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SUBSCRIBE TO THE TEA HOUSE TIMES
June, 2007 The Tea House Times
Click here for a pdf version - 19 pages
World Tea Expo 2007 June 9-11, 2007, World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia A Special Report prepared by Gail Gastelu, aka Lady Gayle, Publisher, The Tea House Times www.theteahousetimes.com www.worldteaexpo.com The next World Tea Expo is May 30-June 1 back in Las Vegas at a new location: Mandalay Bay
For those who are unfamiliar, we at The Tea House Times pride ourselves in connecting tea room owners, tea business owners, and consumers in every way possible. We do this through our publication, website, visiting shops, walking trade shows, exhibiting, and connecting and networking with people in the tea industry whenever possible. The following will provide a very thorough overview of the 2007 World Tea Expo. The expo has grown tremendously, so if you were there but you are not mentioned here it is simply because our legs could not take us a step further, but we welcome you to contact us at any time (see message below this report about sending samples for product reviews). In addition to this report, we will also be preparing some helpful tips geared separately towards exhibitors and expo attendees – some helpful advice in making the most of your time and money at any trade show.
First and foremost – Congratulations to WTE President, George Jage, and staff for presenting another First Class – World Tea Expo. I am very proud to be a part of it. Is it worth exhibiting? Is it worth attending? Without question, yes to both.
To begin, let’s visit some of the great seminars offered over 3 days at World Tea Expo. I missed a few the first day, however, there is a lot to tell. I’ve added a lot of my own experience, comments, and helpful advice to several of the class summaries below. It is rather long. I suggest you print this out, get a pot of tea, and go relax and enjoy! Click here for a pdf version - 19 pages
SEMINARS (in no particular order) Check the World Tea Expo website to see if you can purchase recordings of seminars. Might be available for attendees only.
Creative Collaborations: Join Forces to Boost Sales ~ Presented by Rona Tison, ITO EN, New York www.itoen.com This is a good topic. Time and again I do not see businesses taking an opportunity to collaborate with one another. There are so many directions to go and Collaboration won’t add anything to your marketing costs, but will definitely add something to your sales figures. First Rona defined Creative and Collaborate: To creatively show use of your imagination through new ideas, resourcefulness, and imaginative use of limited resources and to collaborate by working together with others in order to achieve something. Some mistakenly feel that collaboration is like working with the enemy or competition-not the most positive approach. Think differently – create opportunities to maximize sales, excitement, expand customer base, and increase recognition and awareness for both of your products and/or services. Collaborate through common connections with products, events, relations with people, and services. Think products that complement each other and market together – share costs. Think about people who are already well known to pair your products with and create ties for product acceptance. Think outside the box of your normal customer base and consider other potential collaborations through local community and Chamber of Commerce, spas, event planners, museums, exhibits, and restaurants and other shops. Here is a good example from Lady Gayle: I recently walked a busy shopping street with a friend. In the window of one of the shops it showed a fabulous blouse and we wanted to go inside the shop – we opened the door to find a completely different type of business, not a glamorous clothing shop as we expected. Then we realized the blouse had a little sign on it that referred us to a shop several blocks away, but close enough to visit. Think about it. This collaboration brought the shop owner who couldn’t afford to be located in the best area of town, quite a lot of business. That is a creative collaboration! Try product samplings in businesses other than your own, get the local florist to use YOUR tea in their gift baskets. Think of some speaking opportunities related to your product or service. Offer events in your own business and elsewhere for cross promotion. Further, cross merchandise at trade shows – referring business to one another’s booths by using a sample product with a label directing to each other’s booth number. As Rona said, Connect with people to inspire loyalty, Respect your creative instincts, Be pure in your partnerships, and Maintain a sense of calm as you boost your sales.
Fill the Void: Tea Events to Boost Your Food and Beverage Business ~ Presented by Jeffrey Hattrick, The Ritz Carlton Phoenix – Jeffrey’s Tea International First of all, these classes are so great for connecting faces to names. It was cool to see Jeffrey Hattrick since you hear so much about him. Jeffrey asks, “What are you doing between lunch and dinner service? ….perhaps a bit of tea. Now, this applies well to a hotel serving tea or a restaurant to incorporate tea, but for the tea room owner who only serves tea, I also ask a similar question, What are you doing between or in addition to your tea seatings? What are you doing to boost sales? Jeffrey gives 3 keys to success: Planning, Marketing (most important), and Execution. This class was about using events to boost your business – to use the uniqueness of tea time and the grace and elegance to create something special and different. Don’t think only of whether the event will be immediately profitable to you, think of the ways that your event will return business to you also in the long run. Consider this when deciding what to charge and also consider the expected clientele, the market you are attracting, and what exactly you will be doing at the event. For charity events, you can charge a little more since it is always expected that a portion of the cost will be going directly to the charity – and people are willing to pay more in that instance. Marketing your event is the most important because if people don’t know about it, how can they attend? Use press releases to your advantage. Don’t know how to do that? Look it up on the internet. Don’t put it off – it is critical to your success. Promote your event locally or nationally depending upon who you are expecting to attract and only in the appropriate, applicable local and tea appropriate publications (such as The Tea House Times :-) As far as execution is concerned, you must enliven all the senses and offer great service. If you are serving Afternoon Tea, be sure it is done correctly and true to the tradition (learn how to do it right at World Tea Expo!). If you are thinking outside the box, you will incorporate tea into some unique settings such as happy hour and tea drinks, trendy outlets, and other creative ideas for joining tea service with events that will positively, elegantly work well together. Think about your venue and what will really work with your space. Some theme ideas include pairings with chocolate, cheese, desserts, manicures, masquerades, learning experiences, etc. Use your imagination and create something in your own unique style that will wow your customers and all 5 senses!
