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Everything old is new again! Tea sales are steaming. The old adage "cool as a cucumber" clearly describes tea, not in the meaning of its 19th-century definitions of lower temperature and control under fire but in today's jargon of tres chic, the smart thing to do and to be seen doing.
Can't you just picture the British soldiers in 1845 Afghanistan taking time out for tea at three o'clock while being attacked by hordes of unpleasant fellows with long swords and rifles? Talk about cool, "Pass the scones please, old chap?"

Marketplace Facts
Tea sales and consumption have doubled in the past 10 years. Half of all Americans drink tea, 50 billion servings' worth, 80% of which is iced tea. That calculates to about three glasses per week per person, or six glasses per week for those who drink tea. Iced tea was introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, at the same time as were hot dogs and ice cream cones. Tea consumption is second only to that of water.
Iced tea is particularly American as Europeans and Asians drink tea hot. Of the over 200 million pounds of tea that is packaged annually, 65% of tea comes in tea bags. Herbals have risen to over 10% of consumption. Lipton's dominates the bagged-tea market with an in excess of 50% share and also leads in bottled and canned share with 34% in 2002, based upon data from the Beverage Marketing Corp.
Green and black teas rate high in disease-fighting antioxidants, with over 300 studies now underway to show values. The caffeine levels in tea are about a third less than those present in coffee. Tea also comes in decaf form, but if you remove the caffeine, the antioxidants are depleted.

Types of Tea
Tea comes in four basic kinds - white, black, green, and oolong, all of which are derived from the Camellia sinensis plant.
White tea is derived from the flowery pekoe leaf buds that are plucked the day prior to their opening. They are steamed and dried, resulting in a tea with a fresh flavor and a sweet, lingering finish. Black tea has been fully oxidized or fermented and yields an amber brew such as that displayed by English Breakfast and Darjeeling. Green tea skips the oxidizing steps and has a more delicate taste, which should perhaps be expected considering its Asian origins. Its liquor is light green or golden in color. Recent studies linking green tea with reduced cancer risks have stimulated consumption and bottled green is now broadly available in most supermarkets. Oolong tea is a mixture of green and black in both color and taste. From these four basics, over 3,000 variations have been developed.

Specialties
Chai is a spiced and sweetened tea made in many flavors to which steamed milk is added - it is the king of tea latte.
Bubble tea, which originated in Taiwan, is also known as boba tea, pearl tea, or tapioca milk tea. Served hot or cold, it is frothy like cappuccino. Contents are tea, milk, sugar, and marble-sized tapioca balls, or boba. Making it unique by many flavors, it is served with an extra-wide straw for sucking up the gummy beads of tapioca. Fun!
Some tea shops are adding a shot of nutrient-rich whey protein or gingko biloba at 50 cents per pop. Margins seem large. Look to the coasts, especially the West, to lead in new developments, just as they did with coffees, wines, and jeans.

Business Opportunities
With tea comes the need to brew it unless you buy already brewed tea in a can. This opens sales potentials of metal and glass kettles and iced tea makers like Mr. Coffee's. Back in 1990, when we first introduced the iced tea maker, we were intending to brew iced coffee, which is very popular in the Northwest and Northeast. The Sears' buyer asked, "Will this piece of junk make iced tea?" Our answer was, "No, not now, but if you come back in a week, it will." He returned in a week, it did, and he bought the first 45,000 at $25 each. That introduction progressed to sell several million iced tea makers that greatly improved upon the time and mess necessary to heat, brew, steep, and cool ready-to-drink iced tea. Seven minutes from switch on was the total timing, which holds pretty close even today.
All sorts of tea-related products exist and may be selected as companion items for both bagged and loose-leaf teas. Loose-leaf teas sell at all kinds of price points - some at $5.49 per quarter pound, others at prices akin to expensive wines. Licorice ginger black goes for $4.95 in 3-ounce resealable packs. Chinese silver needle white tea sells for $30; 3-ounce loose-leaf packs yield 45-60 cups. Brewed chai goes for around $3.00/cup, plus whatever upgraded additives can be provided.
Tea is purported to have relatively low overhead and a small spoilage ratio, yet its cost is still reasonable. The Tea Association of the USA, Inc.; the Tea Council of the USA; and The Specialty Tea Institute are the principal trade groups working to improve tea knowledge and promote sales and consumption. Both have informative Web sites and will provide usable merchandising information. One of the problems kitchenware sellers encounter is the development of traffic. Mass merchants have increasingly added foods and convenience items to entice more shopper traffic. Perhaps tea can work favorably to increase specialty traffic and help you "be cool" at the same time.

Jack Eikenberg has long operated Eikenberg Management Services, a consultancy specializing in houseware and homeware markets. Jack may be reached at JMEmgmt@aol.com, 239-498-0040, or 239-948-3297 (fax).