It's always a treat to go to a favorite restaurant, hotel or spa and find that they serve great tea. However, for tea vendors, getting into top restaurants and other venues can be very difficult. I recently had the opportunity to write on the subject.
If you subscribe to Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, be sure to check out my two-part article on getting your tea into high-end channels (such as award-winning restaurants, hotels and spas). The two-part piece includes interviews with top people from In Pursuit of Tea, Tavalon, Adagio, Mighty Leaf, Art of Tea and more. Part one is general advice for getting into top outlets/servers and specific tips on working with restaurants. Part two will go into more detail about other high-end channels and how to sell your teas to them.
PS -- If you don't already subscribe, you can buy the issue individually -- it's in the current issue (September) and the next issue (October).
Showing posts with label Mighty Leaf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mighty Leaf. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
New Article: Tea & the Internet
I have a new article out on using the Internet as a marketing tool for your tea business. Excerpt:
Twitter is sometimes referred to as “micro-blogging” because it has informal, blog-like content and a 140-character maximum. For each tweet (Twitter message), Jacobs said, he averages less than 10 minutes of writing and more than $500 in revenue.
Cason launched a Twitter campaign in March to reach 10,000 followers (readers) by April 1. Although he failed in the goal, he did generate publicity and reached 1,100 followers – enough to temporarily crash his site when he tweeted a 40 percent off sale.
“The best thing about Twitter is you get to follow who you want,” Cason said, “so you know that everyone who is receiving your tweets wants to know what you have to say. All you have to worry about is telling them what they want to hear.”
Dake recommended Twitter over other social media, video and blogging, explaining that it’s efficient, easy, free and effective for immediate connections with people. At the recent SXSW festival in Austin, TX, he used Twitter for a Tweet Up (get-together) where he gave away Mighty Leaf. He said it generated word-of-mouth publicity that lasted weeks after the event.
Sources gave these tips for using Twitter:
*Put content before sales.
*Keep posts educational, casual, unique and personable.
*Give it a face, but don’t make it overly personal.
*Follow Twitterers in related areas.
*Tweet often.
You can read the full story on World Tea News. Enjoy!
Twitter is sometimes referred to as “micro-blogging” because it has informal, blog-like content and a 140-character maximum. For each tweet (Twitter message), Jacobs said, he averages less than 10 minutes of writing and more than $500 in revenue.
Cason launched a Twitter campaign in March to reach 10,000 followers (readers) by April 1. Although he failed in the goal, he did generate publicity and reached 1,100 followers – enough to temporarily crash his site when he tweeted a 40 percent off sale.
“The best thing about Twitter is you get to follow who you want,” Cason said, “so you know that everyone who is receiving your tweets wants to know what you have to say. All you have to worry about is telling them what they want to hear.”
Dake recommended Twitter over other social media, video and blogging, explaining that it’s efficient, easy, free and effective for immediate connections with people. At the recent SXSW festival in Austin, TX, he used Twitter for a Tweet Up (get-together) where he gave away Mighty Leaf. He said it generated word-of-mouth publicity that lasted weeks after the event.
Sources gave these tips for using Twitter:
*Put content before sales.
*Keep posts educational, casual, unique and personable.
*Give it a face, but don’t make it overly personal.
*Follow Twitterers in related areas.
*Tweet often.
You can read the full story on World Tea News. Enjoy!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Chocolate Spice Rooibos Reviews Wax Philosophical
It seems like David's Tea and Mighty Leaf are on the same wavelength lately. I recently reviewed David's Cream of Earl Grey and Mighty Leaf's Earl Green, both of which are Earl Grey variations. Today, I was going to review a selection of David's Teas, but ML sent me a new sample -- Coco Chai -- that is similar to David's Spicy Chocolate Rooibos*, so I decided to review them both together. Last time, David's won out as my favorite of the two. Who will be the winner this time?
