Lately, a lot of my writing has been focused on helping the tea industry through the recession. After writing a piece on sales tactics for tea businesses, I now have a new article on tea marketing and promotions. There will be more in the series soon, so check back for updates (now that I'm finally posting them again!). Here's a clip from the marketing piece:
Adam Notebaert, manager of The Little Teahouse, stopped placing print ads last year. Others are following suit for one consistent reason: low return on investment.
However, Ginny Durand, co-founder of The Tea Exchange, said print isn’t dead … in certain markets. She gets good results from advertising in local publications that go to captive audiences with time to spare, such as hotel guests in resort areas.
Generally, print ads work when there is a strong alignment between the business and the publication, added Jeffrey Lorien, co-owner of Zhi Tea.
But most sources preferred other forms of traditional media. Bryan Stafford, Fava Tea’s Business and Marketing Leader, said radio and TV are particularly effective when the message is embedded in content through interviews, product placement or sponsorship.
Bret Wingert, owner of Souvia Tea, agreed; underwriting NPR has strengthened his customers’ loyalty.
As for direct mail and billboards, Stafford said these are good for sustaining business, but don’t drive sales as much as more engaging media, like TV, radio and the Internet.
You can read the rest on World Tea News.
Showing posts with label industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label industry. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
New Starbucks Drinks
Starbucks is getting in on the tea trend with a new line of tea lattes and non-dairy infusions. You can read about it on World Tea News or Yahoo Finance. Excerpt from Yahoo:
The gourmet coffee retailer said all but one of the new drinks are less than 200 calories for a 12-ounce, or tall, serving.
The new lattes are made with steamed milk and Tazo full-leaf tea bags. The new varieties include the Black Tea Latte, the Vanilla Rooibos Latte and the London Fog latte. The company already sells a chai tea and green tea latte.
Starbucks will also launch new Tazo Tea Infusions -- nondairy drinks made with Tazo black chai tea and fruit juice. The company will offer a Berry Chai Infusion, made with berry and black currant juices, and an Apple Chai Infusion, made with apple juice. That drink is 250 calories, the company said.
The latte drinks will be priced between $2.85 and $3.50 for a tall, depending on the location of the store. The infusions will sell for $2.40 to $2.70 for a tall.
Very interesting. I'm curious to see what happens with the balance between convenience and quality in Starbucks' move and the overall tea trend in the U.S.
The gourmet coffee retailer said all but one of the new drinks are less than 200 calories for a 12-ounce, or tall, serving.
The new lattes are made with steamed milk and Tazo full-leaf tea bags. The new varieties include the Black Tea Latte, the Vanilla Rooibos Latte and the London Fog latte. The company already sells a chai tea and green tea latte.
Starbucks will also launch new Tazo Tea Infusions -- nondairy drinks made with Tazo black chai tea and fruit juice. The company will offer a Berry Chai Infusion, made with berry and black currant juices, and an Apple Chai Infusion, made with apple juice. That drink is 250 calories, the company said.
The latte drinks will be priced between $2.85 and $3.50 for a tall, depending on the location of the store. The infusions will sell for $2.40 to $2.70 for a tall.
Very interesting. I'm curious to see what happens with the balance between convenience and quality in Starbucks' move and the overall tea trend in the U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tea is Growing Despite the Economy's Shrinkage
Apparently, tea is growing despite the economy's shrinkage. Tearooms, tea retailers and other, similar businesses reported sales growth over last year with third quarter monthly averages topping out at 15% in July and September. Awesome! Go, tea industry! Read more on World Tea News.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
New VeeTea Article
There's a new VeeTea article out on World Tea News. It's on the trend of tea cocktails, and how they can benefit your tea business during the holiday season. Excerpt:
"Trend-setting bars, hotels and tea rooms are going beyond the classic hot toddy with innovative tea cocktails. Meanwhile, alcohol-free tea 'mocktails' are gaining ground as festive alternatives to cocktails. World Tea News investigates to get you ahead of the curve on this trend, just in time for the holidays.
