love to connect with you in whatever way makes sense to build the momentum of goodness and social change. See http://trujewellery.com/aboutus.html for more about us and for a contact link. All the best to you and much success with your endeavors.

Miguel Bermudez   August 13th, 2008 11:54 am ET

I think it is a great idea. How can we contact you and your company?

M. Johnson   August 13th, 2008 11:59 am ET

Arthur-

You and your company are the type that I would love to work for.

Are you hiring hard working people?

Mark

The tea chick   August 13th, 2008 1:55 pm ET

Derek - just responding to your comment about diet coke and the diet industry. I am 31 and I look like I am 22 and I drink premium loose tea on a daily basis…at least 12 cups…not tea bags nor bottled teas. You can view my page at http://www.myspace.com/theteachick and http://www.iloveONO.com. Here is a bit about “diet” drinks. According to Dr. Batmanghelidj’s book Your Body’s Many Cries For Water aspartame is 180 times as sweet as sugar without any calorie output, but DIET drinks do not cause you to lose weight. Actually, they are responsible for weight gain. The sweet taste in your mouth sends a signal to the brain that sugar is coming. The brain in turns tells the liver to stop converting fat to sugar for energy, because fresh sugar is coming.When glucose( sugar) does not show up - the brain sends out the message that it needs sugar to keep functioning. That signal gets interpreted as hunger and off you go to find something to eat.
When you drink one 12 oz can of soda you have to drink 12 - 10 ounce glasses of water to neutralize the acidic effects of that soda in your body.
When cells don’t get enough of oxygen they need to create energy, they ferment blood sugar ( glucose) for energy instead, and that creates acidity - pH level of the body….At an Alkaline ph balance slightly above 7.6 cancer cells stop growing and replicating. At pH 8.5 cancer cells die.

Snapple’s Diet Peach Ice Tea - come on, that is not tea. Try premium loose teas.

matt   August 13th, 2008 4:53 pm ET

diet tea. ha!

and ……. isn’t the tea market just a little saturated already? i mean, he could try a more original start-up … say… green energy!

this country is DONE.

Jon   August 13th, 2008 4:54 pm ET

What college did you go to? How did you develop the idea for your business and execute it?

Shannan   August 13th, 2008 5:54 pm ET

Handsome and successful at the prime age of 23..way to go Arthur! I’m wondering, as for your line of tea for kids, have you thought about how you are going to promote tea as a household name for kids to request?

KERRI EVANS   August 13th, 2008 5:56 pm ET

i am so impressed with enthusiasm and spirit of giving.
keep up the good work.
my favorite tea is jasmine green.
let all children drink tea!!

Betty   August 13th, 2008 6:09 pm ET

Where can I buy this tea? I own a business that provides alternative therapies (Reiki and Hypnotherapy). We’re always looking for great tea to serve to our clients. Also, is it available at wholesale? My clients would probably love to buy the tea as well.

Pablo Faja   August 13th, 2008 6:38 pm ET

LOL! Derek. That’s what I thought! Maybe I should nominate my startup. Hey if it gets me a chance to meet Nicole. I think its great that Nicole reports on positive young people because you don’t see that in the news. In fact, CNN’s front page has a bunch of negative stories. I guess that is the definition of news nowawdays.

ELIZABETH   August 13th, 2008 8:22 pm ET

I think this company is great!

Arthur want to date?

Sarah Tracey with Dharma Harvest   August 13th, 2008 10:19 pm ET

Congratulations on your business success, growth and media attention! I will look into it more, but does your concern about the environment extend from your donated dollars to your tea purchases?

In our global economy, equity and equality are directly related to the environment… how do you see your company supporting a sustainable global system?

mike   August 13th, 2008 11:02 pm ET

You’re right, it does sound cliche! Just what we need, another wannabe millionaire with a heart of gold and a gimmick…sigh.

