SUITED TO A T

A Tea Line Might Be
A Perfect Fit
For Your Roastery

WHEN LOOKING AT the U.S. tea industry, one cannot help but draw parallels in growth with the coffee industry about 20 years ago, when the new coffee culture started and people discovered what coffee really tasted like. A similar movement is now happening in tea—consumers are switching from the mainstream brands to exciting, new, up-and-coming brands, many of which are delivering a tremendous choice in range. Today, you walk into any quality food chain and the choice of good quality teas is overwhelming.
     There are other possible reasons for tea’s current popularity and growth. U.S. consumers seem to be more adventurous when compared to their U.K. counterparts, as tea has not been part of their daily repertoire and hence they do not have preperceived ideas.
     Furthermore tea’s healthy image has been getting more and more coverage in the national press.
     In our business, we manage supply chains for many new and upcoming tea brands, mainly in the organic sector, and we are seeing continuous consistent double-digit growth year after year. Even at last year’s annual World Tea Expo I was stuck by the number of entrepreneurs who want to start tea businesses. The World Tea Expo, a must-attend event for anyone in the tea business, has seen more than 40 percent compounded annual growth in attendance, exhibitors and net exhibit space since its inception in 2003, a testament to the growth of the industry.
     Will the rediscovery of tea be a fad or a long-term trend? I think the latter, for a number of reasons. First, good teas deliver an uplifting experience to the drinker. In addition, they offer a sense of health and wellness while allowing drinkers to taste a wide variety of flavors and places. Thus, consumers who put tea in their repertoire tend to stick to it.
     I’m not the only one who thinks that tea is here to stay. Packaged Facts, a market research firm, recently published a press release indicating that the total sales of tea in the U.S. will double from its current level of $7.4 billion to more than $15 billion by 2012, with specialty and premium tea going from 36 to 50 percent of the market share. Beverage Marketing Corporation, also in a recent press release, showed tea sales to have the second highest estimated compounded growth through 2011, second only to bottled water. Sage Group Int’l LLC, publisher of the Specialty Tea’s Hot Report (www.teareport.com), has been ahead of the curve and predicting U.S. tea sales to exceed $10 billion by the end of the decade.
     So, if tea is here to stay, what does that mean for you, the coffee roaster? Should you add a tea line to your retail or wholesale accounts? Are coffee roasters and tea a good fit? I think so. What has struck me about the people who operate and work in gourmet coffee businesses is that they are deeply passionate and proud of their product. The whole coffee ritual is taken extremely seriously, and there is a genuine quest for quality. The mere fact that there are barista championships, which are attended with vigor, is a good illustration of this passion.
     You will find this same passion in the tea community. The young, up-and-coming tea brands have all been launched from a quality platform. In my mind, tea and coffee are not in competition with each other, but they complement each other in the consumer’s drinking repertoire. Both have a time and place.
     From a commercial point, the margin profiles on tea are good in an environment such as catering. The cost per pound might be higher than for your coffee, but the weight per serving is much less. Tea requires between 1.5 grams to 3.5 grams (.05 ounce to .12 ounce) per serving. Thus your business should be able to create a healthy margin on tea.
     So, if you are convinced about the case for tea, but are not offering a range as of yet, or your current offering is treated like your most undesired cousin, you might want to consider some pointers on how to approach the designing of a tea offering for your business.
     As a general note, your business (depending on size, etc.) could benefit from the assistance of a specialist tea company. For a coffee roaster wholesale business, this would mean teaming up with a tea wholesale business that has a similar approach as your business in tea. For coffee retailers, this might mean buying a tea range from their friendly coffee wholesaler or, size permitting, from a specialist tea wholesaler that can handle your (smaller) size of business.

Quality

Like coffee, there is a tremendous gap between poor- and good-quality tea. Quality depends on the origin of the product, seasonality, the quality of management at source and the manner in which the product has been treated from the bush to the final consumer. Unlike coffee, the final quality of tea is typically determined at source, as tea is not further roasted. If anything, the quality story in tea might be more complex and confusing than in coffee. It is therefore important that you have an understanding of sources and the different qualities. A further difference is the range of manufacturing methods there is for tea.
     You are likely familiar with terms like white, green, oolong or black tea. Besides tea, there is a whole range of herbal and fruit infusions sold that are loosely called tea. True tea is only produced from one tree—camellia sinensis. The piechart of World Tea Production (Fig. 1) offers a quick overview of the major tea-producing countries. The Tea Processing Chart (Fig. 2) explains how the different teas are manufactured.
     India and China are not only the biggest producers of tea, but they are also the biggest consumers of tea. It is fair to say that some of best teas imported into the U.S. come from Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Taiwan.
     As mentioned earlier, there is a complexity in tea because of manufacturing methods. This is further complicated through the different sub-manufacturing standards. Even within these different manufacturing standards, the quality and price can range tremendously within one production region. The Types of Tea table (Table 2) gives you an overview of some of teas that you’ve probably heard about.