Money Matters
It’s no wonder customers pick tea cocktails and mocktails with names like Black Market Manhattan and Silk Road for a sense of adventure and a hint of the exotic. While their enticing names and descriptions, as well as unusual ingredients and combinations, make them exciting menu additions for regular customers, it’s their profit margins and ability to draw new customers that make them increasingly popular amongst tea room owners.
Dawn Cameron, owner of NYC’s Sanctuary T, said tea cocktails make up about 20 percent of her overall sales (including food), and 60 percent of cocktails sold are tea-based. She said sales of tea cocktails, priced at $12 each, have doubled since Sanctuary T opened in August 2007. Master mixologist Benoit Cornet said the company’s profit margin for tea cocktails is on par with hot teas, which retail at $4-6 per cup."
You can read the rest on World Tea News. You can also find tea cocktail recipes on VeeTea.
"Trend-setting bars, hotels and tea rooms are going beyond the classic hot toddy with innovative tea cocktails. Meanwhile, alcohol-free tea 'mocktails' are gaining ground as festive alternatives to cocktails. World Tea News investigates to get you ahead of the curve on this trend, just in time for the holidays.
Money Matters
It’s no wonder customers pick tea cocktails and mocktails with names like Black Market Manhattan and Silk Road for a sense of adventure and a hint of the exotic. While their enticing names and descriptions, as well as unusual ingredients and combinations, make them exciting menu additions for regular customers, it’s their profit margins and ability to draw new customers that make them increasingly popular amongst tea room owners.
Dawn Cameron, owner of NYC’s Sanctuary T, said tea cocktails make up about 20 percent of her overall sales (including food), and 60 percent of cocktails sold are tea-based. She said sales of tea cocktails, priced at $12 each, have doubled since Sanctuary T opened in August 2007. Master mixologist Benoit Cornet said the company’s profit margin for tea cocktails is on par with hot teas, which retail at $4-6 per cup."
You can read the rest on World Tea News. You can also find tea cocktail recipes on VeeTea.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Food Trends Include Tea
According to a new industry report, tea as a culinary ingredient is a hot trend right now. It says, "Among the trends that made the most progress are superfoods like green tea, edamame and acai." I've mentioned tea in various foods (frozen treats, cocktails, sweets, chocolates and more chocolates) and linked recipes for cooking with tea before, but it's always good to me (and the rest of the tea industry!) to see this echoed in cross-industry reports. This is true not only because it increases tea sales, but it gets people to look at tea in a fresh way and introduces people to tea who would have been unlikely to try it otherwise. What are your favorite dishes with tea as an ingredient?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tea Videos
First, tea companies got websites. Then, some took the extra step and started blogs or forums. Now, the big thing is video. From YouTube's many flowering tea vids and ceremony demos to Twinings' and Dr. Tea's video posts and even various organizations' tea video competitions, tea videos are hot. As someone with a video editing background (I edited videos and animations through high school and college), I can't say I'm disappointed! Though it's not new, video is an exciting and vibrant medium. You can convey huge amounts of information quickly while keeping it easy (and even fun) to understand. I'm glad to say that I'll be taking a new step in the tea video world soon. I've been interviewed by the local TV news as a "tea expert" and I've worked with a professional video editor to make a video of my footage from India for an Indian tea tasting event, but this week I'm writing and narrating a tea video for Urbana Cityspa & Teabar to post on Citysearch. Fun! It seems that most tearooms have so much to share and simply lack the means to get it out there. I hope to work with other tearooms on similar projects in the near future--let's get those stories and unique features out there!
07/02/08--Update!
Oregon Chai has announced a new video contest. Here's how to compete for Digital Nirvana.
07/02/08--Update!
Oregon Chai has announced a new video contest. Here's how to compete for Digital Nirvana.
Friday, May 16, 2008
$6.9 Million Teacake Dispute
Recently, popular UK retailer Marks & Spencer fought against the British Customs and Excise Department (their equivalent of the IRS) in EU's European Court of Justice (rough equivalent of The Supreme Court) for $3.5 million pounds ($6.9 million) in court over one of their treats, chocolate-covered teacakes, which had been misclassified (and over-taxed) as biscuits (cookies) for over 20 years.* Who knew that a little sweet could cause such a big fuss? From Yahoo News before the verdict:
"In a case dating back to the to the early 1970s, the Marks & Spencer retail chain is seeking a refund for sales tax it paid for 21 years on chocolate-covered 'teacakes,' which British authorities wrongly classified as cookies instead of cakes. Britain taxes sales of chocolate-covered cookies, but not chocolate-covered cakes...