Spicy Chocolate Rooibos -- First off, I want to say two things: I love spice and I don't like banana unless it's fresh or baked into banana bread. This "spicy" blend has pink peppercorns, but not the spice the name would indicate. What it DOES bring in full force, though, is dried bananas. As far as dessert blends go, it's good -- smooth, balanced, not drastically overdone -- it just happens to lie far, far from my personal preferences.
Coco Chai -- I'm a sucker for a great masala chai. The piquancy of the ginger and (sometimes) peppercorns, the sweetness of the cloves, the spice of the cinnamon, the richness of the cardamom... Gotta love it! This is by no means a great chai. The aroma starts off pretty well, but the taste leaves me wanting more. There's no cardamom in the blend, and hardly any ginger. There are pink peppercorns, but they don't add much flavor. It tastes just about exactly like mildly spiced hot cocoa made with water instead of milk, which is (once again) not as alluring as the name suggests.
So who is the winner? I don't know. Is it the tea connoisseur? Hardly.
What about the tea companies seeking to make money off dessert blends like these? I have to wonder if the enormous surge in creation of dessert blends is outpacing the growing demand for them. (I'll address that further in an article for World Tea News later this year.)
It's easy to say the winner is the noob tea drinker who wants something to replace soda or orange mocha frappuccinos (Zoolander nod). However, I think it goes beyond that. These teas attract a whole new kind of tea drinker. Some of them will stick with flavored teas until the days they die, but some will refine their tastes and pick up more sophisticated blends or (gasp!) unflavored teas. I grew up drinking sweetened, iced tea, so who am I to judge?
As much as some of the purveyors of more sophisticated teas moan about how macadamia-vanilla-spice-chocolate-mint-orange rooibos is ruining the tea industry, I think that all new tea drinkers are just that -- another person in the world who is drinking tea -- and there's no reason to complain about that. Maybe, if you're nice to them, they'll become YOUR customer one day. :)
On top of that, it's hard to deny that dessert blends are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. Had you told me a year ago that I would actually like a flavored oolong, I would have laughed. Now, yup, there is one that has put me in my place. (More on that another day!)
So, maybe, just maybe, by attracting more customers and providing more options, the whole tea industry wins. And you thought this was a simple "David's vs ML" post. Hah!
*David's also carries a Coco Chai Rooibos. I'm well aware that comparing the two would have been a fairer fight, but given the outcome, I think all is well in the world of online tea reviews. :)
Spicy Chocolate Rooibos -- First off, I want to say two things: I love spice and I don't like banana unless it's fresh or baked into banana bread. This "spicy" blend has pink peppercorns, but not the spice the name would indicate. What it DOES bring in full force, though, is dried bananas. As far as dessert blends go, it's good -- smooth, balanced, not drastically overdone -- it just happens to lie far, far from my personal preferences.
Coco Chai -- I'm a sucker for a great masala chai. The piquancy of the ginger and (sometimes) peppercorns, the sweetness of the cloves, the spice of the cinnamon, the richness of the cardamom... Gotta love it! This is by no means a great chai. The aroma starts off pretty well, but the taste leaves me wanting more. There's no cardamom in the blend, and hardly any ginger. There are pink peppercorns, but they don't add much flavor. It tastes just about exactly like mildly spiced hot cocoa made with water instead of milk, which is (once again) not as alluring as the name suggests.
So who is the winner? I don't know. Is it the tea connoisseur? Hardly.
What about the tea companies seeking to make money off dessert blends like these? I have to wonder if the enormous surge in creation of dessert blends is outpacing the growing demand for them. (I'll address that further in an article for World Tea News later this year.)
It's easy to say the winner is the noob tea drinker who wants something to replace soda or orange mocha frappuccinos (Zoolander nod). However, I think it goes beyond that. These teas attract a whole new kind of tea drinker. Some of them will stick with flavored teas until the days they die, but some will refine their tastes and pick up more sophisticated blends or (gasp!) unflavored teas. I grew up drinking sweetened, iced tea, so who am I to judge?