Tea & Dessert Pairing ~ Presented by Pearl Dexter, Tea A Magazine www.teamag.com Nice job, Pearl! Originally I thought this and the other pairing classes would just be informative ideas, but to my surprise it was also a sampling! Ah, the joy. Now, I was in and out of a lot of classes for only a few minutes, so I only got to try one of the desserts at this one, but I asked my assistant to stay for this one and she was overjoyed! I just love how this class was presented. Five different desserts were paired with different teas for a taste explosion. It was so wonderful and what a great idea to run this yourself as one of those unique event ideas to host at your business or the local bakery for collaboration. Pearl created a sampling sheet with a spot designated on the sheet for each dessert and explanation of teas. Teas were provided by Simpson & Vail and Glendale Tea Estate and Desserts provided by Baker’s Man, Inc. All fabulous!!! The pairings were as follows: INDIA NILGIRI OP Single Estate (Glendale) with Pecan Diamonds and Earl Grey Chocolate Decadence Cake ~ JAPAN SENCHA with White Chocolate Raspberry Tart ~ BANGLADESH GOLDEN TIPPY Single Estate (Kazi & Kazi) with Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti ~ TAIWAN OOLONG Tung Ting with Key Lime Tart. This class could be offered every year with an endless variety of pairings and it is a very lovely break from the busy-ness of the expo. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this class. www.bakersman.com
How to Conduct a Successful Tea Tasting ~Presented by Anupa Mueller, Eco Prima Inc. www.ecoprimatea.com The objective of hosting a tea tasting is to educate customers, generate revenue, increase product awareness, add customers, and to do something fun to become known for being a pleasant destination and full service provider. To formally offer a tasting, you should have the proper tea tasting sets (research 3 pc cupping sets) , a variety of teas, offer guidance on sampling along with background information on the teas and be able to answer questions and provide customers an option to buy. Limit your tasting to 10 teas offered in pairs. Use themes. Contrast and compare. At your sampling, keep in mind that tasting is more than tasting, it is appearance, nose, color, taste. Remember to enliven all 5 senses! Educate yourself before hosting a tasting. Be prepared to discuss leaf style (color, tippy, wiry, twisted, rolled), distinct aromas and descriptions, colors/shades of infusions, and taste (astringent, pungent, floral, mellow, smokey, etc.). Know and share the following about your teas: origin, history, how it’s made, what season it is picked, distinctive qualities, steeping and storage tips, and anything else interesting you care to share. Don’t forget to offer an opportunity for tasters to buy. Have samples prepared and tea ready to sell. Up-sell with accessories. Announce future events. Allow time to network. Offer your tasting buffet style or seated at tables. To use cupping sets: measure tea into cupping sets before hand. Prepare to show the dry leaf and later the infused leaf. Label all teas. Be sure to have enough sampling cups on hand. Offer hand outs. Begin the sampling. Guide your discussion, serve some food, sample teas, cleanse palate, move on to the next set and so on. Some specific and varied samplings may be hosted so you may offer several different event dates ongoing: Basic sampling, a certain tea category, levels of knowledge, organic teas, fair trade teas, teas by region/origin, by theme, by season. The ideas are pretty endless. Just be prepared and be sure your staff is equally prepared. Whenever making any kind of presentation BE YOURSELF and relax people will love you. Be informative. Be hospitable. Have fun!
Developing a Marketing Plan ~Presented by Chris Houchens, Shotgun Concepts www.shotgunconcepts.com Do you know what marketing is? Most new business owners mistake marketing as the same thing as sales while it is really the most important thing to CREATE sales. Marketing is a way to communicate a consistent message to your intended audience. It is not just advertising – it is creating brand recognition and awareness for your product or service. It is not just sales. It is everything you do to get people to notice you, recognize you, and want to look for you time and again. Chris says that great marketing begins with the Product – driven by the Message – and nurtured by the Relationship. Create a marketing plan to guide you, your staff, and your customers. Your plan should define overall marketing costs and the value of your marketing. It defines your mission and provides a focus and written game plan. Before you plan, consider where you are and where you want to be. Consider your strengths, weaknesses, possible opportunities and possible threats. Get input! From everyone – include your staff, customers, vendors, media, etc. Research and set your plan in motion to include your specific target market, branding who you are, your budget, where and how to get to where you want to go, and set a timetable along with strategies and actions purposely laid out. Research, analyze, and know your market – keep current with demographics, needs, and trends (learn this anew every year at World Tea Expo). Analyze your competition and consider other external issues and your environment. Be sure you and your staff are clear on all products, services you offer. Track your return on investment (ROI) in your past marketing strategies and track current and new strategies for an evolving marketing plan. Chris recommends this: Always BUY advertising. Never be SOLD advertising. Salespeople are NOT Marketing Consultants. Set a budget based on a minimum of 3-5% of forecasted sales. Strategize on marketing to your target market, positioning your brand. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Some will love you, others won’t. You will learn who listens – talk to them – market to them! Once you have learned your target market you must also learn their mindset and predict future changes and adaptability. Branding is your single most valuable asset. Your brand is how others see you, not who you think you are. How others perceive you is reality. Consider these ways to market your business: news and magazine articles and advertising, radio, television, billboards, directories (like the directory in The Tea House Times & our website), web promotions and affiliations and emails, direct mail campaigns (like through The Tea House Times mailing list!). Don’t forget about news releases. Consistency in marketing is very important. Don’t try something once. Try it at least 3 times in 3 different ways. Find a way to communicate with your customers through conversational marketing and advertising in a way that evokes a connection with them not a sales pitch. Don’t forget about press kits (learn how to create one). Use them at trade shows and anytime press contacts you or you contact them. This class was very comprehensive and loaded with ideas you might never have considered for marketing. This and other classes like it are very important every year. Learn from others and share your experiences as well. Don’t forget that everything you give out from your business card to your brochures, catalogs, promotions and cross promotions will market you – be sure it sends a positive message. Remember what Chris said, “great marketing begins with the Product – driven by the Message – and nurtured by the Relationship.”
Tea and Chocolate Pairing ~Presented by Pearl Dexter, Tea A Magazine www.teamag.com Another great class with Pearl. Presented similarly to the dessert pairing as mentioned previously. This, too, was well thought out, organized onto a sheet to present all chocolates and tea descriptions. Fabulous! Pearl began with a description of Cacao and varieties followed by a description of tea, regions, and varieties. Pearl’s method of comparisons were through feelings of friendship and love. Through friendship the tastings were a fusion pairing same aromas. Through love the tastings were opposites pairing. By using your senses, this pairing of tea and chocolates was sheer bliss. Pairings were as follows: THE SAN FRANCISCO CHOCOLATE FACTORY & INDIAN-NILGIRI Single Estate (Glendale Silver Tips) 31% white chocolate, and 72% dark chocolate ~ THE SAN FRANCISCO CHOCLATE FACTORY & INDIAN-NILGIRI Single Estate (Wellbeck Organic) with 38% milk chocolate and 55% dark chocolate ~ BERKSHIRE BARK CHOCOLATE – DARK CHOCOLATE & INDIAN ASSAM ~ TORN RANCH – Oolong Tea Milk Chocolate Truffle & TAIWANESE OOLONG FANCY FORMOSA ~ TORN RANCH Jasmine Green Tea Milk Chocolate Truffle & BOLIVIAN JASMINE GREEN ~ TORN RANCH Orange Blossom Tea Milk Chocolate & SRI LANKAN Single Estate (Kenilworth). Experiment, form a tasting club, hold tastings in your shop or collaborate with a chocolate shop. This class also provided tea tasting terms and chocolate tasting terms. I hope this is done again next year!