British tax authorities acknowledged their teacake mistake in 1994 and reclassified the milk-chocolate-swathed domes of marshmallow and biscuit as tax-exempted cakes.
However, they refused to pay back the full 3.5 million pounds that the retailer says it paid on the products since Britain introduced Value Added Tax in 1973.
Instead, the Customs and Excise department offered just 88,440 pounds."
Of course, it was the CUSTOMERS who paid the tax, not the company. According to BBC News, The VAT (Value-Added Tax) and Duties Tribunal (like The US Tax Court) argued that any more than 10% compensation would be an "unjust enrichment" to Marks & Spencer. (Be sure to check out their article's chart on the giant headache that divides British sweets into taxable and untaxable categories. Example: Gingerbread cookies with only two dots for eyes for decoration are untaxed. Any more decoration, even a little icing smile, means a 17.5% tax.)
Drama, drama!
In the end, the court decided to award Marks & Spencer the full $6.9 million. According to The International Herald Tribune:
"Tax experts said that the ruling ended a situation in which the government could claim unjust enrichment for not refunding wrongly paid VAT but a taxpayer could not.
'The court is setting aside some of the unjust enrichment argument put forward by a member state,' said Chas Roy-Chowdhury of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
'It makes it less of a one-way street and much more of an evenly handed approach to incorrectly applied VAT, as before the odds were stacked against the taxpayer,' he said."
Let me reiterate that in this case the tax payer was NOT Marks & Spencer, but the end consumer. I never paid the tax-added price, so I feel no qualms about buying a box of these argument-inducing "cakes" the next time I hop the pond. However, I can only hope that Marks and Spencer will offer a lower price on these treats for some period of time to at least symbolically offset the customers' overpayment. After all, the most loyal customers end up feeling the most resentment over this kind of thing, and no one wants another iPhone rage incident.
*Personally, I think they look like tiny bits of cookie inside chocolate-covered marshmallows, which I wouldn't classify as a cake OR a cookie/biscuit given the choice. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd say cookie/biscuit. Then again, I am part British only by blood and never ate a crumpet until I was a teen, so my opinion on the semantics of British foods' terminologies doesn't really matter.
"In a case dating back to the to the early 1970s, the Marks & Spencer retail chain is seeking a refund for sales tax it paid for 21 years on chocolate-covered 'teacakes,' which British authorities wrongly classified as cookies instead of cakes. Britain taxes sales of chocolate-covered cookies, but not chocolate-covered cakes...
British tax authorities acknowledged their teacake mistake in 1994 and reclassified the milk-chocolate-swathed domes of marshmallow and biscuit as tax-exempted cakes.
However, they refused to pay back the full 3.5 million pounds that the retailer says it paid on the products since Britain introduced Value Added Tax in 1973.
Instead, the Customs and Excise department offered just 88,440 pounds."
Of course, it was the CUSTOMERS who paid the tax, not the company. According to BBC News, The VAT (Value-Added Tax) and Duties Tribunal (like The US Tax Court) argued that any more than 10% compensation would be an "unjust enrichment" to Marks & Spencer. (Be sure to check out their article's chart on the giant headache that divides British sweets into taxable and untaxable categories. Example: Gingerbread cookies with only two dots for eyes for decoration are untaxed. Any more decoration, even a little icing smile, means a 17.5% tax.)
Drama, drama!
In the end, the court decided to award Marks & Spencer the full $6.9 million. According to The International Herald Tribune:
"Tax experts said that the ruling ended a situation in which the government could claim unjust enrichment for not refunding wrongly paid VAT but a taxpayer could not.
'The court is setting aside some of the unjust enrichment argument put forward by a member state,' said Chas Roy-Chowdhury of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
'It makes it less of a one-way street and much more of an evenly handed approach to incorrectly applied VAT, as before the odds were stacked against the taxpayer,' he said."
