Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Ahmed Rahim, his older sister Reem Hassani and their family fled to Cleveland when they were ages three and five, respectively, to escape the social injustice of Saddam Hussein. At home, the two youngest siblings in a family of six spoke Arabic, ate Iraqi food and often talked about introducing ‘Numi,’ Iraqi’s drink of hospitality, to Americans. In 1999, that faraway dream became a reality when Numi Organic Tea was born.
“We loved the idea of blending our Arabic heritage with Western culture. We also love tea and the community culture it fosters,” Hassani explains. “Growing up, we would often talk about introducing Iraq’s drink of hospitality, Dry Desert Lime, to Americans. The word for this lime in Arabic is numi, so we named our company after this symbol of hospitality and community.