Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/46786
powerful tart sweetness. Hibiscus is naturally high in Vitamin C. Tea blenders use dried fruits, fruit peel, fruit oils, blossoms and spices to achieve just the right blend of visual appeal and flavor profile. "Our flavors come from Germany, which we find to offer superior products to those available domestically," Cramer says. "We offer some unusual flavors that are unique in the marketplace—examples include cucumber, sweet potato and toasted sesame. These are not flavors that one typically associates with tea, which piques our customers' curiosity and leads to some interesting discoveries." CUPCAKE IN A CUP Another one of Adagio's signature blends is Meribelle's Delicious Cupcakes, featuring vanilla, caramel, and a touch of cinnamon. Adagio's Squirrelly tea blend is described as "chestnut, caramel, and a touch of almond make this nutty tea a squirrel's delight—or at least it could, that is, if squirrels drank tea instead of scampering, kissing, and causing squirrely mayhem." Uniqueness aside, Smith says solid standbys, including pomegranate tea blends and those with high antioxidants, are still popular, as are teas that are truly organic. "I hear less and less customers inquire about fair trade," Smith says. "Rather, they are all asking for organic." Divinitea offers more than 300 organic teas and each year offers different fall tea blends and Christmas blends to add something new to an ever-changing menu. Waddington is quick to point out that retailers need to understand the difference in the "flavorings" used within the tea blends. "'Flavorings' come from flavor companies—so it doesn't really matter where they come from," Waddington says. "Other ingredients, like dried fruit, spices, flowers and herbs, come from a thousand different places, from all continents, so it is impossible to generalize which areas are superior. I have found a great dried raspberry from Eastern Europe, but I get my dried cherries from Michigan." FLAVORS ASIDE Simrany says that blending teas is not easy to teach. "We contemplated adding a blending course to our STI Certification series and quickly dismissed the idea, as it is Indian regions key to tea India's Assam and Ceylon teas play a key role in today's tea blends. According to Michael Cramer of Adagio Teas, Ceylon tea forms the base of Adagio's black tea blends. "It offers the right combination of tea flavor without overpowering the flavors it is our intention to add," Cramer says. "Good Assams have malty characteristics, which we find are less suited to being mixed with other flavors." Bill Waddington adds that Assams bring a weighty/hearty presence to a cup of tea, along with a malty character unique in the world of tea. "They also bring a marvelous deep, dark red color to the cup," Waddington says. "Ceylon [teas] also have a lot of presence in the cup. They oſten add a bright (some say astringent) note to the cup, but this is a good thing—Granny Smith apples are astringent. And many Ceylons, particularly low- grown ones, can add a sweet, slightly fruity quality to their taste." Waddington usually doesn't think of Assam and Ceylon teas when he is considering creating a blend that will have non-tea ingredients (like fruit, "flavor," flowers, etc.). "I think most Assams and Ceylon teas have too much unique character, and they overwhelm other non-tea ingredients," Waddington says. "I have found that teas from Nilgiri and China congou teas can make great bases for tea blends which incorporate other ingredients. On the other hand Assam and Ceylon can blend together very nicely. The Assam brings a hearty malty note, along with a pronounced bottom end, while the Ceylon can contribute high/ bright notes even with a little fruitiness. That can be a marvelous blend." 24 | November 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com