Let me reiterate that in this case the tax payer was NOT Marks & Spencer, but the end consumer. I never paid the tax-added price, so I feel no qualms about buying a box of these argument-inducing "cakes" the next time I hop the pond. However, I can only hope that Marks and Spencer will offer a lower price on these treats for some period of time to at least symbolically offset the customers' overpayment. After all, the most loyal customers end up feeling the most resentment over this kind of thing, and no one wants another iPhone rage incident.
*Personally, I think they look like tiny bits of cookie inside chocolate-covered marshmallows, which I wouldn't classify as a cake OR a cookie/biscuit given the choice. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd say cookie/biscuit. Then again, I am part British only by blood and never ate a crumpet until I was a teen, so my opinion on the semantics of British foods' terminologies doesn't really matter.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Tea Scholarship
The Tea Council of the USA has launched their second annual "Calm-A-Sutra of Tea" national scholarship competition. They are asking for submissions of 1-2 minute videos that portray a creative/unique way of drinking tea and highlight at least one of tea's many health benefits. The winner will receive a $20,000 scholarship (and have tea and go on the news with some celebrity I've never heard of before). Here's last year's winning tea video. Learn more on The Tea Council's site.
PS--Here's another tea video submission that didn't win last year, but I thought it was cute. Check it out!
PS--Here's another tea video submission that didn't win last year, but I thought it was cute. Check it out!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tea Brings in the Bling
Sweet Leaf and NUMI received $18 million* and $1.8 million, respectively, in capitol from investors during April.
Sweet Leaf Gets a Sweet Deal. Excerpt:
"Catterton Partners, which is based in Greenwich, Conn., invested in numerous companies, including Build-a-Bear, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Odwalla and Kettle Foods.
'The ready-to-drink tea category is a $2.8 billion industry with the premium segment growing at an annual rate of 25 percent,' says Michael Farello, partner, Catterton Partners, who will join Sweet Leaf Tea's board of directors. 'Our assessment shows that Sweet Leaf Tea has the greatest potential for growth of any company in the category. This investment will give Sweet Leaf Tea the resources it needs to achieve an entirely new level of national awareness and sales.'"
NUMI Gets Shown the MONEY. Excerpt:
"'NUMI Organic Tea is a highly regarded industry leader in the premium organic tea category and has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to innovation, supply chain transparency, organic and fair trade advocacy, sustainable packaging, and assistance to tea producing villages in China, India and Africa' said Mark Finser, General Partner of TBL Capital.
NUMI Organic Tea pioneered the introduction of exotic herbs such as Rooibos, Lemon Myrtle, Honeybush and Dry Desert Lime that were popular in Europe but completely unknown in the United States. NUMI Organic Tea is also known for their innovative line of Flowering Tea; hand sewn tea leaves that blossom open when steeped in hot water. NUMI Organic Tea is responsible for commercializing this beautiful artisan trend from China....
TBL (Triple Bottom Line) Capital invests in... companies that are socially responsible and profitable."
It would seem that Catterton and TBL know what they're doing. Tea is increasing being recognized for its rapidly growing market and enormous sales increases. Having interviewed a rep from Austin-based Sweet Leaf a while back and having tried a number of NUMI's organic products, I'm glad to see both of these companies, ahem, infused with capitol they can use to further expand their markets, and tea's popularity in the US. Congrats!
*This figure is a correction from the original post.
Sweet Leaf Gets a Sweet Deal. Excerpt:
"Catterton Partners, which is based in Greenwich, Conn., invested in numerous companies, including Build-a-Bear, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Odwalla and Kettle Foods.
'The ready-to-drink tea category is a $2.8 billion industry with the premium segment growing at an annual rate of 25 percent,' says Michael Farello, partner, Catterton Partners, who will join Sweet Leaf Tea's board of directors. 'Our assessment shows that Sweet Leaf Tea has the greatest potential for growth of any company in the category. This investment will give Sweet Leaf Tea the resources it needs to achieve an entirely new level of national awareness and sales.'"
NUMI Gets Shown the MONEY. Excerpt:
"'NUMI Organic Tea is a highly regarded industry leader in the premium organic tea category and has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to innovation, supply chain transparency, organic and fair trade advocacy, sustainable packaging, and assistance to tea producing villages in China, India and Africa' said Mark Finser, General Partner of TBL Capital.