Super Trends: What’s New & What’s Next www.mintel.com ~Presented by Brian Keating, Allegro Coffee & Lynn Dornblaser, Mintel Custom Solutions/ Mintel Int’l Group Ltd. A trend class is a must every year at World Tea Expo. The opening night keynote speaker, Phil Lempert, had already provided some very worthy insight into food and beverage trends, and this class further connected Global Trends in Tea – And their connection to overall food and beverage trends. Brian offered the following top super trends: Flavor ~ Analytical ~ Fun Factor ~ Easy to Read/Open/Use ~ Niche ~ and also Social Ethics. This is all pretty self explanatory. Flavor (remember those senses! & variety is the spice of life!) ~ Analytical (analysis of trends and sales) ~ Fun (how are you peaking the interest of your customers?) ~ Easy to read/open use (consider the aging population – the one’s who are really interested in the health aspect of your products – is your tea bag too hard to tear open? Etc.) ~ Niche (do something no one else does. Consider your demographic. Create your own style. Stand out from others – don’t blend in) ~ Social Ethics (people want organic, certified organic, fair trade, Transfair, etc). Think of the aging baby boomers and the older tea consumer. Key trends focus on Health & Wellness, Convenience, and Flavor. Food and beverage trends focus on Omega-3 for mental function and heart health, antioxidants, foods free from allergens or glutens etc., end of fad diets, ethics and fair trade, eco friendly products, aging consumers, the forgotten teen demographic, simplicity in package and function and advances in technology and advances to improve functionality. This class goes on to provide solid numbers proving record levels of growth in food and beverage categories, tea sales, tea consumption, household preferences, frequency of consumption, health and wellness, consumer interest levels, tea claims, convenience factors, consumer flavor preferences, global and regional introductions and some thoughts for the future. Basically it IS a very good time for tea. Consumers are much more aware and more knowledgeable than ever before about the differences in teas and the health benefits. Tea’s biggest competition is WATER! RTD (ready to drink) bottled teas have some competition and need to find varieties to compete. Use the opportunity to promote the health qualities in teas. Strike a balance between simplicity and upper scale. Help consumers create the experience!
Retail Location & Leasing Strageties ~Presented by Andrew Hetzel, Cafemakers, LLC www.cafemakers.com Whew! A great class if you are not yet situated and/or looking for a new home for your business. Things you would never think of on your own without experience. This is one of those things that you need to talk to as many experienced people as possible and learn from their mistakes before you make the same ones. Listen. Your retail location will determine your success. Research and know where you want to be and why - create a profile of the location. Go where the money is and the most convenient place for customers. Does your image fit that of the geographic location or the site itself? Consider the population and cost and availability of locations. Analyze your competitor’s trading areas. Consider availability of labor. Think of the size needed for your operation. Don’t forget – everything is negotiable. Remain positive. Set boundaries. Use an experienced real estate attorney. For rent, choose a term to match your business plan. This class goes on to discuss various clauses in agreements to benefit you and more clearly set boundaries and benefits between you and the landlord. Ask your attorney about ways to protect yourself through questionable rise and fall of the economy, a new shopping center that may not fill up (have a way out). Don’t forget to consider protections against suits, fees, landlord bankruptcy, damage clauses. Incorporate notice provisions. You cannot succeed in a bad location. Use professionals and their experiences esp. since they are not emotionally attached and will help you get the best deal based on reality not emotions or because you really love a pretty window in the place. Loads of great insight and helpful advice.
Powerful Marketing with Direct Mail ~Presented by Beth M. Johnston, Teas Etc. Inc. www.teasetc.com Email marketing positively aids direct mail response rates – use it as followup with regular customers. Direct Mail works because it is versatile – variety of uses, visual – immediate, high impact, and valuable – cost effective and generates profits. Use direct mail to promote events, products, reminders, thank you’s announcements, generate sales, provide coupons, include inserts. Early planning is critical to success as well as careful customer targeting for desired results. Generate and keep a file of ideas. Track what works and what doesn’t. Successful designs for direct mail pieces include appropriate themes, size, color and graphics, and use of space (don’t forget backs of flyers and postcards). Consider your design while considering the method of delivery. What to include? Don’t forget the 5 Ws. Headlines are captivating. Accentuate features rather than benefits. Keep it short, sweet, easy to read. Clearly provide contact information and a call to action. Be sure to point out added value and an offer that cannot be refused. After you create your mail piece, sleep on it and check it over with a fresh mind the following day. Proofread thoroughly, let others check it and comment on it as well. Plan ahead to allow for postal delays. When do you want your mail piece to arrive? When deciding to print yourself or send it out to a professional, remember you need to present a professional, polished image, make it pop! Also, consider quality, quantity, and time. A professional printing service can usually turn around a very high quality product in little time and sometimes double what you need for about the same price (making it something you can mail out twice for the price of one!). What about your mailing list? Build one of your own, hire a service, search for free lists, work with media. Maintain your list and keep it up to date in a formal database, not scattered on slips of paper. Consider geographic location of contacts and demographics. Join organizations and access member lists. Team up with other companies and do a shared email blast or mailing. Participate in cooperative direct mailings (such as with The Tea House Times to tea room owners throughout the US). Don’t forget to add media contacts to your mailing lists. Mail to customers AND media. What about the actual mailing? Stuffing envelopes, etc.? Pros: immediate, flexible. Cons: Time consuming, complicated, inefficient, costly. Pros of using a mailing service: the list is guaranteed clean, delivery is efficient, and it looks professional. Cons? Sometimes the quantity of purchased mailing lists are variable or not always directly impacting the select group you need. Some lists are actually too diverse. Also, scheduling may not fit with your timing. How to close the sale? Set a timeline in your mail piece for follow-up. Be sure your staff is ready and pre-informed. Consider other distribution possibilities. Tracking your success is very important. Record results. Track the expense of the mailing and return on investment. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Use a tracking method such as a reference code on the mail piece that people need to use when calling or placing an order, etc. Consider all expenses: list acquisition, time to build a list, printing, proofs, data processing, postage, shipping, man hours. Overall to calculate your ROI, Development + Production costs = Total Campaign Costs. Consider sales, response rates, and costs for Return on Investment.
