Article

High time for tea

Flavors and brands bloom as beverage popularity grows.  

April 9, 2007

For Pat Petrick, the quest for a quality cup of tea was satisfied only when she traveled abroad. Returning to America, she had come to expect the few choices available. Turns out, her experience was a microcosm of the trend toward high-quality and specialized teas.

 

"It used to be just a few years ago that the typical person who drank tea was the affluent, middle-aged female," Petrick said. "But for centuries, tea has been the second most-consumed beverage in the world, next to water. (Coffee is behind tea, by the way.) In America, the tea that was drunk the most was iced tea, mainly powdered. So what that tells us is there's a huge need to educate the U.S. market."

 

Petrick's solution was to create her own brand. From her observations of what was available in America — fancy tea rooms and coffeehouses, including Starbucks — Petrick founded Trish's Teas, a tea shop in Orlando, Fla., that comfortably fills a niche.

 

Trish's is a merge of tea bar and tea room, where customers can enjoy customized teas and special flavorings.

 

"Some people are intimidated with the thought of having high tea in a tea room," Petrick said. "But if I want a good cup of tea, and I'm not a coffee drinker per se, I know that I can't get a really good tea at Starbucks. Places like Starbucks now serve tea because they see the growing market, but they still don't know how to produce a really quality tea."

 

Trish's brews tea fresh when customers order it, and the menu also offers specialty "iced teas of the day," brewed fresh daily. Here you will never find Lipton, only high-level specialty teas from as-fresh-as-possible leaves.

 

Petrick's business strategy has paid off. Sales have increased steadily since the Orlando store opened in 2005. The idea has tapped into the fact that American tea consumption is fast becoming an everyday favorite. And the fast-casual segment is positioned ideally for serving such libations.

 

"Part of the reason for the current tea boom is the publicity that tea has received," said Scott Svihula, national sales director and teasmith at China Mist. "A lot of people who are seeking alternatives to coffee and soda, but who also want their caffeine kick, have to turn somewhere."

 

Healthful alternative

 

What sets tea apart from other beverages is its well-documented health benefits. Recent studies in leading medical journals declare tea a potential heart tonic, cancer blocker, fat buster, immune stimulant, arthritis soother, virus fighter and cholesterol detoxifier.

 

Tea's feel-good attributes and catered tastes are two ingredients that appeal to most fast-casual demographics.

 

"Tea is like wine," Petrick said. "It depends on where it's grown — the altitude, the climate, the country — and your personal taste."

 

The varieties to accommodate the various tastes are numerous. One tea provider, Seattle-based Choice Organic Teas, offers more than 70 varieties of black, green, Oolong, white and herbal infusions.

 

The varieties to accommodate the various tastes are numerous. One tea provider, Seattle-based Choice Organic Teas, offers more than 70 varieties of Black, Green, Oolong, White and herbal infusions.

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The Camellia sinensis plant, a warm-weather evergreen, is the mother of all tea leaves. How the leaves are processed and their level of contact with oxygen determine resulting types of tea. During oxidation, tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions that result in distinctive color and taste characteristics. Green tea, for example, is not oxidized at all — the leaves are steamed, rolled and dried while black tea is allowed to oxidize for two to four hours. Oolong tea falls somewhere between green and black teas, in that the leaves are only partially oxidized.

 

Herbal teas do not come from Camellia sinensis, but are an infusion of leaves, roots, bark, seeds or flowers of other plants.

 

Growing popularity

 

According to the Tea Association of the U.S.A., tea in the foodservice segment has grown from half a billion dollars in sales in 1990 to $1 billion in 2006. But the trend toward tea drinking in general — especially as it pertains to consumer education and health awareness — can best be seen in overall sales growth. Including the traditional market (i.e., supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers), ready-to-drink and the specialty segments (i.e., tea boutiques), sales grew from $1.84 billion in 1990 to $6.5 billion in 2006.

 

The association further predicts ready-to-drink tea will continue to grow in popularity with annual dollar increases in the range of 10 to 12 percent, and a long-term increase in consumer demand for Specialty Tea, with annual dollar increases in the area of 10 to 15 percent.

 

One key to drawing more consumers with tea is appealing to younger crowds. Petrick does this by offering tea elixirs and other tea mixes, such as tea with fruit and juices.

 

"Young crowds, who are used to soda, won't take tea with nothing in it," Petrick said. "We would like to move them away from some of the infusions because of health reasons, to a purer tea, but we know that doing so is a process. We find out what they like, then we introduce them to quality tea. I have yet to hear anyone say they didn't like it."