A Montecito Love Story
Reprinted with permission from the Montecito Journal
by Cynthia Logan
Teeccino for Two
Jerry Isenberg noted to himself that Montecito must be one of the most romantic places in the world when he bought his historical “Landmark” house in 1989; but he wasn’t particularly interested in romance. Like many harried L.A. residents, he wanted a weekend get-away, and the property then owned by John Saladino offered a serene escape. It wasn’t listed, but ace Real Estate agent Sue Burns landed the deal, sending Isenberg onto a track that would lead to a romantic business alliance with Santa Barbara entrepreneur Caroline MacDougall. Built in 1915, the Palladian inspired architecture conjures images of “Under the Tuscan Sun” and boasts a living room that “made his eyes fall out.” But it was the back yard that really convinced Isenberg this was the house for him: “I took one look at the back grounds and it was all over,” he recalls. Located on East Valley Road between Knollwood and Bacon, Isenberg’s next door neighbor is now Oprah.
For a few years Isenberg did commute on weekends from his Beverly Hills home, but after his sons finished college in 1995, he came to live in Montecito full-time. Originally from Boston, he holds an MBA from Harvard and is a savvy businessman. As an entrepreneur in the entertainment business, he created his own company, “Josak,” then partnered with TV film producer/director (and part-time Montecito residents) Jerry Abrams and his wife to create “Phoenix Entertainment.” The enterprise was sold to Hearst Entertainment in 1989, the same year Isenberg bought his Montecito estate. As a full-time professor at the USC Graduate School of Cinema and Television since 1995, Isenberg took a year’s sabbatical to Italy in 2002. When he returned in early 2003, he remembers walking on the beach when his friend Randy Friedman approached him, saying; “have I got a girl for you!”
Isenberg had met Caroline MacDougall a few years earlier and the two knew each other socially. Their first date set the tone for a romantic partnership: dinner at Cava at a table in back near the fireplace. “The firelight was bouncing off her hair and she was telling me about her product, Teeccino, a caffeine-free herbal coffee,” Isenberg recounts. “I was mesmerized by her. I was enthralled with the product and the idea made 100% sense to me. All I could think was—this is a $100 million company!” MacDougall, passionate about what she calls “optimal health,” explained to Isenberg that caffeine aggravates many common complaints, as well as heart disease, depression and gastrointestinal disorders. Yet, she appreciates the comfort a good cup of coffee and the ritual surrounding it can bring.
MacDougall never acquired the coffee habit and was instead fascinated by herbs. In the 1970’s, she apprenticed with world-renowned herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy. “Herbs have taken me all over the world, introducing me to other cultures, luring me into tropical forests, wilderness areas and remote villages,” she notes.
They also brought her into the business world. As vice-president of the popular Celestial Seasonings, she began importing herbs for tea. MacDougall has grown, imported, and blended herbs for thirty years, and was the first person in the U.S. to design teas that contain Rooibos (African Red Tea). Interestingly, her great-grandmother, Alice Foote MacDougall began a coffee roasting business in the early 1900’s and became a successful entrepreneur of gourmet coffee shops in New York City.
Something to Invest In
As a long-time coffee drinker, Isenberg found himself intrigued; though MacDougall recommends weaning off caffeine gradually, he went cold turkey. “I went to the Montecito Health Food Store, bought my first can and used my usual drip method with milk,” he says. “I felt awful for three days.” But he’s never touched another cup of coffee. Instead, he pursued what he calls a classic entrepreneurial case study. “I found an avocation, something to invest in.” He also pursued MacDougall, and the two have been romantic partners for just over a year. “She came as a full package,” laughs Isenberg, who helped her organize and restructure her company for investment. “I built management information systems so she can respond appropriately to opportunities that present themselves.”
MacDougall compares her blends to fine wines: “The herbal beverage drinker should be able to detect at least three or four flavor notes—the palate’s interest can be kept intrigued and delighted or become exhausted from an over-dominant flavor.” Her brews contain roasted grains, fruits and nuts, as well as herbs. If Isenberg has his way, top restaurants will soon include Teeccino as an after-dinner drink and as an ingredient in proprietary recipes. “We want to offer coffee lovers a healthy alternative when they don’t want the caffeine or the acidity of coffee or decaf,” states MacDougall.
Launched in 1994 from her garage, Teeccino Caffe´, Inc. is now located at 132 Garden Street in Santa Barbara’s business “Funk Zone.” Their first warehouse has occupied the old Jordano’s space since 1995. With eight full-time employees on-site and a five-person sales management team, the business is growing rapidly, has added another warehouse and manufactures its product in Los Angeles. Though very ambitious, MacDougall is also a philanthropist and insists the company follow socially responsible business practices with employees, suppliers and customers. She supports indigenous peoples in rainforest regions of Mexico by buying their organically grown vanilla, and helps such communities find other manufacturers to buy their sustainably grown rainforest products.
With her solid background, MacDougall could have started her own herbal tea company and sold it to Starbucks, as a friend of hers did with Tazo teas. But she and Isenberg want to keep Teeccino under their mutual direction and grow it into the company both know it can become. They hope to inspire and educate people to achieve optimal health through providing superior products that promote and support healthy lifestyles. The couple walks their talk; MacDougall is a semi-vegetarian who maintains a regular yoga practice, and Isenberg takes private yoga classes when he’s in Los Angeles. They often enjoy long bike rides on Mountain Drive. Working together with a common vision, their partnership is doubly rewarding. And, since they met in Montecito, it’s a match made in heaven.
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The Teeccino Sampler Pack
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