Tea and Cheese Pairing ~Presented by Mim Enck, President, The East Indies Company mstea@paonline.com Another great, really great, fun presentation. “Cheese’s robust and varied flavors have made it an ideal companion to pair with fine wines. It also makes an ideal companion for fine tea!” This class focused on components and characteristics of specific cheeses and what teas pair well and why. A great tool for bringing the wine crowd and new business into your tea room! Pairings were as follows: Organic China Green tea with Asiago Pressiato cheese ~ Organic Darjeeling “Makaibari” with Brie “Presidente” ~ Kenya Estate with White Stilton with Apricot Pieces ~ Assam “Satrupa” with Honey Goat ~ Lapsang Souchong with Irish Cheddar with Irish Whiskey. For those unfamiliar with Lapsang Souchong, our taster described it as bringing a smoky, earthy flavor to the food. It smells awful like the inside of a fireplace, but doesn’t taste as bad. Good idea to use teas to marinate or as part of a rub on meats. Between tastings, little white wafers were used as palate cleansers. A wonderful experience and again, hopeful these tastings and pairings remain class selections next year. Oh – and in case you were going to ask, like someone in attendance did – where in the world do you get these fancy cheeses? – Believe it or not - Costco!
Build Skills and Confidence: Public Speaking for Entrepreneurs www.coachlisab.com ~Presented by Lisa Braithwaite, Public Speaker and Presentation Skills Coach Are you nervous about speaking? You can learn to be confident in any situation, presentation, speaking engagement. Just be yourself! Stop trying to live up to some idea of what you think a speaker should be. You will shine if you let yourself shine through. Relax and have fun with it. Organize your presentation content, your objectives, and some notes to trigger your thought process. Don’t write it all down in notes, use the notes to jog your memory and stay on task. Learn about your audience, the venue, equipment to be used, number of people expected, and what they already know or will need to learn in advance. It really helps to see the room you will be presenting in, ahead of time to help visualize yourself presenting. Be sure to test all technology and have a backup plan. Learn to use visuals effectively. Bring flip charts or overhead projectors as backup. Your physical presence will impact how the audience receives you. Use eye contact and make a friend in the room – someone you feel comfortable making contact with. Use your voice confidently, evenly paced, not too fast, use a varying pitch, tone and volume to add interest. Don’t worry so much about using the word um or uh. It is pretty natural and actually gives the audience a chance to catch up with notes etc. But, if used too often, they will think you are unprepared. Make natural body movements. Use everyday hand gestures. Don’t stand behind the lectern – the people up front won’t even see your hand gestures. Better to be out from behind it so you can look confident and comfortable. Don’t fidget, move with purpose – don’t pace. Be aware of dangly, noisy jewelry – don’t wear it or it will be distracting to you and the audience. Pauses or stopping to drink a sip of water are natural and even appreciated for the audience to have a chance to understand and take everything in, to process and transition to the next part of your presentation. Use water to incorporate a pause, besides you might actually need it to soothe your throat. If you are fearful, use the fear to motivate you to overcome it. Fear is natural protection. Use the adrenaline to propel you. If you are pumped up, you will have a great presentation, if not, you will likely be pretty dull. Use the excitement. Channel your fear into positive energy. Prior to your presentation use relaxation techniques, such as breathing. Visualize a successful presentation. Remember, the audience wants you to succeed, they want to enjoy the presentation as much as you want to provide it. Don’t think they are thinking bad thoughts, visualize positive thoughts. Interact with the audience and encourage participation. Make the audience part of the team, reverse the focus to them. Practice, eye contact, voice and speed – slow down if necessary, build skills one at a time. Don’t let your fear of public speaking hold you back from progressing in your career. Find your voice and use it! – A great class – something all business owners must learn to do. Must!
2007 Tea Trends: The World, Your Customers, & Your Business ~Presented by Keynote Speaker, Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru® Go to www.supermarketguru.com to download the presentation! For more than 25 years, Philip Lempert, an expert analyst on consumer behavior, the Baby Boom Generation, marketing trends, new products and the changing retail landscape, has identified and explained impending trends to consumers and some of the most prestigious companies worldwide. He is known as The Supermarket Guru®, seen on the Today show and heard weekly on radio. The presentation held on the first night of the expo with Phil was great, entertaining, fun, and informative. Here are a few of the facts presented: 91% of households drinking tea use teabags, 40% loose tea. Why do they drink it? Top answers: Taste, enjoyment, and flavor. What beverages are best for health? Water ranked #1 at 31% with tea second at 24% followed by milk 21%, then orange juice 21% and coffee at the bottom 2%. Household consumptions: Carbonated beverages 96%, Tea 74%, Coffee 73% Best ways to promote tea – No artificial ingredients, No artificial sweeteners. People are more concerned with nutrition and like words like natural and organic – these attract attention. Your business needs to stand for something and deliver VALUE. What is the best way to promote your products? Reach out to people. Relate to people. Find ways to talk to the consumer through your advertising and by reaching out to the community. Make things more personal. Think about age. Over 40-50-60 want to feel younger, healthier. Older people want good HEALTH. This is the largest buying group. Educate – Empower – Celebrate.
EXHIBITORS (In no particular order - kind of :-)
Now on to exhibitors. I visited as many as possible (while also attending to my own customers at our booth) and tried to seek out new products, new exhibitors and/or familiar faces with something new. Here it goes:
The Tea House Times – www.theteahousetimes.com ~ Booth #130 It only seems right that we should go first, since we’ve worked so hard to bring you this report. Our booth was busier than ever. In all the networking that we do connecting businesses and products and consumers, we are pretty on top of the trends. First & Foremost our publication – The Tea House Times – includes a NEW directory inside each issue listing all businesses who carry our publication to offer to their customers either for sale or complimentary to regulars. Bulk subscriptions also include a comprehensive directory listing at our website including up to 3 current events listed & updated throughout the year. NEW this year – we are selling die-cut teapot and teacup shaped gift bags – incredibly beautiful and useful. Also new, tea party favors – tiny boxes shaped like handbags or chests in several color choices (tied with our satin ribbons with tea imprint these become “Tea Bags” and “Tea Chests”) – wildly popular and great as a give away for any event, for any business. Put your tea product inside the favors or use chocolates or nuts or whatever you want. We used American Classic Tea and a little slip of paper with information about our upcoming tour featuring Charleston Tea Plantation. We gave these out free to all who made a purchase and this helped to promote our new product and our 2007 tour and a collaborative promotion of Charleston Tea Plantation and American Classic Tea as well! Almost forgot – we are publishing a “Best Afternoon Tea Recipes” cookbook and it will be ready in a few weeks! - Also get Victorian House Scones from us! It was wonderful to meet customers and newcomers at our booth and we look forward to seeing everyone again very soon. See note at bottom about sending samples for product reviews or for joining in one of our direct mailings to tea room owners every 2 months.
