Wednesday February 24, 2010 | 7 comments
In the business of selling specialty tea, I see two camps that – while not mutually exclusive – could be seen as opposing. On one side are those who emphasize tea’s propensity to slow down time and invite participants to be more present in each savored moment. On the other side are those who are busy proving to the world that specialty tea is just as quick and easy to prepare as a Lipton bag, and just as portable as a bottle of water.
World Tea News’ contributing editor, Lindsey Goodwin, returned from some roving reporting recently with an interesting story about specialty tea in quick-preparation formats, such as wands and three-dimensional sachets. It seems some specialty tea snobs have been busy lately making their products more accessible to the masses!
That’s understandable, from a business perspective. This morning, I had a conversation with a new colleague at World Tea who told me that, had he not started working here, he never would have tried loose-leaf tea. He explained that it just seemed “daunting” and a “hassle.”
I don’t get this. Most people are willing to brew their own coffee, which requires approximately the same time and equipment. Many of them are even willing to grind it themselves – and pretty much everyone I’ve seen grinding coffee at Trader Joe’s appears willing to change the grinder settings according to the type of roast and machine they have.
But boil some water to pour over tea you’ve put in a special bag or pot… Nooooooooo! That’s scary.
For argument’s sake, though, let’s assume that most people will only try good tea if it’s in a bag. If you own a tea company, then it would behoove you to put your tea in bags.
I doubt I’m the only one who imagines certain specialty tea developers holding their noses or gulping hard as they make this decision. The “special” nature of specialty tea derives, in part, from its status as above the masses. Last year, when Teas Etc introduced its line of tea canisters with tea sacs attached, under the tag line “Ditch the Old Bag,” we all got the joke.
Some people in the industry are constantly extolling tea’s Zen virtues. I can’t tell you how many times, during interviews, I’ve heard retailers say how much customers appreciate the chance to unplug from their busy lives, measure some tea, warm a pot, heat the water, and so on. Entire marketing campaigns have been based on the concept that tea is not convenient; rather, it’s an unassailable excuse to indulge in some time to do just one thing slowly, patiently, and mindfully.
This is where the psychology gets interesting. Frankly, the industry seems downright fickle. On the one hand, wanting everyone to know and appreciate high-quality tea, we persuade them it’s convenient. On the other hand, wanting to emphasize tea as an affordable luxury, we tell them it’s time-consuming.
Hence the “gateway” mentality; i.e., the belief that introducing consumers to high-quality tea in convenient formats gets them hooked to the point where they’ll learn more complex preparations. It also partially explains the widespread adoption of consumer education: We have to teach them both that obtaining a quality infusion is not as hard as they think and that it’s worth the trouble it takes. Not an easy message to convey, which may be why some brand developers and marketers focus on one side or the other.
Yet the fact that many companies don’t choose sides – or choose both sides – speaks to the diversity of the tea experience. It means such different things to different people at different times and in different places that it can offer businesses success both as a quick treat and a lengthy engagement.
MAIN | IMAGE 1 | IMAGE 2
Interesting analysis of what’s going on. For big companies, in particular, its’ all about distribution and convenience, or so it seems to me. The quality of the tea is what I question whether in bags or ‘sachets’ (big bags with a gusseted bottom). How do you get a decent top quality best possible infusion of a large/twisty-leaved Oolong, for example, inside any bag or sachet? The leaves are mushed/mashed together, being strangled and not allowed to fully move and unfold. If you want convenience, in some peoples’ opinion, including ours, that just isn’t where you want to go. Bottom line, the taste tells the story, and that also involves the other elements necessary for a great infusion/brew including water temp, time, etc. We are fanatical about not bagging/sacheting up leaves. And we respectfully think others don’t have to be and we will agree to disagree. :)
But we frequently and regularly have baristas here for our tea from the big chains and other small companies, because they just plain love it and they pay without question when they could
buy it from where they work..where there are bags and sachets.
