Columbus veteran and wife honor military, American history with growing tea company
Roger Owens served as a medic in the Army National Guard from 1990 to 1996. His patriotism motivated Owens to serve again after the country was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
Owens returned as a combat engineer, but he didn’t build very much. His job was primarily to blow up improvised explosive devices (IED’s).
He did two tours in Iraq. During his first tour, he was part of the front line during the invasion in 2003.
“We marched all the way to Baghdad,” Owens told the Ledger-Enquirer. “It was truly a combat tour. I was scared to death most of the time.”
In 2005, he returned. It was much worse. His platoon lost four members, and 12 were wounded.
It’s these soldiers and a love for their country that inspired Owens and his wife, Aimee, when building their business during the pandemic, Star Spangled Tea.
An empty nest and a new business
Owens, who was stationed at Fort Moore, decided to stay in Columbus after his second stint in the military in 2006.
He worked as a contractor for a while, traveling back to Iraq in a safer environment, before getting out of that work to stay home for good. Owens needed to be close to Aimee, who had found a lump in her breast.
Since Aimee previously moved from North Carolina to Columbus to follow Owens, he felt it was his turn to follow his wife by staying in Columbus. Aimee had worked for years as a first grade teacher at McBride Elementary School at Fort Moore.
“I have a good job,” she said. “I like this community. And it’s very friendly to businesses.”
She’s now worked for the school for 22 years.
Owens became “Mr. Mom” for a while raising their two kids before returning to school to get his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.
Their kids, Alexander and Elizabeth, both attended Columbus High School. Alexander attended the University of Georgia and is now a maritime archaeology grad student at East Carolina University, while Elizabeth studies mechanical engineering with aerospace at Kennesaw State University.
Their children leaving home and attending college could be considered a large reason Owens and Aimee decided to create Star Spangled Tea — along with a pandemic.
In 2020, Alexander returned home from UGA because of restrictions from the pandemic. And like any young college student, he’d discovered something new to show his parents.
“Hey, Dad, try this bougie tea I’m drinking,” he said.
“Bougie tea?” Owens was flabbergasted. “What? I’m a Black Coffee Rifle guy. I’m a veteran. What are you trying to give me tea for?”
This is the South, Owens thought. There are only two types of teas: sweet and unsweet. At Alexander’s insistence that the hibiscus tea tasted good and was healthy for him, Owens tried it.
“I’ve never had anything like that before,” Owens said. “And it was great.”
After learning more about tea past “sweet and unsweet”, Owens and Aimee searched online for a veteran-owned or patriotic business to order from. The couple already supported the Black Rifle Coffee Company, which is veteran-owned and has a stated mission of supporting service members.
Aimee and Owens searched online for three days and couldn’t find a tea company with a similar theme or mission statement. Eventually, they looked at each other as the idea sprung up between them.
“If there’s nothing out there, why don’t we try and do it,” Owens said. “Why don’t we try and start a business?”
A stop at Little White House
It took a couple years to develop Star Spangled Tea’s products because the couple had to research and learn how to make tea.
“I didn’t know anything,” Owens said. “I knew how to drink it, and that was it.”
So, as the COVID-19 virus forced people inside, Aimee and Owens spent their free time researching and visiting processing plants to learn from others in the industry.
“I would take my tea to the school and have other people try it,” Aimee said. “Does this taste good? What do you think of this?”
It was Aimee’s idea to begin with blends that represent states. Their first blend was the Georgia Peach Apricot, which remains Owens’ favorite flavor.
“I can sell that all day long,” he said. “And some people would say twice on Sunday, but I don’t work on Sundays. That’s my faith.”
They launched Star Spangled Tea on Sept. 12, 2022. Everything has been a roller coaster since that day, Owens said.
After launching, he was on the road traveling to Warm Springs to pitch his products to some shops and boutiques in the town.
He’d already been trying to pitch to other similar shops, and struck out. But that’s the nature of sales. Owens had a good feeling about Warm Springs though, and on the drive there he kept having the thought that he should stop at Warm Springs State Park and pitch his product there.
“You need to stop at the Little White House,” Owens inner voice said.
“No, it’s a state park,” he argued back in his head. “They’ll just throw paperwork at you. You’ll be lucky if you can talk to anybody.”
The idea kept thundering in Owens’ head, and he began to feel like he was losing his mind.
“If this is God, whoever, leave me alone,” he finally told himself. “I’ll do it.”
Owens heads to the state park and a superintendent comes up to ask how they could help him. Swallowing nerves from inexperience, he went into his pitch about Star Spangled Tea.
The superintendent, Robin, loved the idea. But warned Owens that the process to get his tea products sold in Georgia state parks would take about three months.
“I’m gonna walk you through the whole thing,” Robin told Owens. “I’ll hold your hand through it.”
Three months later, Star Spangled Tea was approved. And within a year, his products would be sold at 26 state parks in the system.
In Columbus, residents can find the tea at Market Days, the Publix locations at Bradley Park, Midland and Old Town. Epic restaurant, owned by Jamie Keating, is now selling the blending by the cup. And recently, they’ve signed an agreement with Realtree to create a blend designed for hunters.
Star Spangled Tea now offers up to 19 blends that represent different patriotic themes, states or regions throughout the country. Owens and Aimee also included blends representing important figures in American history like George Washington and Eleanor Roosevelt.
“If we can promote history, whether it’s old history or new history, we want to do that,” Owens said. “We want to tell stories.”
One particular blend, called Ranger’s Choice, honors the legacy of the US Army Rangers. A portion of the proceeds goes to the National Ranger Association.
Honoring the military gives Owens purpose. He is a service disabled veteran who understands what many of his peers are experiencing. As Star Spangled Tea grows, Owens and Aimee expect to increase what they give back. They hope to do more for first responders, veterans, the military and faith-based organizations.
“As a veteran, you go through huge bouts of depression because you’ve lost people, you’ve seen stuff you probably shouldn’t have ever seen,” Owens said. “This fills that void.”
Sometimes people have the misconception that their patriotic branding might be political, Owens said, but the company is not.
“I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, an independent or whatever,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. Just like America. Like where you live, like your community.”
