Tea In First, a new Long Island City, N.Y.-based tea company, launched its debut tea: an all-natural, ready-to-drink (RTD) Spiced Chai tea latte. The company aims to settle the debate about which ingredient, milk or tea, should be added to a milk-based tea beverage first. As a result, its new Spiced Chai tea latte starts with tea and then combines farm-fresh milk and natural spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and black pepper, to create a balanced chai with lots of aroma, flavor and creaminess, the company says.

Reed’s Inc., Los Angeles, will add an organic coffee kombucha to its line of Reed’s Culture Club Kombuchas this fall.

Seattle-based Jones Soda Co. released a new limited-edition premium soda flavor: Peanut Butter and Jelly (PB&J).

Level 5 Beverage Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Minerco Resources Inc., will launch VitaminFizz sparkling vitamin-enhanced beverages this month.

Back in June, I had the pleasure of watching award-winning mixologist Charles Joly in action at Chicago’s The Aviary cocktail lounge.

Within the beverage industry, one trend exists that generally spans every category: health and wellness.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated its new Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, which affect the sale of foods and beverages that are not part of federally supported meals programs.

As beverage manufacturers get more creative in their product development, more beverages seem to be blurring category lines. One category that has been both aided and challenged by this multi-platform approach is the energy drink category.

LXR Biotech LLC will launch Eternal Energy 10 Hour Time Release energy shots this fall.

Following the launch of its ArKay alcohol-free whiskey in 2011, ArKay Distributing Inc. recently added 15 new alcohol-free liquor-flavored beverages to the platform.