As for convenience, I love your point about the hoops people are willing to jump through making coffee or espresso at home. And I think personally that is because they have been seeing coffee as a ‘specialty beverage’ due to great marketing by the coffee house chains and specialty coffee industry, while tea has been looked at as ‘just tea’ by the masses, the poor cousin of coffee. THAT’S what we want to change…to show people what fine loose leaf tea really tastes like and how to correctly brew it/steep it to get the maximum from it, just as they would think of fine quality coffee beans. We let them smell it, cup it, sample it, and then have a nice array of brewing accessories, just like the coffee chains have done with their beans.
Last night for 3 hours, a company did a ‘webmercial’ in our store and they were men in their
30′s/early 40′s. Afterward, we served them shaken iced teas. They were absolutely amazed and one said that he didn’t even like tea but now he had found he really hadn’t tasted fine loose leaf tea and it was a ‘totally different experience’ and how fresh it was..and he became a new customer. That’s what’s so incredibly exciting about being passionate and fanatical about product. It’s just such a thrill to introduce ‘newbies’ to quality tea brewed right.
I think you’ve both made excellent points. If we’re to draw in the masses – tea bags are a must. Steve Smith is getting a name by bagging “small batch teas” – which certainly is a compromise over traditional bagged tea. I think there will always be those special people who “get it” – the ritual and the essence of tea on all levels. Although I consider myself to be a purist – I will personally create some individual bags for myself when I know I’ll be out of the house for extended periods of time. I order hot water – always offering to pay for tea but explaining that I’ve brought my own whole leaf. No one has ever charged me for tea.
I don’t understand why tea bags are a must to draw in the masses with tea any more than they would be for coffee. Steve Smith already has a name from Stash and Tazo and ‘small batch teas’ are just him limiting the amount he blends, correct? Instead of bags, many of our customers take their infuser mugs to work or wherever they may be going to be able to infuse loose leaf anywhere. It seems more difficult to me to fill bags with loose leaf than to put them in a nice stainless steel infuser. I guess I am a ‘radical’ to some but I’ve never had a cup of tea from a bag or sachet that came close to the taste you get from brewing quality loose leaf where the leaves are left ‘free’. When coffee people travel, they take their little ‘kits’ rather than grinding up beans and bagging them (even though there are ‘coffee bags’ on the tippy top shelves where no one can easily spot them in some grocery stores), whether they be French presses or Keurigs. And speaking of that…tea in those pods….well, that’s another day and another post. :)
I agree Diane however IF I’m out and about and don’t want to bring along something that I have to carry back with wet leaves – I put my tea into a small disposable pouch- from Japan – if I were sitting at an office all day, the strainer/mug is the way to go. Also keep in mind I’m steeping white or green teas typically, not oolongs so there’s adequate room.
Very interesting article and loved the follow-on comments. I worry that some of the big players are putting loose leaf in a tea bag, simply because the large leaves are not able to unfurl completely. There’s definitely been an advancement in tea technology and I’m all up for shifting away from the nylon in favour of the biodegradeable bags, but still concerned that the agony of the leaf won’t be able to realise their full potential (and hence flavour) into the tea-cup.
It is a difficult choice of whether we try and persuade our customers to opt for strainers, infusers, Piao-I’s, travel mugs etc instead, or to listen to our customers and ultimately give them what they want.
Thanks again for posing the question. Very interesting indeed.
I think America will need more tea consultants or people like dear Walden that could show customer how is the loose leaf tea face-to-face. Because it’s still so many people don’t know about or have ever tasted loose leaf tea, they will not believe what you said(advertisement)
unless they taste it.
Few big companies will do it because it need so much work and they can’t wait too long for the Victory time coming, only people who has “loose leaf tea” belief will do it, it’s just like a revolution, a tea revolution, a lot of people will die but we have seen the dawn now.
That’s why my new company-Middle Way International Ltd. is focusing on loose leaf tea only.
Keep moving on Walden, you’re not alone.
Daniel, we wont even sell T-sacs in the store because we just don’t believe in bags; the only time we do is when a commercial acct will insist. In the store we do loose leaf only and only sell loose leaf to customers for brewing at home. Thanks for encouraging me in my passionate ‘madness’ but once you’ve had the real thing done loose…well, you know.
If you’d like to contact me, the info is in my contributor profile here. I’d like to hear more about our company and didn’t see any information other than your email address on your site.