Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on April 14, 2009 at 9:51am

We are having so much demand for the Novus line we carry(very similar to the Two Leaves' teas) that we are adding a full loose leaf program. We have found a great tea company that we will buy bulk from and repackage, eventually we will offer the teas to our wholesale customers. I'm excited Tea margins are good and the specialty tea sector grew buy 34% last year.

Permalink Reply by David Sierra on April 14, 2009 at 10:22am

Matt: We at La Vida Java are experiencing an increasing trend of tea drinkers in our coffee house. We learned about Two Leaves and a Bud at Coffee Fest and started carrying it. We've had success at serving this tea as a nice alternative to our coffee. There has been an increase where now, our tea drinkers want more choices of loose teas, so we are expanding our tea line to include Teagschwender loose teas. We tried a sample of their Chili-Chocolate tea and it's been a hit!!

Permalink Reply by Nicole Michaud on April 14, 2009 at 10:38am

Tea margins are very good and tea culture in the states is growing strong.
It really pays to choose a high quality tea and your customers will taste the difference.
I field the bagged tea/loose tea question often as Two Leaves offers both loose tea and sachet tea.
There are many variables to consider:
Speed of service
Labor
Consistency & training
Investment for materials
Inventory control
Space
Image of your shop
Plans for selling teas retail

Luckily you can find fantastic whole leaf teas that are conveniently portion packaged but if you are looking for a little more theater in your tea presentation loose could be the fit for you.

Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on April 14, 2009 at 11:17am

Matt, We here at JoLinda's retail and serve a variety of Teas. Two leaves and a Bud, Stash, Chanakara, Yama Moto Yama. We fall into the single portion option. No loose leaf here. I think loose leaf would work in a higher volume setting. Two leaves and a bud is very popular, our display is on the counter near the cash register.
The single portion option is working well even when customers order a pot. Our Stash Flowering tea works well in Pots here. One thing you notice and are reminded of when watching customers is how tea is treated compared to coffee. It is very rare to see cup brewed tea go out the door. It is a sit down (house) experience. Coffee by it's nature is quick. Quick to act on our systems. Etc. Tea makes me think of wine tasting. It begs our time and indulgence to fully savor the moment.
Just a few pennies of thought Matt.
JoeR

Permalink Reply by Staci on April 15, 2009 at 8:28am

I went the loose-leaf way in my shop, because I wanted the highest quality -- but I don't have a very "fancy" manner of serving them -- we just fill the bags and put them in a cup to steep. (kind of like starbucks I guess, now that I think about it) But the tea is fantastic and the way I control how much space and time it takes is just by having a very limited tea menu -- a couple of greens, a couple of blacks, a couple of herbals, a white and an Oolong. I'm not sure if that's the best way or not, but it seemed a good compromise since I don't really want to be a teahouse, but I do want the highest quality of everything we sell.

Permalink Reply by courtney marie on April 15, 2009 at 7:25pm

We have over 50 loose leaf teas at our shop, all either herbal, green, black or rooibos. We have one infuser, but we use tea bags that we buy in bundle for the most part. It isn't all that much extra effort.

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 24, 2009 at 7:33am

I agree with all everyone has said. We are opening our espresso & tea bar come Monday, but have tested in front of focus groups (well mainly women and spouses from my Curves workout group - much cheaper than hiring a marketing firm) in selecting from over 50 teas. We narrowed down to 24. We display them in glass jars and brew to order as we would our coffees (pot, french press, infused in cup).

One neat innovation is the to-go filter lids that are emerging as a quick way to allow the in-store brew time experience of loose leaf with the convenience of a tea bag. Plus most of our coffee/tea shops in the area haven't begun to use the newer lids. So there was a little of "I've never seen that before" to make us unique.

Permalink Reply by Davide Birse on May 6, 2009 at 1:50pm

We currently hold 70+ teas in house, a mixture of bagged to loose, and white to tisane. We found its best just to learn all you can, teach your staff all of it, and we do spend alot of time. When we get asked by customers what we have, we generally set aside time, talk to them about what they like, what mood there in, what flavours they like, then make a reccomendation. We usually always try to reccomend loose leaf for its higher quality and better taste, and most people enjoy that. Stocking six or seven loose leaf pots and the small tea cups to go with hasn't been much of a problem either.

We order in reguarly, and we can order in teas for customers to take home in quick order too.

Permalink Reply by two leaves and a bud tea co. on May 12, 2009 at 1:19pm

The nice thing about two leaves and a bud (biodegradable) tea sachets is the convenience! Precisely a hybrid of loose tea and an easy way to serve tea! You can serve the exact same quality of loose tea without the hassle! Baristas are busy people and there are definitely time consuming rituals that go along with brewing loose tea. It works well in tea houses but in most coffee shops where many are on the go, it is easy to hand over the tea sachet and water and the consumer can fix to taste!

Have any of you tried icing the sachets? An individually brewed glass of iced tea in any of the flavors is a fun and easy way to keep the tea sales moving during the summer months! Simply fill heat resistant cup with 6oz of boiling water, steep tea sachet for approx. 3 minutes while filling a glass with ice, Pour steeped tea and sachet over ice and enjoy a Better cuppa' iced tea!

Permalink Reply by colleen meyer on May 4, 2010 at 8:16am

What would be a good size of tea press to offer in-house customers, 12 oz. or 24 oz? Seems like a great way to serve high quality loose leaf tea.

Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on May 4, 2010 at 8:37am

If you had both you could use the larger one for groups or couples.
12oz for individuals.
joe

colleen meyer said:

What would be a good size of tea press to offer in-house customers, 12 oz. or 24 oz? Seems like a great way to serve high quality loose leaf tea.

Permalink Reply by colleen meyer on May 5, 2010 at 10:47am

What sizes of french presses are most popular and do you offer second a second steep? Beth said:

I agree with all everyone has said. We are opening our espresso & tea bar come Monday, but have tested in front of focus groups (well mainly women and spouses from my Curves workout group - much cheaper than hiring a marketing firm) in selecting from over 50 teas. We narrowed down to 24. We display them in glass jars and brew to order as we would our coffees (pot, french press, infused in cup).

One neat innovation is the to-go filter lids that are emerging as a quick way to allow the in-store brew time experience of loose leaf with the convenience of a tea bag. Plus most of our coffee/tea shops in the area haven't begun to use the newer lids. So there was a little of "I've never seen that before" to make us unique.

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