NUMI Organic Tea pioneered the introduction of exotic herbs such as Rooibos, Lemon Myrtle, Honeybush and Dry Desert Lime that were popular in Europe but completely unknown in the United States. NUMI Organic Tea is also known for their innovative line of Flowering Tea; hand sewn tea leaves that blossom open when steeped in hot water. NUMI Organic Tea is responsible for commercializing this beautiful artisan trend from China....
TBL (Triple Bottom Line) Capital invests in... companies that are socially responsible and profitable."
It would seem that Catterton and TBL know what they're doing. Tea is increasing being recognized for its rapidly growing market and enormous sales increases. Having interviewed a rep from Austin-based Sweet Leaf a while back and having tried a number of NUMI's organic products, I'm glad to see both of these companies, ahem, infused with capitol they can use to further expand their markets, and tea's popularity in the US. Congrats!
*This figure is a correction from the original post.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Eat Out Awards: Amai (Winner)
Although Amai's teahouse appeared in NYC only last year, you may have seen their products before. Before serving up tea and sweets near Union Square, they were a successful bakehouse, selling their charmingly packaged, all-natural tea sweets (complete with teas and tisanes as ingredients) and botanical brownies to upscale retailers such as SoHo's Dean & Deluca.
In addition to cookies and brownies, the teahouse offers tea cupcakes and other tea sweets, sandwiches, and a fairly large tea menu. The tea menu has a good mix of flavored/blended and unflavored/blended teas, and is very unique in that it lists the wholesaler for each tea. I had the chance to talk with Amai's owner, Kelli, around when their teahouse opened. She told me that she decided to take the "naming names" approach because she sees no reason to be secretive about it--she's proud of her suppliers' teas and would be glad to have you buy them from her or from them. While this may be taboo to many a tea retailer, for more casual/less obsessed tea-drinking clients it's a great way to branch out and try new teas based on more than just "I like black tea" and the like.
The tearoom is somewhat small, but its convenient location and relaxed feel make it great for popping in or for chilling out. My favorite bonus to visiting Amai--the indie rock vibe that comes across in both the music (early Modest Mouse, The Shins, etc.) and the use of an ultimate hipster furniture piece/card catalog to hold loose tea leaves. Cool.
Congrats, Amai! I wish you many years of success and happiness!
Amai Tea and Bake House
171 3rd Ave between 16th and 17th Streets
Monday-Saturday 8AM-10PM
Sunday 10AM-5PM
212.863.9630
In addition to cookies and brownies, the teahouse offers tea cupcakes and other tea sweets, sandwiches, and a fairly large tea menu. The tea menu has a good mix of flavored/blended and unflavored/blended teas, and is very unique in that it lists the wholesaler for each tea. I had the chance to talk with Amai's owner, Kelli, around when their teahouse opened. She told me that she decided to take the "naming names" approach because she sees no reason to be secretive about it--she's proud of her suppliers' teas and would be glad to have you buy them from her or from them. While this may be taboo to many a tea retailer, for more casual/less obsessed tea-drinking clients it's a great way to branch out and try new teas based on more than just "I like black tea" and the like.
The tearoom is somewhat small, but its convenient location and relaxed feel make it great for popping in or for chilling out. My favorite bonus to visiting Amai--the indie rock vibe that comes across in both the music (early Modest Mouse, The Shins, etc.) and the use of an ultimate hipster furniture piece/card catalog to hold loose tea leaves. Cool.
Congrats, Amai! I wish you many years of success and happiness!
Amai Tea and Bake House
171 3rd Ave between 16th and 17th Streets
Monday-Saturday 8AM-10PM
Sunday 10AM-5PM
212.863.9630
Friday, April 25, 2008
Investing in Tea
These days, it seems like everything's a commodity... even tea. From Dubai launching the world's first tea futures contract to the growing world of pu-erh investment, tea is hot despite the economy's general cooling. The World Tea Expo is getting in on the action with a new specialty tea rating system, which will be listed in The World Tea Buyers Guide^TM.* I think of tea investment in a few different ways:
Investment in myself--Tea is healthy and delicious alternative to many other beverages and it makes me feel good.
