Graham Pirtle

Graham Pirtle met Young Stowe as a roommate at Baylor, a boarding school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Before the two launched Unified Ferments, both had worked for breweries and wineries for several years. In New York, Pirtle worked as a bar manager at Lavender Lake in Gowanus and picked up shifts at 29B, a teahouse on the Lower East Side, where he deepened his knowledge of tea. He also worked in fine tea at Tea Dealers, a tea company based in Alphabet City.

Pirtle co-founded Unified Ferments, the Brooklyn fermented tea company, with Young Stowe, and serves as its fermentation director. He brings extensive tea experience and knowledge to the partnership, while Stowe came from a background in beer and wine. While employed at a high-end tea house in Manhattan, Pirtle realized that certain teas age and can be consumed like fine wines — a realization that inspired the founding of the company.

Before founding Unified Ferments, Pirtle and Stowe spent time curating tea-based cocktail omakases at a teahouse in New York City.