THE PREMIUMISATION OF TEA - Members of the European Speciality Tea Association provide their thoughts on the current premiumisation of tea.
NISHCHAL BANSKOTA FOUNDER OF NEPAL TEA, NEW YORK
Tea is the new wine is how I have seen the trend grow. If we think back on the wine market, decades ago people just ordered red or white wine and cared less about other aspects of it. Over time people developed a taste for Pinot noir, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot and so on. Now you will find people ordering 1985 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23.
For tea, it is the same exact trend, people knew only black tea and green teas previously and now they’ve been educated enough to distinguish between green, black, oolong, white and so on. Now you will find people who will only drink Makaibari Darjeeling first flush or Ceremonial grade matcha from Japan. This premiumisation is legitimate as the consumers have developed taste profiles and associate these teas with not just the high price but the craft, passion as well as the limited availability of these products.
Similarly, consumer behaviour is changing especially in millennials, where not just the taste of the product but the origin stories, fair trade and transparency are becoming paramount. People are willing and able to pay premium to farmers who go above and beyond in bringing exclusive, unique teas from origins they have not even heard of. Furthermore, the growth in the health and wellness industry has really fast-forwarded the growth of fine teas because of the health properties of tea and other botanicals. Other trends of blending and using tea with other products such as kombucha, energy drinks and even alcohol has really elevated what tea premiumisation can stand for.
With all this hyper-premiumisation of tea, one thing I want people to understand is the social justice and the transparency aspect of tea. It is great to hear and see people sipping on a cup of premium tea but the question we all should be asking is does the premiumisation actually flow all the way back to the farm and the primary producers? If the answer is yes, fantastic, we’ve successfully created an amazing supply chain that promotes equity and justice, but if the premiumisation is only limited to the consumer marketing aspect of the tea and not necessarily the production side, we should maybe ask ourselves what good does premiumisation actually do? nepalteallc.com
LEANE TILLEY FOUNDER OF KINETA TEA, DEVON, UK
With 165 million cups being drunk on a daily basis, it will be no surprise to hear that tea is a firm favourite in the UK and it is showing no sign of letting up. With the value of tea in foodservice consistently growing it’s important to look at what is driving this trend and how you can maximise your tea menu.
Over the past few years consumers have been getting much more demanding when it comes to their favourite brew, in large part driven by health and wellness trends. Customers care much more about what they are putting into their bodies and anything with superfood qualities, such as matcha green tea, receives heavy endorsement from the healthy-living community. Tea drinking trends show a clear move towards tasty health and away from products containing artificial sugars and synthetic or low-quality ingredients.
As consumers continue to become more discerning coffee shops and cafes have sought to cater to these demanding tastes by expanding their tea menu to include rare, organic or unique combos of loose leaf and herbal blends. And there is so much more opportunity and tea premiumisation on menus is just the beginning. With 59% of 18-34-year-olds seeking a premium drink offering, a market clearly exists beyond black tea.
Adding green tea, particularly matcha, to your menu offers a real potential to boost profitability alongside your existing options. At a product cost of less than 10p per cup, matcha offers attractive mark-up. Clients are willing to pay around £2.95 if not more for the nutrient-packed beverage, particularly if the location, experience and setting is right. On the other hand a regular cup of good old fashioned builders tea has seen little value growth for several years.
There is also another dimension to the changing demands of tea drinkers, ‘Instagramability’. Matcha’s brilliant green hue makes it highly photogenic; a clear win for hot beverage outlets since a large proportion of coffee shop consumers are active on Instagram. In addition you have the myriad health benefits matcha green tea has been scientifically-proven to bring, part of its appeal is its ‘cool’ factor.
Going forward, consumer experience and in-store theatre will continue to matter. Tea is an experiential drink. This fact is often missed by stores who are simply handing their customer a mug of boiling water with a tea bag on the side! We have already seen coffee very cleverly elevated from a pure commodity to an artisan experience. This is exactly what we are seeing within the tea category which plays a huge role in value perception.