As much as some of the purveyors of more sophisticated teas moan about how macadamia-vanilla-spice-chocolate-mint-orange rooibos is ruining the tea industry, I think that all new tea drinkers are just that -- another person in the world who is drinking tea -- and there's no reason to complain about that. Maybe, if you're nice to them, they'll become YOUR customer one day. :)
On top of that, it's hard to deny that dessert blends are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. Had you told me a year ago that I would actually like a flavored oolong, I would have laughed. Now, yup, there is one that has put me in my place. (More on that another day!)
So, maybe, just maybe, by attracting more customers and providing more options, the whole tea industry wins. And you thought this was a simple "David's vs ML" post. Hah!
*David's also carries a Coco Chai Rooibos. I'm well aware that comparing the two would have been a fairer fight, but given the outcome, I think all is well in the world of online tea reviews. :)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Mighty Leaf's Chocolate Mint Truffle
I just tried Mighty Leaf's new blend, Chocolate Mint Truffle. It's pretty good and I'm glad to see that they've added it to their line. Right now, it's only available at World Market and online at MightyLeaf.com, but I hope that they will add it to their food service offerings, as so many restaurants only do bagged teas and Mighty Leaf's silken pouches are amongst the best.
However, I've noticed that chocolate-mint rooibos has become quite a popular blend lately, and I think it has been done better before. For example, Tay Tea's Better Than Sex blend made waves as the 2007 and 2008 NYC Coffee & Tea Festivals, and not just because of its name. It has Belgian dark chocolate bits, peppermint, vanilla and marigold petals, plus a fantastic aroma. Yum! I recently sampled a chocolate-mint rooibos Urbana Teas and Tonics is about to add to its offerings that was pretty impressive, too.
I never thought I would say this about a flavored tisane, but I think that Mighty Leaf's new rooibos is not flavored enough. Wait, wait... Hear me out. Hot cocoa (when done well) is rich, satisfying and (some may say) divine. (It was literally considered to be divine by ancient Aztecs.) So why flavor a tea or tisane with chocolate unless you can compete with such a decadent beverage? Lightly flavoring rooibos with chocolate and mint won't cut it for cocoa lovers, especially when you put "Truffle" in the name. You need depth and complexity. It doesn't have to come from the chocolate itself -- it could be from mint, floral elements (like Tay's marigold petals), vanilla or other flavors -- but it needs to be in there for the beverage to be as satisfying as a cup of cocoa.
For all you future chocolate-rooibos blenders out there -- Need inspiration? Check out Vosges' Drinking Chocolates, MarieBelle's Spicy Hot Chocolate or Jaques Torres' Wicked Hot Chocolate for starters. There are lots of flavors that go well with chocolate... I promise.
However, I've noticed that chocolate-mint rooibos has become quite a popular blend lately, and I think it has been done better before. For example, Tay Tea's Better Than Sex blend made waves as the 2007 and 2008 NYC Coffee & Tea Festivals, and not just because of its name. It has Belgian dark chocolate bits, peppermint, vanilla and marigold petals, plus a fantastic aroma. Yum! I recently sampled a chocolate-mint rooibos Urbana Teas and Tonics is about to add to its offerings that was pretty impressive, too.
I never thought I would say this about a flavored tisane, but I think that Mighty Leaf's new rooibos is not flavored enough. Wait, wait... Hear me out. Hot cocoa (when done well) is rich, satisfying and (some may say) divine. (It was literally considered to be divine by ancient Aztecs.) So why flavor a tea or tisane with chocolate unless you can compete with such a decadent beverage? Lightly flavoring rooibos with chocolate and mint won't cut it for cocoa lovers, especially when you put "Truffle" in the name. You need depth and complexity. It doesn't have to come from the chocolate itself -- it could be from mint, floral elements (like Tay's marigold petals), vanilla or other flavors -- but it needs to be in there for the beverage to be as satisfying as a cup of cocoa.
For all you future chocolate-rooibos blenders out there -- Need inspiration? Check out Vosges' Drinking Chocolates, MarieBelle's Spicy Hot Chocolate or Jaques Torres' Wicked Hot Chocolate for starters. There are lots of flavors that go well with chocolate... I promise.
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