Joe grew up on the South Side of Chicago, but his father's backyard told a different story. Step outside and you were transported — rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, carrots, and mint leaves that could have come straight from the gardens of Mandeville, Jamaica. Growing things was just part of life. And when it was time for tea, you walked outside, harvested fresh mint, and steeped it yourself. Simple. Natural. Always there.

That connection to the earth never left him.

Joe spent nearly two decades building a career in operations and customer service at some of the country's most recognizable companies. He managed logistics and led teams at UPS, sharpened his leadership in home improvement retail as an assistant store manager at Lowe's, and brought his people-first approach to the automotive world at CarMax. Through every role, the common thread was the same — showing up for people, solving problems, and building trust.

Those years gave Joe something that no business course could teach: the ability to lead with calm, serve with consistency, and build a team that runs like a well-oiled machine. He brought every bit of that into the Irie Cup.

And when spring and summer roll around, you'll find Joe back where it all started — in the garden. He carries on his father's tradition by teaching his own children how to grow, tend, and appreciate what the earth provides. For Joe, gardening isn't just a hobby. It's how he passes the legacy forward.

LaShanda grew up in a Jamaican household where the kitchen was the first stop for anything the body needed. Headache? Fever grass. Bad cold? Garlic tea. Upset stomach? Ginger. Feeling everything at once? Cerasee. There was always a tea, always an herb, and always someone in the family who knew exactly what to brew. She grew up drinking black tea with sweetened condensed milk at her grandmother's side before she was old enough to understand how special that was.

That knowledge lived in her quietly for years.

When she became a mother, the questions started coming. How did people stay healthy before modern medicine? What did our ancestors and the Bible know about plants and the body that the modern world had moved away from? She wasn't satisfied with not knowing. So she went looking.

Starting in 2016, LaShanda threw herself into the world of herbalism, taking online courses, researching ingredients, and spending hours in her kitchen creating tinctures, herbal blends, and teas. What began as curiosity became craft. What began as craft became calling. The generational knowledge her Jamaican family had always carried wasn't just tradition. It was medicine. And she wanted to share it.

That passion became the heartbeat of the Irie Cup.

THEIR STORY TOGETHER

When Joe and LaShanda came together, so did their two worlds — the garden and the remedy cabinet, the South Side and the island roots, the hands-in-the-soil and the hands-in-the-kitchen.

The Irie Cup is what happened when they decided to stop keeping that heritage to themselves.

THE COVID ORIGIN STORY

From Dream to Reality: A COVID Story

The Irie Cup almost didn't exist.

In 2020, the world stopped. Schools closed. Joe was furloughed from his 9-to-5. LaShanda paused from teaching other people's children to homeschool her own. And in the middle of all that uncertainty, something unexpected happened — the Lewises finally had time to chase a dream they'd been carrying for years.

They spent six months researching, blending, learning, and building. In 2020, The Irie Cup launched online. In 2021, they brought their teas to their first farmers market — and found a community that had been waiting for exactly what they had to offer.

What started as a pause became a new beginning. What started as a dream became a legacy.

WHY "IRIE"?

Irie is more than a word — it's a feeling.

In Jamaican culture, "irie" is used in greetings and responses to mean that everything is good, everything is pleasant, everything is right. It's the exhale at the end of a long day. The warmth of a cup in your hands. The moment you stop rushing and just be.

That's what we want for you every single time you brew one of our teas. Not just a drink — a feeling. Good and pleasant and entirely yours.

Everything is Irie.

THE FAMILY

Joe and LaShanda run the Irie Cup together with their three children, who are known to lend a hand when needed. If you've visited us at a farmers market, you've probably met the whole crew — warm smiles, friendly waves, and the unmistakable scent of loose-leaf tea in the air.

This is a family business in the most real sense of the word: built by family, inspired by family, and made for yours.