With its long-running position as a staple beverage in the United Kingdom, tea has untapped potential and the market for premium teas is only expected to continue growing over the next few years. With a renewed perspective on tea there is exciting potential to leave the traditional tea bag behind and turn your tea offering into something far more exciting including matcha tea, iced tea and sparkling tea as well as more traditional loose leaf teas and herbal tisanes. ilovematcha tea.co.uk
SHARYN JOHNSTON CEO AND FOUNDER OF AUSTRALIAN TEA MASTERS, MELBOURNE
The days are numbered of it being acceptable to finish a beautiful meal or walk into a cafe and only be offered English Breakfast, or possibly Earl Grey tea, which has most likely been made with a 3g CTC teabag. Tea lovers are wanting more in their cup in terms of quality and provenance as well as more interesting offerings in terms of variety. Many feel they have been neglected when they discover that you can find flavours such as fruit, chocolate, citrus and flowers in speciality teas just like in speciality coffee. And once discovered, tea drinking can then become an exciting adventure.
Consumer education by organisations like the European Speciality Tea Association is the driving force behind this new tea wave being embraced by tea lovers globally. However premiumisation in the tea market will only fully become possible when consumers are taught two basic facts. First, that the difference between CTC (cut, torn, curled), usually found in tea bags, and orthodox loose leaf tea is immense. It is two different products. Second, consumers need to be made aware that tea only comes from the Camellia sinensis bush in categories of white, yellow, green, oolong, black and dark (fermented) – any other item on the tea menu (chamomile, rooibos, etc.) is not actually tea but a herbal, tisane or botanical. australianteamasters.com.au
JOYCE MAINA FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF CAMBRIDGE TEA CONSULTANCY
Discovered more than 5,000 years ago in China, tea is now so ubiquitous in our lives today that most take it for granted. “It is just leaves in a teabag. Pour in hot water and you have a brew, how complicated can it be?” I hear you ask. You are missing out; it is a lot more exciting than that.
The journey from bush to cup is an eye-opener to tea appreciation. All six types of tea can be made from the same plant – and the ingredients are leaves and air only. It doesn’t get more natural, vegan or free-from than that!
Premiumisation starts right from the garden; electing to plant the right tea, caring for it in a sustainable, traceable way and making the right quality. It is about adding perceptible value to tea and purple tea growing in Kenya is a good example of this.
Once the leaves are dried they are sold in tea bags, loose, milled (like matcha), liquid, powder or even in shapes like Puerh blocks. Format plays a big part in making the offering a more attractive, valuable and heightened experience. There is more to it than great visuals and taste; tea drinkers seek a cup of wellness fitting into living a healthy lifestyle; teas with benefits from digestion to sleep, beauty, energy and immunity. Most of these teas include herbs, fruits, flavours, vitamins and even cultures like kombucha. ‘Tea’ is no longer just Camellia sinensis, it is a plant-based drink of choice that is good for me. If it delivers that then I am happy to spend a bit more on it.
There is a movement, a revolution happening gradually but truly in tea, and the events of this unforgettable year have made us re-focus on our health, our bodies and what we put in them. cambridgeteaconsultancy.com
JOHAN JANSEN MD OF TEA BY ME, ZUNDERT, NETHERLANDS
Johan Jansen has succeeded in growing a hardy tea plant suitable for the Netherlands climate, although it would be possible for it to thrive throughout Europe. Through doing so he is highlighting how tea is improving in quality, raising the profile of speciality and contributing to premiumisation.
Johan’s journey started 13 years ago when he visited China. He knew a lot about plants and was a tea drinker, but there he came to know that all types of tea come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. He learned how to make tea and tasted and felt what tea can do. He already had a company called Special Plants offering unique plants and decided that he wanted to enable everyone to experience what he had. It took him eight years to develop a tea variety suitable for the Dutch and European climate. That resulted in the first large scale tea plantation in the Netherlands and of course there are now many plantations in other European countries.
In 2018 Johan took part in the AVPA Teas of the World contest in Paris to learn more, and was amazed when his green tea won fourth place and the prestigious Gourmet star. He decided it was time to share his tea with everyone.
Tea by Me wants to give people the opportunity to learn more about tea. When the common knowledge about tea grows, people will appreciate it more. There are so many beautiful teas but most consumers are only aware of what they are presented with in supermarkets or wholesalers. With Johan’s teas people can get to know good tea, made from the right parts of the plant, made with passion and love for the craft of teamaking. He also sells his plants so anyone can grow their own tea! teabyme.eu
This article was initially published in September in the online version of Boughtons, a British based café publication. Members of European Speciality Tea Association have free access to this publication.