First Coast Tea Co

First in quality — that’s the First Coast Tea Co. promise. Offering over 40 different kratom products under their line-up, First Coast Tea Co. has become a trusted vendor for most regular buyers. But behind their present-day popularity and positive reputation, the vendor’s controversial past prevents its full bloom.

Today, First Coast Tea Co. enjoys relative prominence and a reasonably optimistic presence. But in 2018, the vendor was met with serious controversy that called for a total rebrand and strict safety measures.

First Coast Tea Co. Product and Service Overview

First impressions matter, and at First Coast Tea Co., it’s easy to see that they care about that initial impact. Their website boasts a relatively polished design, albeit still falling short of a truly professional, high-end persona. Boasting clean lines and easy navigation, their site aims to streamline the entire shopping process.

At first glance, you might think they don’t even sell kratom. That’s because their home page showcases all of the other interesting botanicals and natural products they sell. After all, they peddle themselves as a ‘tea company.’

Take the time to click through their categories, and you’ll notice they don’t actually index their kratom there either. Instead, you’ll have to key in the word ‘speciosa’ to view their entire range of kratom.

Labeled ‘herbal tea’, their kratom powders tout discreet, minimalist black resealable bags with their brand logo and a little information about the product contained inside. You’ll also find that they sell kratom capsules in bottles labeled ‘SoCal Herbal Remedies.’

If you didn’t know it already, SoCal Herbal Remedies was the original name for the First Coast Tea Co. They opened up shop in 2015 and quickly became a household name among dedicated kratom customers. Unfortunately in 2018, the vendor was faced with a legal battle that would prove to be the end of SoCal.

An alleged death via kratom overdose became the spectacle of the entire kratom community — SoCal Herbal Remedies was the plaintiff. Of course, they never were able to prove that the kratom was responsible for the death. But the legal battles obliterated SoCal’s name, forcing them into certain closure.

A few years later, the brand made an unceremonious comeback as First Coast Tea Co. This second persona offers pretty much the same range of kratom products, with the sole distinction that they aren’t quite as popular as they used to be under the SoCal Herbal Remedies name.

In terms of kratom community reception, the response remains largely positive. However there’s no denying that First Coast Tea Co. has yet to amass the same large quantity of feedback that SoCal did during its time on the scene.

First Coast Tea Co. Product Cost and Price Comparison

The fact that First Coast Tea Co. doesn’t sell any bulk kratom means that you probably can’t get their product at the lowest price per gram. Their powders sell only in 28g and 250g packs, so they’re unable to compete with other vendors that sell for industry low prices.

Across the board, First Coast Tea Co. offers pretty standard prices for their product. Their smallest pack at 28g goes for a meager $5, or 0.18¢ per gram. Their 250g bags sell for $26 or 0.1¢ per gram. At a glance, these prices may seem reasonable enough.

But as a vendor increases the weight of their products, they get more leg room to reduce the cost per gram. One Stop Herbal Shop for instance, mirrors the prices for First Coast Tea Co. But with their kilograms, they manage to dial down their price per gram to just 0.06¢.

Unfortunately, since First Coast Tea Co. doesn’t offer bulk bags, they ultimately eliminate the possibilities of offering similarly low prices. So buyers hoping to cop a kilo would have to spend $104 by purchasing four 250g bags.

First Coast Tea Co. Customer Reviews

Since their major rebrand, First Coast Tea Co. has been having trouble getting the same recognition and popularity that it did as SoCal. On Reddit, there’s hardly any information about the vendor from the buyers’ perspective. Fortunately, other forums on the web like Double M Herbals provides some insight.

“Stock is equal or better to their old SoCal selection, AND they now carry many variety Caps, plus lots and lots of other herbal products. This has always been a leading vendor in the kratom biz.” – Double M Herbals

“The white elephant and green elephant are both very good right now. The white elephant is almost in “fire” territory in my opinion.” – Double M Herbals

“[Their products] are quite fast. A great morning burn, for sure.” – Double M Herbals

“Hands down my go to for pain. Nothing else touches it like this strain. Middle of the road energy but still a great mood boost. Currently sold out. REALLY hope the next batch is as good with pain.” – Double M Herbals

“It’s still in my rotation for now. It is a nice strong red I can actually feel.” – Double M Herbals

First Coast Tea Co. Complaints

Aside from struggling to collect positive reviews, it seems that First Coast Tea Co. also gets significantly more complaints than SoCal. It’s not entirely clear if the vendor switched suppliers, leading to changes in the quality of their products. But whatever the case, there’s a growing base of customers calling their kratom total bunk.

“My takeaway is yet another major vendor passing on sub-par leaf to their customers.” – Double M Herbals

“Got a big bag because their Bali’s sell out so fast and didn’t want to risk trying a sample first and liking it and going back and it being gone. Of COURSE this batch is nothing special and that seems to be there consensus of their other customers as well.” – Double M Herbals

“The most disappointing was the Red Hulu – the 7-OH mitra was the highest of all their offerings, but it ran kind of fast with no real pain killing properties. It’s too bad, I have some Red Borneo and Red Sumatra from earlier this year that I like a lot.” – Double M Herbals

“They said it’s the same kratom from the same sources, but I didn’t have great results to be honest. Tried it a few times and then switched to Carolina and had better luck with Carolina.” – Double M Herbals

First Coast Tea Co. Discount Codes and Coupons

First Coast Tea Co. tries to keep a low profile. So they don’t have a Facebook page where you can get updates on their latest promotional offers and discounts. What they do offer however, is a Facebook group. The private group serves the purpose of the brand’s exclusive little nook where they share discounts and exclusive offers.

Of course, you could always just sign up for their mailing list if you’re not big on social media. The vendor regularly sends out a newsletter that provides subscribers loads of opportunities to save on various deals and products.

First Coast Tea Co. Lab Testing

Their dark history has made First Coast Tea Co. particularly careful of anything that could drag them into a similar situation that they were in in the past. So according to the vendor, they carefully test all of their products before putting them up for sale.

The only issue however is that the results for those third-party lab tests are nowhere to be found on their website. So while it’s definitely comforting to read the words ‘lab tested’, the vendor fails to present any proof that demonstrates that they actually test their kratom.

American Kratom Association Membership

Yes, First Coast Tea Co. is a proud member of the American Kratom Association. On their website, they provide a dedicated link that leads readers to the AKA website so they can get more information on the organization and what it aims to do.

And since they are AKA-affiliated, First Coast Tea Co. is also proudly GMP certified. The vendor successfully passed the audit that looked into the safety and sanitation of their facilities and procedures. So as a buyer, you can be certain that all of the products sold at First Coast Tea Co. pass through clean, safe facilities.

Is First Coast Tea Co. Legit?

Operating as First Coast Tea Co., the vendor has yet to meet controversy and negative publicity. They’ve never had to recall any of their products and fortunately, have never had to face legal issues since their 2018 controversy.

And while the vendor does get a few complaints from customers stating that their products didn’t work, they’re not out here pulling scams on people. All together, they pull up as a reliable vendor that doesn’t play any games.

Should You Buy From First Coast Tea Co.?

If their history deters you from making a purchase, you’re not really missing out on anything special. At best, First Coast Tea Co. sells okay speciosa that’s not particularly a must-try.

Nonetheless, if you’re stuck in a loop of trying and buying and you want to be able to say you’ve tested every kratom pick on the market, a packet or two from First Coast Tea Co. might not be such a bad idea.