Kenyan Watiri Michuki established the Highland Tea Company in 1991 to grow and distribute only the finest premium Kenyan teas. She named her 30-acre farm Karurumo, a Kikuyu word meaning little treasure, and financed her childrens' educations with her profits.
While attending Columbia University, Watiri's daughter Wanja realized that many North Americans knew little about the beautiful Kenyan tea lands of her home. She created the American branch of the Highland Tea Company to share Kenyan teas with a growing audience of North American tea enthusiasts.