World Tea Expo – www.worldteaexpo.com The expo has really grown – can you tell by this 19 page report? (last year it was 9 pages, I think). Newly introduced this year – a New Products Showcase unveiling over 200 new products – a very nice way the expo folks are thanking exhibitors. The glass display cases were fabulously full of great new products. The 2007 expo featured over 300 exhibitors from all over the world gathering tea growers, teapot makers, and tea experts all in one place. Other highlights: Cooking with Tea Demonstrations, Annual Iced Tea Shake-Off, Tea for Health, Tea Ceremonies, Tea Tastings, Tea Pairings, and Educational Seminars and last but absolutely not least – networking with passionate entrepreneurs leveraging the trend in tea with innovative products and offerings. The expo has grown from under 100 booths in March 2003 to over 300 booths in 2007. Comparatively, booth space has grown from about 7,000 square feet to approx. 33,000 square feet. And attendance? It too has grown from 1,000 attendees in 2003 to 5,000 attendees in 2007. After speaking with many attendees and exhibitors before, during and after the show, I can tell you there was a real air of excitement and anticipation and yet a - can’t – put – your – finger – on – it - feeling that something was different. Well it is different. It is exploding with passionate entrepreneurs both exhibiting and visiting. We all have a common bond of coming to the tea industry for a change in our lives to something very positive and heart warming. The growth is a little scary to some, but rest assured that growth is good and if you set your pace, pay attention to trends, mingle with your customers, network, ask questions, share stories, expect growth and go for it, you can keep up and exceed your own expectations. YOU can make it happen. Just the facts, ma’am? Okay, here are the numbers – In 2004 over 50 billion servings of tea (about 2.25 billion gallons) were consumed in the US and 87% of all tea consumed in the US is black-12.5% is green-the rest is Oolong (according to the Tea Association of the USA). The tea market is worth $6.8 billion in the US and is projected to reach $10 billion by 2010 (according to Sage Group Int’l Specialty Tea is Hot Report). About 50% of Americans drink tea daily with 85% drinking iced tea. The next World Tea Expo is May 30-June 1 back in Las Vegas at a new location: Mandalay Bay
Charleston Tea Plantation – www.charlestonteaplantation.com Home of American Classic Tea and several new flavored teas including: Charleston Breakfast, Plantation Peach, 100% First Flush, Rockville Raspberry, and Governor Grey. It was great for attendees to meet CTP partner William Barclay Hall and those in attendance really enjoyed seeing the tea plant displayed at the booth as well. Everyone wants a piece of it! A trip to the Plantation is a must and a great deal of fun. Check out their website for information about the First Flush Celebration each May and year round tours of the facility, grounds, and gift shoppe. A trip to the CTP is a heartwarming experience for everyone who enjoys tea. (Come along with The Tea House Times on our 2007 Tour featuring CTP July 29-Aug 3. See our website for details: www.theteahousetimes.com/tea_tour.htm A few spots left. )
The San Francisco Chocolate Factory – www.sfchocolate.com Tea Lover’s Chocolates come in great 3.5 oz tins. Choices are 31% Cocoa best paired with Green Teas (white chocolate), 38% Cocoa best paired with Chai Teas (milk chocolate), 55% Cocoa best paired with Black Teas (dark chocolate) or a gift set 3 pack. The chocolates are not infused with tea, rather packaged nicely in tins with notations of best tea pairings. Watch for a product review in The Tea House Times.
Androgiennei – www.androgiennei.com Luxury body care products handmade with natural plant oils, botanicals, and essential oils. Several wonderful products including Java blends or Tea blends – infused into soaps, foot balms, body butter and more. The aroma escaping my bag right now is intoxicating. Can’t wait to try these. Watch for a product review in The Tea House Times.
Tea Association of the USA, Tea Council of the USA, Specialty Tea Institute www.teausa.org If you have been wondering if it is worth becoming a member or taking certification classes. I’d have to say yes. Let’s face it – Americans want to know who you are, what you do, what your experience is, and what makes you an expert? So, yes, certification is important and classifies you as someone who cares about what you are doing and has taken it seriously enough to be a team player in your industry. That’s the value in it. Most people come to the tea industry from an entirely different field and have very strong experience in some aspect of being able to run a business effectively – this adds to that and helps the public to see you as a real pro in the know.
Berkshire Bark Chocolate – www.berkshirebark.com What a wonderful selection of chocolate barks! Neatly packaged with very unique combinations of chunks, shall we say – nuts – fruits – flavors. One of these was used in the tea and chocolate pairing seminar. They are delicious. A high quality chocolate such as this will not compete with the teas you are pairing the chocolates with – they will complement one another. Watch for a review in The Tea House Times.
I was asked why people keep asking for tea infused chocolates. Well, tea seems to be added to everything these days and somehow makes a product seem superior, more healthy, etc. People are using the health concept to increase sales.
Marmalady’s – www.marmaladys.com Wonderful jams & jellies with tea! We have reviewed these before, but Marilyn keeps expanding her offerings. Definitely worth checking out. “Tea Products that make the heart sing.” Also, 100% cotton tea cozies with polyester thermal inside to hold heat for up to 2 hours. Machine washable and very nice.
A Tea Cup Dropped – www.ateacupdropped.com Chinese loose leaf tea, teaware and looseleaf tea in bags. Featuring high quality Taiwanese oolongs, and the best in greens and white teas from China.
Okay, at this point, this report is over 11 pages long and I’m sure it is getting tiring to read, so I’m going to TRY to speed it up with a quick description of booths I did visit that you may not already know about. Visit the World Tea Expo website to see exhibitor profiles or visit websites for more details.
Selby Soft – www.selbysoft.com POS System for easy order taking, inventory control, retail, marketing, eliminates mistakes, keep employee hours, etc. Everything set up electronically to make your business run smoothly! Pretty impressive.
Petit Tea – www.petittea.com Tea sticks. The luxury of premium teas in your time pressed lifestyle. The elegant, modern alternative to tea bags. Disposable tea sticks come factory filled with quality premium loose leaf teas sourced from the world’s best tea gardens and blenders. Eight choices currently available with an additional 12 flavors under development: Chamomile, Chocolate-Mint, Earl Grey Supreme, English Breakfast, Hot Cinnamon Spice, Jasmine Green Tea, Sencha Green, Passion Fruit.
