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/73257
Jack'sJack'sB���� �� J��� G���� W T�� ���� �� ������, ����� �� ���� ���� 31 to June 3, 2012, where the World Tea Expo took over a portion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. I was there for the week teaching a class on the Durbin Act and credit card processing at both the New Business Boot Camp (NBBC) and the general session, as well as being on a moderated panel discussing the above question. Before I share my comments on that question, let me share a little of what I learned. First, there are many similarities between a tea show ill tea ever be bigger than coff ee? Th at question was presented in Las Vegas from May access to all classes, so I decided to take advantage of one in particular: Th e World Tour of Origins. It began with an intro class by Jane Pettigrew, respected tea historian, consultant and writer (an absolutely wonderful person to have gotten acquainted with) who prepared us for the eight- hour world tea tour on the second day of NBBC and a tasting of more than 30 teas from eight nations. I considered myself to be slightly knowledgeable about and a coff ee show. Th ere are classes on tea, origins, brewing, equipment, tastings and more. Th ere are competitions on quality, a show fl oor with vendors hawking their wares, and camaraderie amongst tea people who have done this all before. As a teacher at the Expo I was allowed I defi nitely fall into the Earl Grey/English Breakfast camp. White, of course. Th e teas served, which were meticulously prepared, were excellent—especially for those who appreciate such teas. I'm sure it would have been the same had I brought a tea-only lover to Coff ee Fest and had them join a cupping of coff ees of the world. Tea is an amazing and complex beverage, and currently teas—until I took this class. I tasted teas such as Second Flush Darjeeling Muscatel from Singbulli in China and Taiwan Pouchong. Now, I have tried a number of teas over the years, but Green OP 1 from Sri Lanka, but my guess is you may be leaving money on the table by not focusing on and committing to tea as a sales category and profi t center. And the cool thing about tea is that the investment in a serious tea program can be very small compared to the sales it can generate. A small selection of great teas, a couple of temperature-controlled kettles, preparing and serving tools, thorough training for the staff and space on your menu board, and you are in business. You can even do a private label tea program very easily and with little cost. We have a private label program at JP's and have for a number of years. It is easier than you might think. So the answer you've been waiting for: Your shop may not be the type of place to sell Idulgashinna little to fear; at least not in the foreseeable future. But, I hope the message is clear. Tea is booming across the U.S., and coff eeshops are a natural venue for great tea. Or at least they should be. SCR anywhere in the near future. Th ere is too much of a diff erence between the coff eehouse and the teahouse, at least in its current form. (I guess that could change pretty quickly though, if a tea industry "Howard Schultz" comes along.) So, those of you fearing teahouses on every corner have growth will take the form of local teahouses on every corner. Teahouses have zero chance of eclipsing coff eehouses "Will Tea Ever Be Bigger than Coff ee?" Although I offi cially pleaded the Fiſt h during the panel Q&A, I do believe total tea sales will eclipse total coff ee sales at some point in the not-too-distant future. But, seeing as 80 percent of tea sold in the U.S. is iced tea and much of the tea industry's growth is in RTDs (ready to drink), it's doubtful that the the fastest growing beverage segment in the U.S. (8 percent annual growth). Most U.S. coff ee shops currently off er tea, but the bulk of them probably serve an inferior bag tea with water drawn from the coff ee brewer spigot. It is not just that teas served in coff ee shops could improve; it's that coff ee shops could develop a new profi t center for their business. 10 | July 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com "Jack Groot's blog – confessions of a coff ee shop owner" at www.coff eegroot. com where you can read more from Jack's two decades as a coff ee shop owner. Jack can be reached at jack@jpscoff ee.com or 866-321-4MBS. Jack Groot owns JP's Coff ee in Holland, Mich. He also provides coff ee s new blog, business consulting and training through the Midwest Barista School (MBS) and On Track Coff ee Consulting. Also, check out Jack'