From Bed-Stuy to JFK: Brooklyn Tea, the Black-Owned Tea Brand, Opens at One of the World’s Busiest Airports
- Annie
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
It’s official! Brooklyn Tea, the Black-owned, family-run tea shop and online retail store rooted in Brooklyn’s community and wellness, officially opened its JFK Airport Terminal 4 location-marking a major milestone for the local brand.
Brooklyn Tea began in 2017 as an online tea retailer founded by wife and husband duo Jamila McGill and Alfonso “Ali” Wright, who blended their passion for tea with a mission to make high-quality loose-leaf tea approachable and accessible - especially for communities often excluded from traditional wellness spaces.
After building a following online and at pop-ups, the couple opened their first brick-and-mortar tea shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant in early 2019, creating a welcoming space that served upward of 50–60 varieties of premium loose leaf teas sources from around the world, and handcrafted tea lattes, while emphasizing community, education, and connection.
The new Brooklyn Tea & Market concept in Terminal 4 brings that same spirit to travelers passing through one of the world’s busiest airports. The opening follows a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and is part of a larger redevelopment initiative at JFK that intentionally incorporates local and minority-owned businesses into the airport’s concessions lineup - designed to give visitors a sense of place and support economic opportunity for diverse entrepreneurs. As a result, Brooklyn Tea is among the few Black-owned tea brands represented at the airport.
According to official announcements from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JFK International Air Terminal, the Terminal 4 concessions redevelopment prioritizes partnerships with local and disadvantaged business enterprises as part of JFK’s broader transformation. The expanded lineup of food and beverage offerings aims to reflect New York City’s cultural diversity while creating economic pathways for small businesses.
What started as a tea-loving couple’s online venture has grown into a community-focused brand with a physical home in Brooklyn and now a presence on an international travel stage. Brooklyn Tea’s journey shows how Black-owned, family-driven, and culturally rooted businesses can scale while staying connected to home.
Brooklyn Tea is featured on The Neighborhood - our web app for discovering and supporting Black-owned and local businesses. You can explore and save their profile HERE to discover more businesses shaping the community.
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