Dunoon Ceramics Ltd – www.dunoonmugs.co.uk Beautiful, stunning selection of mugs both sturdy and delicate and pretty. Made of the finest clays and hand crafted in Staffordshire, England from Bone China and Stoneware. Logos or custom decorations are a specialty.
A Wish Come True – www.awishcometrue.com Dance and Dreamy Dress-up costumes for kids. I really liked seeing this booth at the expo. Check out their fabulous, beautiful, high quality selection of fine dress up attire and costume choices too.
There is definitely a trend towards including children at tea. Finding a safe, nurturing environment for children’s activities is something parents are seeking to help re-ground the kids, teach them some manners and social skills. A little imaginative play and dress up and tea parties with dress up both at home and inside tea rooms will likely become much more popular as society demands more quality family time and positive influences on children.
Melville Candy Corporation – www.melvillecandycompany.com Tie this in to the idea above. Welcome the kids! Melville has gourmet custom shaped lollipops in addition to their great honey tea spoons, caramel spoons. All lollipops are hand made, hand packed and hand inspected before shipping. 35 year old family operated business.
Royaltea Cozies – www.royalteacozies.com Very popular logo cozies. Cozies made of silks, brocades, linens. Double insulated to keep your tea hot for hours and lined to help hide tea stains. NEW The Crumpets – Ragdoll Tea Cozies - ragdolls intended for little girls but now for big girls too. These will sell well as dolls, but they are actually tea cozies! Precious! All high quality merchandise. I hear the Grand Floridian Resort in Florida is using and selling their logo tea cozies like hot cakes!
The Tea House – www.theteahouse.com We finally meet. Their name is so close to the name of our publication, it was great to finally make contact. Importers, blenders, purveyors of the World’s Finest Teas and Accessories. Offering several hundred exceptional teas ranging from limited production Darjeelings and Assams, exclusive oolongs, rare yellow and white teas, specially made China black teas, tribute green teas and aromatic tisanes. Custom blending avail.
Earlene Grey, LLC – www.earlenegrey.com Earlene, a patron of fine teas, writes of love, life, men and more. Her latest book: Musings with a Cuppa – The Poetry of Tea is a unique hardbound collection of original tea poetry consisting of 82 poems all with a lighthearted reference to tea. Fabulous!
Carnelian Rose Tea Company – www.carnelianrosetea.com Over 100 teas and tisanes, loose leaf, for retail and wholesale. Well known for Baby Teas brand, Carnelian Rose can help you create your own signature blend. Also – to help your tea business flourish – check out their training: How to Operate a Tea Business for Fun and Profit. See also www.teaadvice.com and www.babyteas.com
Dee Sharp Jewelry Design – www.deejewelry.com Tons of jewelry. Did I say tons of jewelry? Every theme you can imagine. But, loads of tea favorites too. Check out the ring. It is a must have. It wraps around the back of your finger and meets in the front with a teacup on one side and a teapot on the other with a little open space. Also, eyeglass holders, art and tea quotes, spoon rings and much more.
Copper Beech Publishing – www.copperbeechpublishing.co.uk Specializing in vintage style gift books that include recipes, romance, afternoon tea, good manners, friendship, social niceties. Perfect little gifts, a quick read, really all very delightful. We have reviewed several of their books and they are great sellers and fit in beautifully with all tea rooms.
Cottage Paper – www.cottagepaper.com Handmade in the USA paper decorations, greeting cards, and other paper items. Scrapbooking paper designs. Tea Party themed place cards, ornaments, etc. Delightful antique images, Victorian Tea themes. All very well suited to tea room customers.
Beryl Peters Designs – www.victorian-imagery.com/design.html Specializing in Victorian and vintage designs to license. Also creates custom made designs to suit your needs. Beautiful Afternoon Tea and Tea Time note cards. Nostalgic themed tea note cards and unique 3D hand crafted cards depicting the social aspects of tea drinking. All very, very nice. Gotta have some!
Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired – www.clovernook.org Biodegradable/compostable paper hot cups AND Braille/Large Print Menus made by Clovernook’s skilled employees. One of the Top 3 Braille Printers in the US. They can help you increase the accessibility of your business to persons who are blind/visually impaired. A very impressive operation, check them out!
Coastline Imports – www.coastlinetabletop.com Looking through the show guide to confirm some information on the people I did actually meet, I just tripped over a listing for someone I missed. Okay, I cannot believe I missed their booth! Coastline is one of our best advertisers and carries a very high quality and diverse line of ceramicware tabletop and dinnerware in the houseware and giftware markets. We’ve met before at the NY Gift Fair, so it is too bad I missed their booth, but it is definitely worth a visit to their website! Sorry I missed you. Tea Room owners on our mailing list will remember receiving their catalog in our direct mail piece just a few weeks ago. Nice stuff! Great prices too.
Okay I’m trying to keep this brief, I see we are at 13 pages now. Oh well, it is worth it, isn’t it? Sip some more tea now or take a break and come back soon. Taking a sip of water – purposeful break :-) – okay now I’ll keep on jabbering away.
Shiny Stuff – www.teapotjewelry.com A leader in teapot jewelry for over 13 years. What’s new? Matching sets where you may have a teapot on the necklace but the earrings are not actually exactly the same – rather than pots they are matching beads. Pretty sets. Also new, rare Venetian beads and Swarovski crystals – rare – not made in over 50 years. Great, unique, beautiful stuff.
Tea District – www.teadistrict.com Importer of specialty tea in green, black, red, and herbal infusions. Lots of great flavored teas. Uniquely packaged in round tea bags and consumer friendly and catchy packaging.
Chartreuse – www.chartreuseltd.com We have reviewed these products in The Tea House Times. They have a very unique/unusual selection of herbal tisanes – none contain tea leaves. Great tasting with added health benefits.
Keiko – www.keiko-tea.us I am sitting here with Keiko’s press kit. Inside I find a packet with a sample of genuine Japanese Shaded Green Tea and a sampling of their new Green Chocolate – Green Kiss. Oh my – opening the square of chocolate I find it is GREEN with flecks that must be bits of tea. Wow, it is good – finger licking good. (Green Tea powder is combined with the highest quality chocolate. The result is a beautiful celadon-colored chocolate with an unforgettable taste) I see they have also introduced a new Matcha Master – espresso-style Tea Machine. Looks great, but I didn’t get there to see it. Check it out on their website. Okay – tasted the green tea, its quite good. And if you like greens you will really love the chocolate too. Yum. It is great to try teas from different regions. Japanese green teas are wonderful.
