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A Healthy Take on Tea

By Bridget Weber

Despite the continual bad news about the unhealthy state of Americans (or because of it) food trends show that people persist in trying new things with health benefit claims. Drinking tea is no exception. Many newcomers to tea are ordering a cup of green or white tea because of the cancer-fighting antioxidants found in the brews.

“There’s a great wave of interest in green and white tea,” says Elliot Johnson, president, Mark T. Wendell Company, West Concord, Mass. “Those two segments have gotten positive press as to the health benefits. Not that black and oolong don’t have some of the same benefits, but not to the same degree.”

An herbal infusion is enjoying popularity from the health-conscious trend, because of its tea-like attributes and naturally caffeine-free makeup. “There’s been an incredible increase in interest in scented rooibos,” says Mim Enck, sales representative for The East Indies Company, Lebanon, Pa. “Rooibos is a beverage that looks like tea, tastes like tea, but sans the caffeine. It’s high in antioxidants and vitamin C.”

White and green, black and oolong teas—they’re all from the Camellia sinensis plant. The variables in the name derive from the different processing methods. White tea is the least processed. The tea leaves are not rolled before drying and are generally picked in the earliest harvest when the buds are tightly surrounded by new leaves. Green and black teas are rolled, which is said to release oils in the leaves, then dried. The processing for black tea developed in the early days of exportation because green tea did not travel well. Tea leaves that are first fermented then dried become black tea. Oolong is made from partially fermented tea leaves, producing a tea that combines flavors of black and green tea. With teas being grown in China, India, Sri Lanka and Africa, there are more than 3,000 varieties of tea.

That’s not even counting herb teas, correctly called herbal infusions or tisanes (from the French), since they do not contain leaves of Camellia sinensis. Rooibos, from the Afrikaans word for red bush, is of this ilk, made from the leaf of Aspalathus linoaris that grows only in South Africa. It’s different from other herbal infusions because it contains polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea.

With such a variety of teas, Juergen Link, president, SpecialTeas, Inc., Norwalk, Conn., says no one or two teas could be pointed to as runaway trends that are sure-fire sellers for any retailer wanting to get into the business of teas. What helps a coffeehouse in being successful with its tea sales is concentrating on a market segment, suggests Link.

“For coffeehouse owners who want to sell tea and be successful at it, many are carving out a niche,” Link says. “Some coffee shops go very high end, concentrating on single estate teas, while others are more into the herbal teas, blends, infusions and rooibos.” He gave an example of a coffeehouse that serves only flavored green and white teas.

Just as roasters make special blends for coffeehouses, tea producers suggest tea blends to help retailers differentiate themselves from a competitor down the block. “We flavor our own teas, we can flavor a black tea, a green tea or even flavor rooibos,” says Jim Harron, president of Simpson & Vail, Inc., Brookfield, Conn. “We do special blends for teahouses and coffeehouses to make their own statement. It can be mixing two flavors, like ginger peach and mango peach, or we do some special blends with some black teas mixed together to form a strong cup.”

Mimi Ramos, sales representative at Harney & Sons Fine Teas, Salisbury, Conn., suggests introducing a new blend at special gatherings at the coffeehouse like an afternoon tea, “You should mix in something fun with the traditional for a well-rounded tea.” The menu of teas (about 10 to 12 with descriptions) should include the traditional Earl Grey and English Breakfast, but also special blends such as a new one by Harney & Sons called Bangkok, says Ramos. “It’s a blend of green tea with coconut, lemongrass and ginger.”

Whether it’s the special blend for that particular coffeehouse or a flavorful tea not getting enough attention, Johnson suggests featuring a tea each day like many retailers do for coffee. The sign shouting out the coffee of the day and the tea of the day becomes another selling tool. And just as retailers bag beans for home use, if they sell tea, they should have teas customers can buy and take home, adds Johnson.

But adding tea selections to the menu means retailers have to make efforts to understand their tea-drinking customers in order to choose from the multitudes available. For starters, in general terms the popularity of green and white teas seems to be more apparent on the East and West Coasts, according to Ramos of Harney & Sons. The two tea varieties also tend to be requests of a younger, educated demographic. “The younger, college-age crowd is very conscious of green and white teas,” says Ramos.
The reality of tea sales in America is that, as we all know, there are many more coffee drinkers than tea drinkers. But with the cultural acceptance of the coffeehouse as not only a place to get coffee, but also a gathering place, a retailer has the potential of interesting the segment of the population who are tea drinkers into having their favorite beverage in a café setting.

