News

High Time for Tea

Classic brew enjoys renaissance.

April 2, 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. But, one key to drawing more consumers with tea is appealing to younger crowds.

"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."