Caraway Tea uses in-house automation to modernize tea production

Caraway Tea says it is using in-house automation to modernize portions of its tea production lines, targeting efficiency gains without investing in large-scale industrial automation.

The Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based tea and herbal manufacturer said it has developed purpose-built equipment for tea manufacturing, using accessible technologies such as microcontrollers and modular components.

Among the systems developed are custom tea bag counting conveyors that automatically count and stage tea bags for insertion into retail pouches. The company said the equipment reduces manual handling and improves packing consistency. Caraway Tea also said it has engineered compact machines designed to portion and pack loose tea into small-format pouches.

“Our goal is to be efficient, adaptable and competitive without taking on the cost structure of much larger manufacturers,” Michael Caraway, founder of Caraway Tea Co., said in a company statement. He added that building its own automation solutions enables the company to improve throughput and consistency while staying flexible enough to serve customers with specialized or short-run production needs.

For companies seeking to develop their own brands for office coffee service, the announcement points to how smaller manufacturers may pursue consistent packaging and scalable output while still supporting variety, limited runs and private-label or co-packing needs. Those attributes can matter when rotating assortments and testing formats for vending, micro markets, office coffee service and pantry programs.