Tea Blends & Flavors

Like coffee, tea can be blended to maintain a consistent quality standard and to reach a certain flavor profile. Tea is also a good carrier of flavors. There are many exciting blends of teas with herbs, fruits and flowers. The top-end quality blends have great profile and are a feast to the eye. Often, the mixture is designed for taste appeal. This is especially with the flavoring of green tea, which has made green tea more accessible to a wider audience. The most famous traditional flavored tea is Earl Grey, which is a black tea base with the oil of the bergamot fruit (a citrus fruit from Sicily).

Herbal and Fruit Infusions

As part of your offering, you’ll want to consider herbal and fruit infusions. Chamomile and peppermint are the most common ones, while rooibos from South Africa is growing in popularity. There is a tremendous range of variety in the herbs, fruits and flowers available. Some of these have a very healthy image and are naturally free of caffeine and will give your customers further choice. The fruit and herb blends are often flavored. The loose varieties are very colorful, and a good display of these should drive your sales in a retail environment.

Loose Versus Teabags

As a wholesaler, you might want to offer a range of loose teas and bagged teas. The choice in the quality teabag market is great, and you will need to find a brand of which you like the quality, brand ethos and price point.
     While loose tea will release the best aroma, this might not always be a practical solution for your customers. Loose teas give the retailers a chance of in-store theatre that cannot be achieved through teabags. Many of the specialty tea blends are mixed with colorful ingredients like flowers, fruits or herbs. These blends are very attractive to the eye.
     In the teabag market, there is a variety of bag options. Recently, bags such as Fuso pyramid tea bags have become popular. These bags are more expensive but have the advantage of selling loose tea in a tea bag format, as the consumer can see the tea through the meshed material. The bags give balance between good infusion and convenience.

Iced Teas

Consumers in the U.S. drink more iced tea than hot tea. In a wholesale business, I would advise stocking pre-weight loose sachets for quality iced-tea machines. Pure flavored fruit blends are very popular and can give a very full body.

Chai Concentrates

Chai is the name for a spiced tea blend from northwest India, which is blended with milk. Chai concentrates are useful, as they are easy to prepare with hot steamed milk, cold milk or milk alternatives. I would advise you to benchmark the different brands available.

Organic & Fair Trade

As with coffee, both issues are becoming more important to the customer and consumer. Your tea range should reflect the same principles and ethos you have for your coffee.

Water

As with coffee, the biggest component in a cup of tea is water. If you do not handle this aspect carefully, you could ruin all the care that has been taken in the journey from the bush to the cup. A good tea can be spoiled, but following these guidelines will help ensure a quality cup:

• Use fresh water.

• In poor water areas use filtered water (Total Dissolved Solids between 10-30 PPM).

• Bring the water to boil, but do not overboil.

Storage

Tea and herbal infusions are hydroscopic, which means they pick up moisture and foreign taints quickly. Further, tea is light sensitive and will discolor and lose flavor when exposed to light over time. Thus, store your tea and herbal infusions in airtight containers in a cool environment to protect the quality and freshness. This is especially true in a roasting environment, as tea can easily pick up flavors from the roasting process, as well as the coffee-flavoring process.

Range

Discuss with your supplier what its best-selling teas are, and see if you can source some teas that make your range stand out from your competition. But at least include the following main varieties:

• Green tea; straight and flavored

• White tea; flavored

• Oolong tea

• Black tea; straight and flavored

• Herbal blends; flavored rooibos and others

• Iced tea; straight black, flavored and fruit infusion

• Chai; good seasonal blend for the winter

Tea, like coffee, has some absolute truths about quality but also requires personal creativity and taste to give each business its unique personality. When properly chosen, cared for and served, tea gives you a chance to extend your roasting company’s personality in a creative and profitable manner.

GERT TER VOORDE, , chief operating officer for Sungarden Tea, Inc., has been in the tea industry for more than 25 years. Contact him at gert@sungardentea.com.