A New Vision for Tea

[chadao]

I went into a coffee shop yesterday, and I asked about their tea. The response that I got from the barista was basically this: "Dude, we're a specialty coffee shop, we focus on coffee here, and tea is just a peripheral offering."

I am planning on opening my own coffee shop, and I have a little bit of a problem with this vision. Specialty coffee is great, and there are many options out there, but it seems to me that offering a tea product that does not live up to the standards of the coffee offerings displays a certain lack of integrity. The heart of specialty coffee lies in not only the quality of product, but the equitable treatment of all involved in the product's production: growers, farmers, processors, etc. If I were to offer coffee that is produced justly and sustainably, then I might as well offer tea that is produced in a similar way.

Is there anyone out there who agrees/disagrees with this? Better yet, is there anyone who runs or works for a coffee shop who has experience in offering high quality teas that are sourced directly from farmers, where the buyers work closely with the producers to create ideal working environments and unmatched quality?

I am looking into doing this myself, and the cost seems pretty high. It will not make sense to sell such teas for less than $4 for a cup of "everyday" high quality tea, and almost $7 for a cup of really good tea that is comparable to an award-winning micro-lot coffee offering. The big problem here is that people are just not used to paying this much for tea. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how this might work? Am I just SOL when it comes to this vision?

 

[eldub]

We're in the process of setting up a shop offering 100% organic coffee and tea. There are plenty of organic, fair trade teas available on the market today. Most don't cost anywhere near the prices you are quoting above. (Btw, you can't compare the wholesale price of tea vs coffee, imo. There are many more servings in a pound of tea than a pound of coffee.) Most high quality bulk organic tea runs between $12 and $28/lb. A few sell upwards of $50/lb. I could see having a couple/few offerings in the price range you mention but not an entire tea program based on that pricing structure.

Quality tea sells by the pot, not the cup. Around here, one can get a 22 oz pot of quality tea for around $3.50. Nothing wrong with carrying a few special selections that run twice that price, imo.

Good luck.

scott

 

[chadao]

Thanks for you input, Scott.

I'm actually not looking so much for organic or "fair trade" tea as I am for tea that is sourced in a more direct trade model. It is very difficult to find Chinese tea companies here in the U.S. that is even able to buy their tea with this model, since a Chinese Trade License is needed, which I assume is hard to come by. There are a couple companies in the U.S. though, that have this license.

The price for this tea runs upwards of $60 per pound. Even at this price, a $3.85 ticket seems reasonable.

I will, however, be selling tisanes that can be priced much more reasonably, and I'm wondering if this might provide a segue into educating my customers as to the higher quality teas that I offer.

Thanks again for your insights and help. I'd love to here back on how your business is doing when it is all set up and running!

 

[John P]

Although our main focus is coffee, we've offered exceptional loose leaf teas from day one. My wife is Taiwanese, so we want a more balanced approach. Our thought is on having the best, whether it is coffee or tea. We source some teas from Rishi, but most now we source ourselves from Taiwan, China, and Japan. We carry a lot of regional and specialized oolong teas as well as grade 1 genmaicha and ceremonial grade matcha.

So if you want to have excellent teas, have excellent teas!

Good luck!

 

[pretty]

Good luck on this one, you can post as to where you are planning to open so we can visit. It is true that if you want to have excellent teas, have excellent, exceptional teas!

 

[chadao]

Thanks all for your input and encouragement. I will definitely be serving Seven Cups, Verdant, and Intelligentsia teas and tisanes in my shop, after hearing what you have said.

The problem is reaching the customer base and explaining why my prices are at a premium.

I am still working out my business plan and scouting out a location, but I know that my place will either be in Boulder, CO, either on Pearl St Mall or on the University Hill.