Squisito – www.Squisito-La.com Fabulously fresh and really great confectionery delicacies such as glazed dried fruits, roasted nuts, corporate packaging, and more.
Ulster Linen Co., Inc. – www.ulsterlinen.com Elegance and quality evident in their great line of table linens, cocktail napkins and fabulous, very creative, heartwarming selection of tea cozies and tea towels. They also have bed and bath linens, great for a B&B that also serves tea. A really fabulous, high quality selection – check it out!
Tea Daddy – www.teadaddytea.com Tea Daddy brings tea to you in the comfort of your own home! They will come to you to conduct a tea tasting. Check it out!
SpecialTea Products, Inc. – www.specialteaproducts.com New owner for the TEA Shirts we saw last year. A new, expanded variety of great tops and also hats. Words on t-shirts like Tease, Naughtea, Hottea, Q-Tea, Tea Lady, I ♥ Tea, Tea Lover, Queen of Tea, etc etc. All really great. Sell them at your shop. The price is right.
Bee-Pure Honey, Inc. – www.beepurehoney.com I get people asking me where to find honey products quite frequently. All your usual honey products such as the honey bear, etc. Also flavored, spiced honey. They may also be designing some honey sticks. I tasted the honey and it is yummy. My favorite thing to do with honey is to drizzle it all over a fresh croissant. Unforgettable! Very good.
Biscottea – email derekastill@aol.com No website listed in show guide. I did not get to see this booth, but I see the listing and it looks interesting – Real shortbread created with real tea for real tea lovers. Sounds good, wish I had gotten to try it.
There’s a lesson to all of us – take some time to go back through the show guide if you didn’t get to EVERY booth. It is amazing how many really great companies were exhibiting. Visit WTE website to check to see if exhibitors are still listed too.
Linen and Tea – www.linenandtea.com Creator of the Linen and Tea Journal (to record tea room visits) and The Linen and Tea Wheel (to help you make the perfect cup of tea). Unique and clever. Watch for a review in The Tea House Times.
Emma Lea Books – www.emmaleabooks.com Emma Lea’s First Tea Party is the first in a series of storybooks with tea as the connecting theme. The series is expected to include 10 books. The second book is Emma Lea’s Magic Teapot. Also available, a pattern for making a life sized doll that fits into children’s clothing – sweet idea. What did I tell you about children – this book series and doll pattern will be popular, I’m sure. Watch for a review in The Tea House Times.
Tracy Stern SalonTea – www.salontea.com Tracy introduced her new Tea Party book (reviewed and featured in the May/June 07 issue of The Tea House Times) – a fabulous book with really unique, classy, original tea party ideas. Tracy’s products include teas, bath and body products, skincare, gifts, tabletop items perfume, and more. I would consider these to be city chic, high end, quality products with beautiful/trendy packaging.
Camwrap – 800-353-9004 Celebrating their 35th Anniversary importing and distributing British goods. Teaware, White Tea fragrance, fabulous books, etc. I loved the White Tea perfume (eau de Toilette) – also available in soap, hand cream, lotion, shower cream, etc. And the books! All great small sized recipe books and all very English. Some incorporate tea time too. Definitely worth a look. Great line of products.
Bodum – www.bodumusa.com Bodum introduces new iced tea jugs and also a new double wall tea press. Real innovative designs. They look to be very convenient and user friendly. They look very elegant as well and the prices are better than I expected. Nice quality line of products.
Warmest Wishes Teapot Candle Co. – www.warmestwishescandles.com Exclusive teapot candles! These are glass teapots filled with candle wax and wicks. Wow, these are nice and smell great too. Great selection.
Yin Yang Healing Tea – www.qinway.org Yin Yang Healing Tea and Goji Vital Tea. Visit their website to better understand what it is.
Teacup Traditions – www.teacuptraditions.com Hankies, teacups, tea towels, cards, apron, linen bag, and more. All paired with beautiful sentiments. Very pretty and great for a Victorian tea room.
Teahorse LLC – www.teahorse.us Teahorse teabag clip. Both art and tool, rendered in silver, gold, stainless, and titanium, the clip elevates and submerges teabags in a variety of vessels to improve steeping and timely removal. Picture a seahorse bobbing up and down for you rather than dunking the teabags yourself. Pretty neat. Check it out.
Olympia Exquisite Giftware – www.olympiaporcelain.com Beautifully put together tea sets in pretty gift boxes with satin linings.
Reutter Porcelain – www.reutterporcelain.com Fine children’s tea services, loads of miniatures. All very, very nice.
Bromley Tea Company – www.bromleytea.com You may remember seeing Bromley teas in your local supermarket. Bromley now has a line of elegantly packaged teas, 24 tea bags per box. You can also get a display for easy dispensing of a bag at a time for convenience and quick service. Try these flavors: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Tropical China Black, Decaf Orange Pekoe, Temple of Heaven Green Tea, Decaf Green Tea, Passion Fruit Green Tea, Egyptian Chamomile, Cool Mountain Mint, Tuscan Herbal Lemon, & Sun Sweetened Raspberry. All great iced or hot. Watch for a review in The Tea House Times.
Pourtensious Lighting – www.pourtensious.com Oh My! You gotta take a look at these. Lighting created from teapots and teacups! You’ll have to have at least one for your tea room as a permanent fixture. You may or may not choose to sell these, but several tea rooms have several of the fixtures and customers fight over where to sit and come back and choose to sit under a different lamp each time. Stunning! I sure want one. They also have some very nice cards that are blank and also printable featuring some very high quality tea images.
Del-Savo Inc. – www.pino-usa.com Pino Tea Express, Tea Master, Tea Royal products. Very popular for ease of use and high quality. This is your answer to tea convenience at home or work. A double burner holds two separate pots. One large pot heats the water, the second pot has a filter for the tea. Pour hot water in, brew, remove leaves, and keep the pot on the warmer. Great price, great convenience. Love it. I’ve been getting a lot of questions – people trying to find this type of product, so be sure to check it out.
The Art of Tea Magazine – www.houdeasianart.com A preview copy of this upcoming, colorful, paperlike magazine was available. It looks nice and will put you in touch with Asian tea experiences. I say, subscribe to all tea related publications and stay on top of the trends in whatever angle they portray.
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Tea House Times too. – www.theteahousetimes.com
Tea for Two – www.teafortwo.com Tea for Two has a great selection of very well priced merchandise. Everything you need for your tea room and to sell. From teapots and serving pieces to smaller items, tongs, tea cozies, infusers, doilies, napkin rings and candles, some new items to check out are: jam spoons, Tea for one, stunning tart servers in 3 new designs plus 2 others, mini teapots, and more. Great, really nice things.
