Cup of Sea

Cup of Sea makes loose-leaf teas built around Maine seaweed, blended in Portland by founder Josh Rogers. Rogers grew up in Maine eating dulse, spent years in New York working on restaurant and dining content, then moved back home in 2016 to turn a very coastal habit into a real product line: seaweed tea that feels closer to a pantry staple than a novelty gift.

The ownership trail is unusually easy to follow. Cup of Sea’s own story page names Josh Rogers as founder and explains the 2016 return-to-Maine origin. Heritage Seaweed, the Portland shop Rogers opened two years later, identifies him as its founder and as the maker of Cup of Sea teas. The Island Institute’s Working Waterfront profile gives the same arc: former Google employee, Maine native, seaweed tea founder, and Portland shop owner. Maine Made lists Cup of Sea as a Portland specialty-food member. We found no corporate parent, acquisition record, or exclusion-list match.

The product line is narrow in a good way. Cup of Sea blends sea vegetables with familiar tea and botanical ingredients: green tea with kelp, ginger and turmeric with bladderwrack, honeybush with sea lettuce, lapsang souchong with dulse. Some ingredients come from Maine seaweed companies, while the teas and herbs come through organic suppliers. That mix keeps the sourcing story specific without pretending every leaf in the tin grew in Casco Bay.

This is a strong fit for shoppers who want mineral-rich tea, lower-waste pantry goods, or a practical way to use seaweed beyond snacks and sushi. Read the blend details before buying, especially if iodine intake matters for you. Seaweed is real food with real minerals, not just a wellness word printed on a pouch.

What we like most is the groundedness. Cup of Sea is not repackaging imported kelp under generic coastal branding. It is tied to a founder, a shop, a city, and a visible Maine seaweed community.

Products

• Loose-leaf seaweed tea blends
• Herbal seaweed teas
• Caffeinated green and black tea blends with kelp or dulse
• Seaweed gift sets and samplers
• Heritage Seaweed shop goods and tea accessories

Why We List Them

• Founder-owned by Josh Rogers in Portland, Maine
• Ownership verified through company, Heritage Seaweed, Island Institute, and Maine Made sources
• Blends tea with traceable Maine seaweed ingredients where available
• Clear product focus instead of a broad private-label wellness catalog
• No corporate parent or acquisition record found