Position: Tea Sommelier
Reports To: President
Location: Commutable to Milwaukee (including Chicago)
Travel: Up to 60%
Compensation Range: $75,000 - $100,000 annual salary


We are seeking a Tea Sommelier to join our fast-growing team as a charismatic leader in brand and product storytelling and education. Reporting to the President, the Tea Sommelier will spend 70% of their time supporting Rishi’s Away from Home (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafés) training and education needs, emphasizing customer-facing presentations and tastings. The Tea Sommelier will also develop and curate a robust curriculum of internal continuing education materials and conduct ongoing recipe development to bring a beautiful and authentic Rishi tea experience to life. The Tea Sommelier will spend 30% of their time supporting omnichannel marketing efforts, employee onboarding, and other cross-functional product training and education needs.


The ideal candidate is deeply passionate about tea specifically and global gourmet food and beverages more generally. The Tea Sommelier will spend up to 60% of working time to travel across North America to share Rishi's passion for tea with customers. The successful Tea Sommelier candidate will demonstrate an ability to thrive in chaotic training environments at customer locations on site, which may be in a kitchen, behind a service counter, or in a conference room. The Tea Sommelier can captivate audiences both large and small through their charisma, their technical product information delivery, and their flawless drink preparation techniques.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Training & Sales Enablement

Conduct comprehensive external training sessions for:
Hotel and hospitality teams during customer presentations to help win new business, and also support training needs during program rollouts and menu refreshes with key AFH customers
Distributor decision makers and sales reps to product education needs and competitive comparisons
Grocery Retail product demo teams and brokers
Key customer brand presentations to showcase the depth and creativity of Rishi’s culinary inspiration
Conduct comprehensive internal training sessions
New employee tea onboarding and education
Sales and marketing teams education for product innovation, reformulations, tasting notes, brand positioning and cuppings of competitor’s products
Deliver practical instruction in:
Tea brewing techniques adapted for foodservice and hospitality settings
Traditional tea brewing techniques for internal education and differentiated customer experiences throughout Away from Home customers
Tea mixology applications
Culinary uses of botanicals, herbs, and spices
Recipe development and execution for cafes, restaurants, hotels


Brand Storytelling
Bring the Rishi brand to life by sharing our direct trade sourcing practices, engaging origin stories and the histories of celebrated teas to the market
Tailor storytelling and messaging to diverse audiences—ranging from procurement managers and distributor sales reps to chefs, frontline baristas and direct consumers
Translate complex sourcing and product information into compelling, customer-ready narratives


Content & Resource Development
Collaborate with Marketing and cross functional teammates to:
Develop training materials, product info collateral, and educational presentations that can be delivered effectively by the sales team during their customer visits and sales calls
Ensure accuracy and authenticity in copywriting and visual assets
Partner with Customer Service to maintain consistent responses to product inquiries
Support Social Media efforts with relevant insights, brewing techniques, creative recipe inspiration and educational content
Build scalable training kits and demo tools for grocery retail demos
Identify teaware and presentation materials that support strong tea programs in hospitality settings


Event & Activation Support
Represent Rishi Tea & Botanicals at trade shows, sales events, tastings, and brand activations
Lead educational workshops and tastings for prospective and current clients at Rishi HQ and during key industry trade shows and events
Provide pre-event training for sales team to ensure consistent messaging and product preparation
Support customer visits and tastings at Rishi HQ with strict adherence to Rishi’s detailed SQF and food defense guidelines