Morgan C.B.   August 14th, 2008 1:24 am ET

Wow… Awesome stuff at such a young age. Is he single??? Hot Stuff. Everyone likes a man with drive and forward thinking:)

I Love Tea!   August 14th, 2008 8:32 am ET

Congratulations, this is a big step for someone so young! Tea is so healthy, as all the medical research has shown, for the physical, mental, and spiritual beings ( oh and the only reason snapple tastes”decent” is because it is loaded with sugar)

Congrats again, Arthur. You should be enjoying this time and success and do not let people like snapple here get you down.

Melissa, Los Angeles   August 15th, 2008 12:19 pm ET

@ Derek a nutritionist told me that diet sodas actually leach the calcium out of your bones vs. regular soda although both do erode your tooth enamel.

I’d like to know if Arthur has any teas that won’t keep me up at night. I mainly drink water so on the rare occasion when I drink tea - I can’t sleep at night.

asmahan   August 18th, 2008 8:31 am ET

i think thats a good idea and congratulations.young people should strive to make the world a better place like you. And you are very cute.

Weber's 5th Hour   August 26th, 2008 12:47 pm ET

We heard in your interview you’re starting a new line of teas for children. Will there be any new flavors to get kids interested in your product?

Acai Plus   August 27th, 2008 2:18 am ET

Nice bog you have here. I pretty much lurk the internet when I’m bored and read all I can about the organic lifestyle, but I really liked you view on things. I’ll bookmark the site and subscribe to the feed!

Francine in NJ   September 4th, 2008 12:32 am ET

I too would love to have a tea shop here in my area which is a fast growing community in southern NJ! Also, did I say I LOVE my tea!!! No coffee here!

Best of Luck!!! Francine~

Mark   September 10th, 2008 3:12 pm ET

He could sell me oceanfront property in Arizona. He’s dreamy….

Denise   September 11th, 2008 1:28 am ET

This guy is as hot as he is successful! Is he still single?

Dennis McMellen   September 23rd, 2008 6:45 am ET

What’s up brother-in-law?!? It’s your boy Dennis. Way to go on the tea business! Uncle Brian and the rest of the family says hi! We are really proud of you.

Jennifer James San Antonio   October 1st, 2008 9:29 am ET

I love green tea and I feel a lot better when I drink green tea rather than coffee or juice. I stopped drinking sodas when I was 16 because I didn’t see the benefits in them. I would love to try Authur’s line of tea. I think I have kept my weight balance because of drinking green tea and cutting back on bread. My worst enemy for my body anyway.

Crystal Canale   October 12th, 2008 4:45 pm ET

Still not convinced Senator Barack Obama is a Christian?. I have the perfect website for you!. This information comes from Independent journalists (neither Democrat nor Republican) from around the U.S.A. They have much access to government documents, research & information that the general public Does Not have access to!. Their sole purpose is to identify & either verify or dismiss common misconceptions and/or political rhetoric from many Reliable sources. Please visit http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ for the answers to all of your questions. Do Not be fooled by word-of-mouth slander & attacks, people!.

Rolan Duvvury   October 15th, 2008 11:29 am ET

I am a fourth year dual degree student in architecture and civil engineering at Georgia Tech. I have written a short symphonic work for Senator Obama entitled “A Time of Hope.” It is scored for symphony orchestra and can be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDZCuonclS4

Please take a listen.

Thanks,
Rolan Duvvury

Pete Johnson   October 15th, 2008 8:35 pm ET

I think both of these guys don’t really have the answers when it comes to the economy. Sure, they talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk, because they are both on the take form the corporations. The bottom line is that we have to slow down the speed at which money is moved around… Come on, can’t everyone see it? When the stock market goes down 700 to 900 points in a day, it has nothing to do with individual investors buying and selling… that kind of movement is caused by hedgefunds and foreign entities buying and selling hundreds of millions of dollars of shares… We need to slow down their selling and buying… not stop it, just slow it down. Obama suggested a .25 cent charge on every $100.00 traded… this would barely effect normal consumers but would help to slow down the panic buys and sells made by the big money holders.

Either way, if you’re looking for a better candidate than these two, one who has ideas that will work… check out this guy– he’s been running for president for 10 years and he’s got a solution for the economy that will work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZjNEIr2fdA
Too bad he can’t be in the debate!

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