Investment in the planet and the future--Organic, fair trade tea is sustainable and benefits the land and people who produce it.
Investment in companies I appreciate--I think of each dollar I spend as a vote of sorts. Which companies do I prefer to support? These are the ones I spend my money on.
Investment in VeeTea--Obviously, I need to learn more about tea every day in order to educate my clients, whether they are companies or individuals. I think of my tea purchases are a business investment.
I was never one for collecting or for investing in particular assets. (Mutual funds are just fine by me!) However, I can see why tea could be (and is) an alluring investment for many. Although I prefer to think of tea as something much, much deeper than a money-making opportunity, it's exciting to see the love of tea spread through new businesses and investors. Happy investing, and enjoy your tea!
*Of course, just like wine rating systems, the scores depend very much on the preferences of the tasters, which may or may not be in line with our own preferences (or our clients'!).)
Investment in myself--Tea is healthy and delicious alternative to many other beverages and it makes me feel good.
Investment in the planet and the future--Organic, fair trade tea is sustainable and benefits the land and people who produce it.
Investment in companies I appreciate--I think of each dollar I spend as a vote of sorts. Which companies do I prefer to support? These are the ones I spend my money on.
Investment in VeeTea--Obviously, I need to learn more about tea every day in order to educate my clients, whether they are companies or individuals. I think of my tea purchases are a business investment.
I was never one for collecting or for investing in particular assets. (Mutual funds are just fine by me!) However, I can see why tea could be (and is) an alluring investment for many. Although I prefer to think of tea as something much, much deeper than a money-making opportunity, it's exciting to see the love of tea spread through new businesses and investors. Happy investing, and enjoy your tea!
*Of course, just like wine rating systems, the scores depend very much on the preferences of the tasters, which may or may not be in line with our own preferences (or our clients'!).)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Post-Coffee & Tea Festival: General Notes
Today: General Notes. Upcoming: More specifics on booths and presentations, plus a few photos.
The 2008 Coffee & Tea Festival was a success. There was a solid turnout and an interesting and varied representation of tea in the booths. The lectures were informative and entertaining and the industry turnout (outside of the booths) was decent. The partons I saw and spoke with seemed pleased with the event, and my friends who attended loved some of the products they sampled (and bought). My only complaints were the noise interference during the lectures and demos and the fact that a large number of the booths had little to do with tea, coffee, and their usual accompaniments (bottled water, beer, olive oil, etc.). Lynda Calimano assures me that the sound issues will be resolved next year and I have the feeling that the booths will get filled with more and more coffee and tea people as the festival grows. Although the Coffee and Tea Festival is nowhere near as large as the World Tea Expo, it is well worth checking out if you are in NYC or the surrounding areas (or if you just dislike Vegas!). I'm looking forward to attending (and maybe even speaking) next year!
The 2008 Coffee & Tea Festival was a success. There was a solid turnout and an interesting and varied representation of tea in the booths. The lectures were informative and entertaining and the industry turnout (outside of the booths) was decent. The partons I saw and spoke with seemed pleased with the event, and my friends who attended loved some of the products they sampled (and bought). My only complaints were the noise interference during the lectures and demos and the fact that a large number of the booths had little to do with tea, coffee, and their usual accompaniments (bottled water, beer, olive oil, etc.). Lynda Calimano assures me that the sound issues will be resolved next year and I have the feeling that the booths will get filled with more and more coffee and tea people as the festival grows. Although the Coffee and Tea Festival is nowhere near as large as the World Tea Expo, it is well worth checking out if you are in NYC or the surrounding areas (or if you just dislike Vegas!). I'm looking forward to attending (and maybe even speaking) next year!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Alice's Tea Cup
A little while back, The Daily News did a story on Alice's Tea Cup, which is one of NYC's best-known tea businesses. Excerpt:
Their concept was born a few years ago, when the women - native West Siders - were living in Los Angeles. Haley worked in film production, while Lauren was, and still is, an actress. They frequented a tea house, and wondered how such a place might fare back home.
"We didn't understand why you had to go to a hotel to get afternoon tea," Lauren said.
It's an interesting glimpse into a tea business in one of the most competitive cities in the world for food businesses. Read more on Alice's Tea Cup, and enjoy your tea!
