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Permalink Reply by Mitch Buckner - Bella Caffe on December 16, 2008 at 7:50am

All of Big Trains Smoothie mixes are what they call Fruit Tea Smoothies. They are all Green Tea based smoothies & they do have a Lemon Cooler that is great. Now this is intended to be a smoothie base but all you would do is cut back the amount & mix it with water & pour it over ice instead of blend it. I've used the Big Train smoothies off & on for years & they are great. I've gotten more away from them lately because I've gone to Dr. Smoothie's 100% Fruit line which has no sugar or corn syrup added. Its natually sweetened with fruit juice (but does not include tea) whereas Big Train sweetens their smoothie base with sugar.
Another option you have is making your own lemonade by just making a batch of light green tea & using this as the water you would put in with any other lemonade. You've got to realize that mainly the green tea is a marketing ploy. People dont know the difference. They just see the sign & say "Cool! Its healthy!" and dont even look at the fact that its probably still loaded with sugar! All the green tea does is add polyphenols & antioxidants to the drink. For that matter I would probably go one step up & offer a White Tea Lemonade which is healthier than green tea.
Another option if you are looking for RTD bottled teas that you just keep cool & serve the bottle, check out The Republic of Tea's Ready to Drink plastic bottle line. They have a Pink Lemonade Green Tea (as well as a whole line of green, white, black, & herbal RTD bottles). I used to sell these & they are great.

Mitch
Bella Caffe

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Permalink Reply by Brady on December 16, 2008 at 11:40am

We offer straight-up unsweetened iced green tea alongside our other iced teas. We also serve this with a shot of our fruit flavor syrup (Monin). Pomegranate, Blackberry, and Raspberry are popular. I like Mitch's idea of using a brewed green or white tea with either fresh-squeezed or concentrate. You could also brew and ice one of the existing green tea blends (example: Republic's Pomegranate Green or Lemon Ginger). Whatever it is, the product should be one that fits with YOUR SHOP's lineup and philosophy.

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Permalink Reply by George on December 16, 2008 at 1:38pm

We used Moroccan Mint, a green tea blend that is ethnic and sweetens really well in our New Orleans Cafe (Indonique Tea and Chai Cafe). The Cafe was forced closed by Hurricane Katrina, but the tea still sells well online and through wholesale. Jasmine Green was also a big hit and Lemon Rooibos is a growing blend.

George constance
Indonique Tea & Chai
www.indonique.com

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Permalink Reply by Bwynn on December 19, 2008 at 9:16pm

Thanks all for the advice!

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