Incorporating "fun" ingredients into tea blends is a way to perk
up customers' interest. Photo courtesy of Rishi Tea
Blend ambition
Tea blends are getting more 'fun,
unusual ingredients and combinations. BY MAURA KELLER
' with more
"fun" blends are one of the biggest trends facing the blended tea category today. "By 'fun' blends, I mean blends with very unusual ingredients thrown in: candied pieces, coconut, hot pepper, whole chunks of fruit, etc.," Waddington says. "It's
are constantly changing. New blends, new teaware, and new people are entering the fold all the time. As such, new trends within the blended tea industry are offering specialty retailers a unique opportunity to expand their tea-consuming clientele and boost their bottom line. Bill Waddington, owner of TeaSource, St. Paul, Minn., says
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lthough a centuries-old tradition, tea drinking, and the consumers who indulge in this time-honored beverage,
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almost a case of the more original and unusual the better. Sales of traditional blends, such as Irish Breakfast, are not decreasing, but the growth is in these 'fun' blends. Perhaps it is a reflection of the hipster generation coming to tea." For example, TeaSource offers Lychee Black, a black tea
featuring citrus, vanilla, lemongrass, almond brittle, licorice roots and strawberry and blackberry pieces. The company's Blueberry Fields flavored black tea features dried blueberries and cornflower blossoms. Beau Bernstein, director of marketing at Rishi Tea, says
some popular tea blends show unabated growth, including a range of chai blends and those that include ginger.
THANK DR. OZ "The most recent blends to see growth include Schizandra
berries, thanks to Dr. Oz having touted their potential health benefits" on television, Bernstein says. Matcha Super Green, Masala chai and Pu-erh Ginger
continue to be among Rishi Tea's most sought-aſter teas. Matcha Super Green is their greenest tea ever, combining premium, first-flush chumushi (mid-steamed) sencha from Kagoshima and a ceremonial grade matcha from Japan's Kyoto prefecture. Masala chai features Rishi Tea's traditional Indian Masala
spices with organic fair trade certified black tea, including organic spices: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper and cloves. Puer tea has a history of more than 2,000 years, originating in Yunnan Province of southwestern China. There are two distinct types of puer: sheng puer (the raw or green type) and shu puer (the ripened or black type). As Bernstein explains, puer is a specially fermented form