Their concept was born a few years ago, when the women - native West Siders - were living in Los Angeles. Haley worked in film production, while Lauren was, and still is, an actress. They frequented a tea house, and wondered how such a place might fare back home.
"We didn't understand why you had to go to a hotel to get afternoon tea," Lauren said.
It's an interesting glimpse into a tea business in one of the most competitive cities in the world for food businesses. Read more on Alice's Tea Cup, and enjoy your tea!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Food Blogs, Tea Blogs
The Associated Press recently released an article industry trends with food blogs. The trend of sending merchandise to food bloggers has become very popular amongst major food companies. "Courting one blog with a couple of thousand daily readers may not have a huge impact, but marketers can easily reach several such blogs with little effort, said Debbie Weil, a corporate blogging consultant based in Washington, D.C."
The same trend can be seen on many tea blogs across the net. So far, it is mostly limited to tea samples, however, some companies are now sending out teaware and other tea-related merchandise. In this era of splitering media and a return to tribalism (in terms of ideas and information) through new media, I think that this shift in corporations' (and smaller companies'!) attitudes toward marketing reflects a significant change in how information is disseminated and received. After all, how many people still buy a particular tea or tea product because they saw an ad for it? And how many people buy a tea or product because someone whose opinion they respect raved about it?
Lately, a lot of tea companies have been starting their own blogs. This is due to blogging's overall rise in popularity, but I'm sure the recent New York Times article on business blogging didn't hurt. I've been lucky enough to work with a few companies as a tea blogging consultant, and I have to say that it is a very exciting trend in the tea world! It personalizes the companies for the clients, and it ensures that clients will check back regularly for new products, events, and other updates. Just as the NYT article says, it can be a major marketing tool at a low cost to even small businesses. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and to being a part of it!
The same trend can be seen on many tea blogs across the net. So far, it is mostly limited to tea samples, however, some companies are now sending out teaware and other tea-related merchandise. In this era of splitering media and a return to tribalism (in terms of ideas and information) through new media, I think that this shift in corporations' (and smaller companies'!) attitudes toward marketing reflects a significant change in how information is disseminated and received. After all, how many people still buy a particular tea or tea product because they saw an ad for it? And how many people buy a tea or product because someone whose opinion they respect raved about it?
Lately, a lot of tea companies have been starting their own blogs. This is due to blogging's overall rise in popularity, but I'm sure the recent New York Times article on business blogging didn't hurt. I've been lucky enough to work with a few companies as a tea blogging consultant, and I have to say that it is a very exciting trend in the tea world! It personalizes the companies for the clients, and it ensures that clients will check back regularly for new products, events, and other updates. Just as the NYT article says, it can be a major marketing tool at a low cost to even small businesses. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and to being a part of it!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tea Business Survey
World Tea News has launced a new tea business survey to see how businesses across the nation measure up. The data will be compiled for tearooms to use and will include "regional and national averages for average check total per customer, margins, and prices for select teas each month." It seems like it could be a very useful tool if enough tearooms get involved. (Nudge, nudge!)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Woman Jailed for Worshipping Teapot
A woman in Malaysia was recently jailed for worshiping a teapot.
"For the eccentric sect, which emphasised ecumenical dialogue between religions, the tea pot symbolized the purity of water and 'love pouring from heaven.' But in Malaysia, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship, born Muslims such as Mrs Ali are forbidden from converting to other religions."
In other random news, I leave for Austin, TX tomorrow for the annual insanity that is South by Southwest. When I'm not listening to the incredible array of music, I'll be interviewing local tea people and checking out some tearooms. My posts this week will cover the music and the tea, so all you indie rocker tea fans should check back often!
"For the eccentric sect, which emphasised ecumenical dialogue between religions, the tea pot symbolized the purity of water and 'love pouring from heaven.' But in Malaysia, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship, born Muslims such as Mrs Ali are forbidden from converting to other religions."