Numi Tea – www.numitea.com Numi has a very impressive selection of organic teas and some blooming teas as well. The packaging is unique and special – check out the bamboo boxes. We have mentioned Numi before in some other show reports – always worth checking to see what’s new.
Ceylon Royal Tea & Supplies LLC – www.ceylonroyaltea.com Tea manufacturing and export company with corp office in Sri Lanka and US office in Atlanta GA. 250 varieties of Herbal, Black, Green, White and Organic tea. Gift related products, Innovative pyramid silk bags and premium loose teas. US Brand name is Chami – pure Ceylon tea.
Christopher Brookes Distinctive Foods – www.cbdf.com Everything a tea room needs – clotted cream, lemon curd, jams, teas, loads of great items from the UK. Think Elizabethan Pantry and also name drop possibilities. Get your own lemon curd! The best out there!
Maryland China – www.marylandchina.com The most stunning selection of all white china. Did you see the 3 tiered server we had at The Tea House Times booth to display our favor boxes? As with this and several other pieces, they have woven openwork around the edges enabling you to put ribbon (our tea ribbon) through the edges to really dress it up. Quite lovely. They also can put your logo on to just about anything – cups, plates, teabag rests, etc. All great and very good prices. The selection is huge and varied. Visit the website.
Elmwood Inn Fine Teas – www.elmwoodinn.com Great selection of teas and books. Everyone knows Elmwood Inn! Check out the pre-buy on a new book by Elizabeth Knight entitled Celtic Tea Traditions. Also, new releases in the Tea in the City series and a new Children’s Tea & Etiquette book.
Harvest House Publishers – www.harvesthousepublishers.com We met them at a recent show at the Javits Center in NYC, so have reported about them before, but really, these books are a must have for tea rooms. They are so well done. You won’t be able to decide which ones to choose. Really Great!
Original T-Bag Designs – www.originaltbagdesigns.com If you don’t know about these – check it out. Used/recycled tea bags are used as a painting canvas to create coasters, journals, ornaments and more. Also used to create beads to make jewelry. Save your tea bags and help this business prosper. Helps to support 124 people in South Africa.
Redco Foods, Inc. – www.redrosetea.com You know Red Rose Tea & Salada Tea! I was happy to see them here. Did you know that every box of Red Rose tea includes a collectible, Wade figurine? They are great. Find them at your local grocery store or visit the website. Also, Red Rose has teamed up with the Windsor Chamber of Commerce in Connecticut and Wade to create a fun consumer, family friendly weekend event in November each year. See The Tea House Times website event page for details – we will be there!
Sympatea – www.sympatea.com Revolutionary Spoon Tea. Just tear off the top strip of the spoon, place in your cup, stir, and toss. Easy, quick, tasty, great. Priced right too. Check it out! Several great flavors.
Teaposy/Importika – www.importika.com Distributor of Teaposy, Gaggia, Sweetbird, EcoSleeve, WholeLatteLove Signature Coffee. We had already met at another show, but the Teaposy is self explanatory – simply beautiful blooming teas and very very good. Checkout HGTV July 8 at 9:00 pm for Teaposy, winner of Gourmet Gold Award showcasing blooming teas, giftsets and hand-blown glassware.
Torn Ranch – www.tornranch.com The name speaks for itself and has become well known for the BEST chocolates and cookies infused with tea. Addicting! No need to say more. Check it out.
Wisdom Wands – www.wisdomwands.com The Java Wand and The Health Tea Wand. I almost walked by this booth and then I practically fell backwards to look at it. My mom drinks her coffee or tea through a straw so her teeth won’t get stained!! She works for a dentist and has always been very conscious about anything to help save your teeth ~“Don’t use your teeth as tools!”~ Well, did you know that drinking hot beverages through a straw is toxic? Switch to one of these wands. It is quite amazing. I LOVE THESE! Not to mention the ease of brewing! Brew in cup, place straw inside, stir, sip!
Thistledown Cozies – www.thistledowncozies.com Wholesale tea cozies. Beautiful selection of fabrics, amply padded, very well made and reasonably priced. Wrap around cozies, classic cozies, oriental cozies all available in many sizes. I hear Thistledown Cozies are used in a Broadway show! Annelise, owner, provided a fabulous recipe for the upcoming Tea House Times cookbook – Monet Sandwiches – and her photo of the sandwiches is our book’s cover photo – taken at Antiquiteas Tea Room.
Blessed Botanicals – www.blessedbotanicals.com Culinary blends using organic herbs, fine sea salts, and teas. What a fabulous mix!! I was impressed by the offerings they had at their booth. The loose teas are works of art, fragrant, fresh AND tasty. This company is also doing some great things “to give back”. Check it out at their website and take time to read it to appreciate it.
Now, I end this report and I am right now having a tisane given to me by Blessed Botanicals called My Last Nerve – it is to soothe you, and can help you sleep too (and it tastes way better than those calming teas you find at the health food store). Sometimes I am really on my last nerve after working all day, taking care of my family, volunteering as a leader for Girl Scouts and working in my sleep too. After writing this I am on my last nerve :-) just kidding. It has been a pleasure and this tea is WONDERFUL. Thanks!
I leave you now with something to think about. By adding tea to any products or offering tea in any way, or creating events related to tea, it seems to speak volumes in the form of a consumer seal of approval. It is almost like the word tea IS your seal of approval, distinction, and quality. Remember what Jeffrey Hattrick said about using the uniqueness of tea time and the grace and elegance to create something special and different. Tea and tea time is special and different and people in this industry are special and different. Aren’t you proud to be a part of such a positive, wonderful, upward trend? Here’s to more growth and success in the tea industry and the attraction of some huge buyers looking for the answer to health, wellness, and profitability!
~This report was prepared by: Gail Gastelu, aka Lady Gayle ~ Publisher ~ The Tea House Times, PO Box 1049, Sparta, NJ 07871 (973) 499-1194 www.theteahousetimes.com info@theteahousetimes.com If you have a product for us to review, please send to the address above. For ad rates and information about our direct mailing service to tea room owners, please contact us. Tea Rooms – sign up for a bulk subscription and get listed in our directory ASAP before our next issue goes to print. Victorian and English style Tea Rooms who need a web presence but not necessarily an entire, expensive, website should also inquire about how we can help you get noticed with a dedicated web page at our website. Individuals & Businesses may Subscribe to The Tea House Times by visiting our website. Check out our tea tour as well.
See you at World Tea Expo 2008 in Las Vegas! www.worldteaexpo.com
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