Serving Suggestions
New equipment and knowledge is changing the way tea is served. Education about proper steeping time, the acceptance of disposable tea filters and teapots with built-in infusers create an environment for extracting exceptional tasting teas that can be replicated the next time the customer orders that particular tea.

Purveyors of fine teas say quality tea can’t be had from a bag. But teabags are how most Americans first become acquainted with tea. The use of which, incidently, can be blamed on coffee. The popularity of instant coffee in the 1950s led tea companies into developing a similar fast-brewing method. Since consumers know teabags, some in the tea business feel that that is a place to start, even in a specialty coffee environment.

Simpson & Vail carries an extensive line of loose-leaf tea, but the company also features products for coffee retailers in teabags. The company recently redesigned the packaging in smaller, more vibrant-colored packages for placement at the counter, says Harron. Teabags offer ease of use and familiarity, and because they can be parked at counter level, they can create sales. Ultimately, Harron sees teabags as a way to lure new tea drinkers into loose-leaf teas.

“Our (coffeehouse) customers start off with teabags, then move on to loose-leaf as they try to make a quality statement with having just loose-leaf,” says Harron. “The quality is much better; the presentation is better.”

A new product on the market from Harney & Sons plays on that comfort level with teabags, but with a more technologically advanced design to enhance the taste of the tea. The tea sachet is a “pyramid-style flow-through bag,” describes Ramos. The mesh-type container allows the tea drinker to see the tea leaves or blend through the bag. When dipped in the hot water, the teabag “opens up and allows the tea to float,” describes Ramos.

To facilitate ease of use in the coffeehouse setting, tea suppliers recommend brewing loose-leaf tea using disposable tea filter bags. “It’s best to use the large paper filters specifically made for tea that open up in a cylindrical shape so that the tea can really unfold,” says Link. And the large size disposable tea filters can multi-task—they can be filled for infusing in a pot of tea or just enough for one cup.

If the process of filling the filters seems daunting in a busy operation, the filters can be pre-filled and stored to save time when serving the beverage, suggests Enck of The East Indies Company. “They can fill the tea filters ahead of time, put them in the container, then one can be pulled out and brewed.”

Johnson also likes the disposable tea filters for retailers when the tea preparer can’t be right at the table. He says, “If you’re going to serve quality tea, you have to serve it when it has steeped the proper length of time. If leaves sit too long, it will get acid tasting. With the disposable (the customer) can get the tea out of the pot.”

In situations where tea is served in a pot, there’s a new style of pot that aims to simplify tea-making with a built-in infuser. Harron observes that more teahouses are using that type, “The pots with built-in infusers have become better,” says Harron. “A lot of people like them. You just pull the infuser up into the lid when it’s done brewing. It keeps the tea out of the water so it’s not as strong.”

But what happens when the customer isn’t going to sit down with his pot of tea? If someone wants to take it and run, Link suggests the server steer the customer to a tea less sensitive to longer infusion, so that it can take being in the water longer. “An herbal tea or fruit blend can be left in 10 minutes and will be just fine. You can infuse the herbal teas for a longer amount of time without running the risk of them becoming bitter” says Link.

On the other hand, the tea can be steeped before the cup is handed back to the customer if a tea requiring less infusion time is used. Green teas require less time in the water, so an option would be to suggest a green tea, and ask the customer to wait a minute or minute and a half. “Your customers will really appreciate that the tea is fresh out of the jar; brewed right then and there,” says Link.

For it to be fresh out of the jar, tea must be stored properly. Tea is very susceptible to other fragrances and to humidity and light. Enck warns against placing tea containers too close to the coffee brewing equipment. She witnessed a situation in a coffeehouse where the humidity made the tea clump together.
“It’s crucial to keep tea in an airtight container that’s not see-through,” says Link. “If you invest in a good airtight container, your shelf life is about three months. There’s no reason to buy more than three months worth of teas.” Most of his customers reorder their teas twice a month.

“We are observing a lot of talk and interest in tea,” says Link. “But what is needed is someone with the dedication to really selling tea, someone who has the passion for the tea and can drive the tea business. The consumers are out there, but they need to be shown the product, have it explained to them, and when they come back for another cup know it will taste the same as the last time they had their cup of tea.”

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Originally published - March 2005
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