In other random news, I leave for Austin, TX tomorrow for the annual insanity that is South by Southwest. When I'm not listening to the incredible array of music, I'll be interviewing local tea people and checking out some tearooms. My posts this week will cover the music and the tea, so all you indie rocker tea fans should check back often!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Full-Leaf Tea Production on the Rise
It looks like the surge in popularity of full-leaf tea in the US, Russia, and Europe is making a major impact on producers' behaviors. According to a recent article from Reuters, orthodox tea production in India is on the rise and is being encouraged by the government-run Tea Board with a subsidy of 3 rupees per kg of orthodox tea produced. At present, many tea plantations in India (particularly those in Assam) produce CTC tea. Orthodox production involves the hand-plucking of tea leaves, which means that the whole leaves can remain intact and that the best new shoots can be plucked without also plucking older leaves and stems. CTC can produce a stronger flavor with a shorter brew time, but is generally a less nuanced and a much lower quality tea.* Most Indian CTC tea is consumed within the country, whereas most orthodox tea is for export.
*Despite this difference in quality, innovative Indian cooks can do amazing things with CTC! I had the best masala chai of my life when I was in Kolkata, and most of it was made from CTC. At one hotel near Darjeeling, I talked tea with the "tea boy," who had created an extensive, widely varied, and delicious tea menu out of both CTC and orthodox teas, as well as blends.
All this talk about Indian chai has me even more excited about my upcoming tea tour to India! More details on that soon to come...
*Despite this difference in quality, innovative Indian cooks can do amazing things with CTC! I had the best masala chai of my life when I was in Kolkata, and most of it was made from CTC. At one hotel near Darjeeling, I talked tea with the "tea boy," who had created an extensive, widely varied, and delicious tea menu out of both CTC and orthodox teas, as well as blends.
All this talk about Indian chai has me even more excited about my upcoming tea tour to India! More details on that soon to come...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Yoga Teas
Simpson and Vail just released a new line of "Yoga Teas". Each one focuses on a different chacra. Example:
The Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) is located in the center of forehead and is symbolized by the two-petal lotus flower and the color indigo. It is in this sight center that we find the home of the part of our consciousness that absorbs the knowledge of the outer world and externalizes the thoughts of our inner world. An open and balanced Third Eye Chakra will allow us to trust our intuition, help us to focus and allow us to see an unobstructed view of reality. This insightful herbal blend brews to a light golden color with a heady aroma and a light floral taste with the pronounced flavor of lavender and rosemary. Connect to this energy center through meditation or guided visualization. Suggested yoga poses and further information on this chakra are included inside the box.
It's a cool idea, but I have to wonder how long it will take before Yogi Tea's lawyers decide to skip their morning Pranayama and file suit.
The really funny part? Almost none of these products contain any actual tea. They're almost all tisanes.
The Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) is located in the center of forehead and is symbolized by the two-petal lotus flower and the color indigo. It is in this sight center that we find the home of the part of our consciousness that absorbs the knowledge of the outer world and externalizes the thoughts of our inner world. An open and balanced Third Eye Chakra will allow us to trust our intuition, help us to focus and allow us to see an unobstructed view of reality. This insightful herbal blend brews to a light golden color with a heady aroma and a light floral taste with the pronounced flavor of lavender and rosemary. Connect to this energy center through meditation or guided visualization. Suggested yoga poses and further information on this chakra are included inside the box.
It's a cool idea, but I have to wonder how long it will take before Yogi Tea's lawyers decide to skip their morning Pranayama and file suit.
The really funny part? Almost none of these products contain any actual tea. They're almost all tisanes.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Celestial Seasonings Coffee???
Celestial Seasonings, known for bringing tisanes to the average American household, has made an unexpected move and launched a new line of coffees. It's organic and fair-trade certified. Still, given that their original line was made by hippies in a garage and entirely caffeine-free, I find this to be very odd.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Microencapsulation
There's a new product called Spun Matrix that uses microencapsulation to make terrible tea taste almost drinkable. I quote, "Spun Matrix is also a great tool to mask off flavors and can be used to incorporate particularly harsh ingredients with the chosen flavor system." It's basically granulated flavor particles that are mixed into low-grade teabags for a stronger not-tea flavor to cover up the already-present bad-tea flavor. Wow, I am SO unimpressed. I'm sure the bulk of the tea industry will love it, though. Sadness...
Read more on this depressing innovation here.
Read more on this depressing innovation here.
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